Interview: China’s Mekong Dam-building Mindset ‘Exported Downstream’ to Cambodia and Laos

The Mekong River extends for thousands of miles through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, supporting more than 65 million people who depend on it for food, transportation, and commerce. But development, mostly led by China, threatens to upset the delicate balance between local ...

Feature: Mekong river binds regional countries, peoples together as lifeblood of Southeast Asia

Narongchai, a volunteer tour boat guide on the Mekong river in northeast Thailand’s Nakhon Phanom, has been doing this job for 16 years. “The Mekong is our mother river, binding everyone in the basin,” said Narongchai, describing the cross-border river part of his life. “The water ...

Guo Xinhui

Dolphin species thought extinct in Vietnam caught in Mekong Delta

An Irrawaddy dolphin, not seen in decades in Vietnam, was caught by a fisherman in the southern province of Ben Tre on Wednesday. Phan Van Thai, 49, and his wife were fishing on the Co Chien River in Cho Lach District when they heard a loud ...

Phan Anh, Hoang Nam, Cuu Long

Can community research help address the Mekong water crisis?

The transboundary water crisis in the Lower Mekong Basin has been lingering for almost two decades without any certainty that it will be resolved soon. There have been many attempts at tackling this issue, including forming a regional governance body to facilitate policymaking conversations. However, ...

Teerapong Pomun and Naimah Talib

Government to study Mekong and Bassac river sand dredging

The Council of Ministers has instructed the Water Resources Ministry to proceed with a request made by Try Pheap Engineering & Construction to conduct a study on the viability of a sand dredging operation along the banks of the Mekong and Bassac rivers. In a directive ...

Khuon Narim

Training program launched to bolster Lancang-Mekong Cooperation

Thirty-five participants from six Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) countries are attending a week-long training program in Kunming, capital of southwest China’s Yunnan Province. The Second Training Program for LMC National Secretariats and Coordination Units was started on Monday. Participants will join a series of activities including lectures, ...

Polluted Mekong Delta river turns black, kills seafood

Pollution of the Cai Lon River flowing through Hau Giang Province has turned the water pitch black and killed fish at many farms. Local residents blame the pollution, which also causes the water to stink badly, on a nearby sugar factory discharging untreated effluents into the river. Hau ...

Pollution of the Cai Lon River flowing through Hau Giang Province has turned the water pitch black and killed fish at many farms. Local residents blame the pollution, which also causes the water to stink badly, on a nearby sugar factory discharging untreated effluents into the river. Hau Giang authorities say they have taken test samples of the water to find the cause and take remedial action.

Giving a dam about the Mekong

Originating in the Tibetan highlands and running through China, Myanmar, Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia, and Vietnam, the Mekong and its tributaries provide water, food and income for 60 million people. The longest river in Southeast Asia is home to the world’s largest inland fishery. It ...

Sheith Khidhir

Mine Lar’s Sut Lway jetty seeks to shed its bad image

Hidden deep in the forest about 250 kilometres from the notorious sin city of Mine Lar in Shan State is the decrepit Sut Lway jetty on the Mekong River. Despite its tumble-down appearance, Sut Lway is the gateway for an illicit trade in luxury motor vehicles and ...

Nanda, Chan Thar

Mekong Delta attempts to combat saltwater intrusion

Saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta is expected to increase between April 28 and May 6 as the volume of water flowing southward from the Mekong River will decline, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Irrigation Department. High tides from the sea are ...

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