The Mekong River’s Dam Problem
The Mekong River stretches through 6 countries and sustains the lives of millions of people – but the river is under threat, experiencing record drought in recent years. Environmentalists believe huge hydropower dams, many built by China, are to blame. We speak with Thai activist ...
Act now to save Mekong
Last week, the Mekong River Commission (MRC) released two reports which once again highlighted the existential threats to the Mekong River. Social impact monitoring and vulnerability assessment 2018: Report on 2018 baseline survey of the Lower Mekong mainstream and floodplain areas Status and trends of fish abundance ...
EDITORIAL
Greenwashing Big Hydropower
Despite being linked to several disasters, the Asian Development Bank has reaffirmed its commitment to large hydro developments. Rishika Pardikar speaks to people holding it to account. Large hydropower projects, which use moving water to create electricity, can have destructive consequences for the environment – despite their seemingly ...
Rishika Pardikar
China Joins Lower Mekong River Countries to Study Impacts of Climate Change, Dams
China and the countries of the lower Mekong River are teaming up for their largest joint study yet of the impacts climate change and hydropower dams are having on one of Asia’s great waterways, and how to cope with the growing threats from floods and ...
Zsombor Peter
500kg ganja found on Mekong riverbank
A drug suppression team of the Mekong Riverine Unit seized 500 kilogrammes of compressed dried marijuana left on the bank of the Mekong river in That Phanom district late on Tuesday night. R/Adm Jaraskiat Chaiyaphan, commander of the Nakhon Phanom MRU, said a team on routine ...
PATTANAPONG SRIPIACHAI
Wet-season dam operations hit Mekong ecology and communities
In early July 2021, Chinese dams began restricting the flow of the Upper Mekong. Researchers and activists say the consequences downstream are unknown and potentially severe. As China celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party on 1 July, the Jinghong dam in Yunnan Province began restricting ...
Tyler Roney, The Third Pole
Washington gets serious about the Mekong
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris launched a mission impossible this week to restore her country’s shaky credibility as a trusted ally. “The reason I am here is because the United States is a global leader, and we take that role seriously,” a straight-faced Harris said on her ...
Kavi Chongkittavorn
ASEAN, Mekong River Commission produce water security solutions
ASEAN and the Mekong River Commission (MRC) have come up with three solutions to help riparian countries address their water security challenges. The solutions, relating to policy, technology and partnerships, were highlighted at the ASEAN-MRC Water Security Dialogue held last week, the commission announced in a ...
Minh Nga
Mekong talks not inclusive
Arriving late is always better than never. So, after years of witnessing the ecology of the Mekong River being choked by the development of hydro-powered dams, communities in this region can have some hope after the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and the Mekong ...
Editorial
ASEAN, Mekong River Commission to convene water security dialogue
ASEAN and the Mekong River Commission will hold a Water Security Dialogue to address the region’s emerging challenges on water security. A first of its kind, the dialogue is slated for Aug. 19 and 20, hosted online by the Mekong River Commission (MRC) Secretariat, in cooperation ...
Minh Nga
