Environment and natural resources

Cabinet approves water command centre

The cabinet is expected to approve the formation of a water management command centre on Tuesday, spokeswoman Narumon Pinyosinsawat said on Sunday. The command centre is sanctioned by Section 24 of the 2018 Water Act, which calls for the set-up of a central coordinating unit to ...

Mekong sandbanks obstruct cross-border boat services

The lowest level of water in the Mekong river in several decades has caused sandbanks to emerge, obstructing boat services across the border between Thailand and Laos, according to a local report. The low level of water has been caused by many factors including drought and ...

Pattanapong Siripiachai

Southeast Asia’s Water Troubles Underscore Climate Threat

Over the previous 12 months, rising environmental threats in Asia have had a lot to do with water—most significantly rising seas pushed by international warming. Southeast Asia is proving to be notably weak. New research present that local weather change and rising sea ranges will threaten the ...

Miriam Jackson

The Mekong Delta: an unsettling portrait of coastal collapse

Some environmental disasters present themselves over years; others come with a bang — or a splash. The latter happened one day in August, when residents of Binh My, a commune in Vietnam’s lush Mekong Delta, heard a loud cracking sound. They went outside to watch ...

John Reed

Mekong levels to drop due to Jinghong power station testing

Water levels in the Mekong River that traverses Cambodia, Thailand, and Lao PDR are expected to drop due to outflows from China’s Jinghong hydropower station, which would be decreased by more than 50 per cent for dam equipment testing from January 1-4, the Mekong River ...

Ry Sochan

Thai official warns of water shortages due to weather, dams

Thailand should brace for serious water shortages when the hot season begins in March after a year with unusually little rainfall, one of the country’s top water management officials said Monday. Retention of water by dams in upstream areas of the Mekong River also is seen ...

Grant Peck

New power plants blamed for turning Mekong River blue

The Mekong River has turned a bright and striking blue, but this eye-catching sight has raised concerns about the environment and the livelihoods of those living in the region. The Mekong runs for nearly 3,100 miles and flows through China, Laos, Burma, Thailand and Cambodia, filling a ...

Simon Roughneen

Dam testing in China to affect eight Mekong River provinces

Eight provinces along the Mekong River have been told to brace themselves for a dip in water levels between Jan 1-4 as tests at Jinghong hydroelectric power station in China’s Yunnan province are expected decrease of water outflows. According to the Office of National Water Resources ...

Experts doubt effectiveness of new plan to address Mekong drought

After a year of severe drought that hit the region, the inter-state agency Mekong River Commission (MRC) has laid out new measures to mitigate the effects of the crisis but experts have questioned the effectiveness of the plan. In its 2020-2025 strategy, adopted late last month ...

Leonie Kijewski

The Mekong is on the cusp of an ecological catastrophe

People living along the banks of the Mekong River in Laos and Thailand were recently amazed to see the river’s water turn light blue and become so transparent that they could see the sandbars underneath. It was an eye-catching sight and the phenomenon boosted tourism ...

Darunee Sukanan

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