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Dammed If You Do; Damned If You Don’t: A Dam For The Mekong – Inevitable, or in Limbo?
December 14th, 2011
Via The New York Times, an updated look at the environment ministers from Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos recent decision to await the results of further studies before making a decision on whether to proceed with construction of a dam in the Mekong River. As the article notes: As The Times reported last week, environment […]
Read more »Meeting On The Mekong’s Fate
December 6th, 2011
Courtesy of The New York Times, a report on an upcoming meeting to discuss a controversial dam on the main stream of the Mekong river in Laos. As the article notes: The Laotians call it Mae Nam Khong, the Mother of Water. The Vietnamese refer to it as Song Cuu Long, or the Nine Dragons […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: Tibetan Rivers At Risk And The New Great Walls (Of Concrete)
December 1st, 2011
Via Meltdown in Tibet, some interesting comments and charts on hydropower development on the Tibetan Plateau: “The world is facing a massive freshwater crisis, which has the potential to be every bit as devastating as climate change. We need business leaders and governments to recognise that climate change is not the only urgent environmental issue […]
Read more »Laos to Wait for ‘Positive Signals’ Before Building Mekong Dam
November 23rd, 2011
Via Bloomberg, a report that Laos will wait for “positive signals†from its neighbors before it builds the $3.7 billion Thai-financed Xayaburi hydropower plant on the Mekong River. As the article notes: “…Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia share the common position that any construction activity will take place only if positive signals are given by the […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: China Plans Tibetan Conservation Zone To Protect Source Of Great rivers
November 19th, 2011
Via the Shanghai Daily, a report that China is planning to set up an ecological conservation zone on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, where the country’s major rivers originate. As the article notes: “…The planned national conservation zone covers a 395,000 square kilometer region known as Sanjiangyuan, which is the source of China’s three major rivers – […]
Read more »Dams Increasing Water Pressure Along Niger River
November 7th, 2011
Via IPS Africa, a report on how several new dams are sparking concern over equitable sharing of the Niger River in west Africa. As the article notes: Several major new dams are being constructed on the Niger River. It’s a positive sign of growing investment in agriculture and energy, but it also has some observers […]
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