Energy
Mekong water level drops putting 60 million people at risk
The level of the Mekong River has fallen to “abnormal” levels, threatening the livelihoods of 60 million people living along its lower course. The river starts in China and winds its way for 4,350 km, crossing Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. It is vital for the ...
Tran Hung
Mekong River at 'worrying' low level amid calls for more Chinese dam data
Water levels in the Mekong River have fallen to a “worrying level” in part due to outflow restrictions from Chinese hydropower dams upstream, the Mekong River Commission (MRC) said on Friday, calling on Beijing to share all of its water data. The vital waterway has turned ...
Kay Johnson, Panu Wongcha-um
Mekong Turns Blue, Again
Thailand’s space development agency has released the satellite photographs showing the water color of the Mekong River has turned to blue-green, while the river has been experiencing unusually dry again since early this year. The Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency or GISTDA has released the ...
B.Tribune
Mekong River Water Levels Fail to Rise Due to China’s Jinghong Dam
Water levels on the Mekong River have failed to rise raising concerns in communities living downstream, sources say. The Mekong was already low because of equipment testing at China’s upriver Jinghong Dam. However water levels were suppose to resume to normal after equipment testing ended ...
CTN News
Water Levels Drop, Fail to Rise Again on Mekong River Along Thai-Lao Border
Water levels on a stretch of the Mekong River along the border of Thailand and Laos, already low because of equipment testing at China’s upriver Jinghong Dam, have failed to rise again, raising concerns in communities living downstream, sources say. Chinese authorities at the end of ...
RFA’s Lao Service. Translated by Max Avary. Written in English by Richard Finney.
Thailand challenges Laos dam building spree on Mekong River
Activists gathered Saturday in Paris to support people exposed to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War, after a French court examined the case of a French-Vietnamese woman who sued 14 companies that produced and sold the powerful defoliant dioxin used by U.S. troops. Former journalist Tran ...
MARWAAN MACAN-MARKAR
‘Not Sufficient’: Thailand Rejects Report on Lao Hydropower Dam
Thailand has reportedly rejected a new technical report on Laos’ Sanakham hydropower project – the latest sign of the growing consternation about the impact of mega-dams on the ecology of the Mekong River basin. On January 15, the country’s Chinese contractor submitted a revised technical report ...
Sebastian Strangio
Thailand Rejects New Technical Report on Large-Scale Lao Mekong Mainstream Dam
Thailand has rejected a new technical report on Laos’ Sanakham dam project, one of nine large-scale Mekong River mainstream dams integral to Vientiane’s controversial economic strategy of becoming the “Battery of Southeast Asia.” The 684-megawatt Sanakham dam is one of seven future dams in various stages ...
Reported by RFA’s Lao Service. Translated by Max Avary. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
Ministry draws up plan to inspect dams every five years
Laos is preparing a nationwide hydropower inspection procedure which will be carried out every five years to ensure safety and the maintenance of standards. Director General of the Department of Energy Management, Ministry of Energy and Mines, Mr Bouathep Malaykham, told Vientiane Times on Tuesday that in ...
Khonesavanh Latsaphao
Why is Laos building Mekong dams it doesn't need?
Thailand’s economic slump during the coronavirus pandemic led to a drop in electricity demand, with Thai officials estimating power reserves currently at 50% over total capacity. However, despite the Thai surplus, hydroelectric dams are still being developed next door in Laos, Thailand’s top provider of electricity. Critics say the dam projects are not driven ...
Emmy Sasipornkarn
