Energy
How better hydropower planning can avert future disasters on the Mekong
Those in power must give stronger voices to marginalised communities and protection to natural flood defences, say experts from the Stockholm Environment Institute. Keep reading ...
How better hydropower planning can avert future disasters on the Mekong
The collapse of the Xepian-Xe Nam hydropower dam in Sanamxay district of Attapeu Province, Lao PDR on July 23 is a major tragedy that took the lives of at least 34 Laotians, with at least 100 more still missing and thousands displaced. Some 50 days on, ...
Mekong River faces a damming issue
Serving as South-east Asia’s most iconic waterway, the Mekong River is the lifeblood of the countries it flows through. However, fears are being raised that the rampant construction of dams will take a toll on the environment and tourism, writes Marissa Carruthers. Keep reading ...
Civil society groups to boycott Prior Consultation on new Mekong dam
Save the Mekong, a coalition of non-governmental organizations, community-based groups and concerned citizens within the Mekong region, issued a statement on Friday announcing their intention to boycott the Mekong River Commission’s (MRC’s) Prior Consultation for the proposed Pak Lay dam. Pak Lay is the fourth ...
Dams and sand mining threaten integrity of lower Mekong
As investment in hydropower and construction projects ramp up, ecosystems along Southeast Asia’s longest river are paying the price. At more than 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles), the Mekong is Southeast Asia’s longest river. It runs through six countries, providing food and income for more than ...
Laos' hydropower ambitions threaten Mekong fishing villages
The tiny Southeast Asian nation of Laos champions itself as “the battery of Southeast Asia,” exporting hydroelectricity to its neighbors as it seeks to exit the ranks of least developed countries. Keep reading ...
All eyes on Lao dam tragedy probe
In the wake of the tragic collapse last month of an auxiliary dam of the Xe-Pian-Xe-Namnoy hydropower project in southern Laos, the Lao government on Aug 7 announced a major review of hydropower projects ...
Seizing Opportunity In Southeast Asia's Energy Market
There has been an almost never-ending stream of negative news about Southeast Asia’s energy market, once one of the globe’s most active. A decade of political unrest in Thailand, creeping nationalization in Indonesia, conflict in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, and territorial disputes in Vietnam’s offshore market ...
Civil society groups to boycott Prior Consultation on new Mekong dam
Save the Mekong, a coalition of non-governmental organizations, community-based groups and concerned citizens within the Mekong region, issued a statement on Friday announcing their intention to boycott the Mekong River Commission’s (MRC’s) Prior Consultation for the proposed Pak Lay dam. Pak Lay is the fourth dam planned ...
Lao government, World Bank assess renewable energy development in southern river basin
The Lao government and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, are conducting a basin-wide Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA) of renewable energy development in southern Laos’ Xekong River Basin. According to local online newspaper Vientiane Times on Sunday, it is the ...