Irrigation and water management

Historic levels of saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta have caused coconuts in Ben Tre Province to shrink by half in size and farmers’ incomes by even more. One afternoon in early August, Tran Trung Tac, owner of a dwarf coconut grove, opens 100 coconuts one ...

Farmers in the Mekong Delta are chopping down hundreds of hectares of durian trees that were lost to drought and saltwater intrusion. For years Le Van Thoi has earned VND600-800 million ($25,800-34,400) a year from his durian farm in Cai Lay Town in Tien Giang Province. Thanks ...

The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations has ranked the Mekong Basin as the world’s most important hydrologic region or river basin for freshwater fish catches. In its latest State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture report, the FAO said that Mekong Basin accounted ...

Thai activists and organizations have raised alarm bells following last month’s announcement that the Mekong River Commission will begin its prior consultation process on the Sanakham hydropower plant, a new Mekong River dam project in northern Laos.   The plant would be the sixth dam in Laos, costing more than $2 billion, and would follow Laos’ Xayaburi Dam, farther upstream, which began operation in November.   The MRC prior consultation ...

The first phase construction of the Cai Lon-Cai Be irrigation system, in the southern Mekong Delta provinces of Kien Giang and Ca Mau, began in November 2019. Despite the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic, the project’s progress has been still guaranteed, so over 33% of the ...

The Mekong River Commission(MRC) yesterday said the water levels across the vast majority of lower Mekong basin have now returned to their normal long-term averages. The announcement was made after the MRC last month called member countries and Dialogue Partners to improve the management of the ...

SREKOR COMMUNE, STUNG TRENG PROVINCE — Fut Kheun has been keeping a close watch on the water levels at the Sesan II reservoir, in the remote Srekor commune of Stung Treng province. The ethnic Kreung villager is living close to the water at the reservoir, two ...

In the Mekong Delta, salt water is often going inland and then mixed with freshwater used for drinking and agriculture. Some areas facing these water shortages are also bracing for potential drought as the summer approaches. As a result, water shortages are rampant in the ...

Myanmar’s food future hinges on ensuring access to water, especially in times of worsening drought. This is especially true in the central dry zone – the country’s most water-stressed region.  Rainfall is often highly erratic, and many areas have been seeing less and less in recent years. ...

Myitsone Dam project is well known for its controversial impact on Myanmar’s political landscape, as it involves on and off pressure from China to restart the project in line with the signed contract as soon as possible. But what is less prominent is the controversy over ...