Electricity production
Hydropower dams
Flooding from dam washes out homes, rice fields in southern Cambodia
Local government officials in a southern Cambodian province failed to evacuate villagers in time to prevent their homes and rice fields from flooding after the operators of a Chinese-built hydropower dam informed them a day earlier that they would open the facility’s gates to release ...
Dam threat to Mekong River’s last few dolphins
The fate of the last surviving Irrawaddy river dolphins on the Laos-Cambodian border hangs in the balance after a Laos government official was reported as saying this week that construction of the dam would begin by the end of the year.Keep reading ...
NGOs, Cambodia voice alarm at Lao decision to proceed with Don Sahong Dam
Cambodian officials vowed on 11 September to prevent neighbor Laos from going ahead with construction of the controversial Don Sahong dam without approval from fellow Mekong River basin countries that would be affected by the project. The Phnom Penh officials, as well as local and international non-governmental ...
Environment experts discuss dam dangers
Thirty-five experts from environmental organisations in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam gathered on 8 September to discuss water management and the effects of hydropower dams. They participated in a one-day seminar held in Vietnam’s Dong Thap Province in the Mekong Delta and discussed the impacts that dams ...
Green light for Mekong ‘time bomb’ sparks alarm
Environmental groups have expressed alarm at the Laotian National Assembly’s approval of the concession for the Don Sahong Dam project, which has been described as an “ecological time bomb” about to be dropped on the Mekong River. The Laotian government and the project’s developer, Malaysia’s MegaFirst ...
Laos officially approves controversial dam project
Laos’ parliament has approved the concession agreement for a controversial dam project, with construction expected to begin before the end of 2015, media sources reported earlier this week. Keep reading ...
Don Sahong dam gets official approval
The Lao parliament has approved the concession agreement for the controversial Don Sahong hydropower dam and expects to begin construction before the end of the year, according to an official in Vientiane. Keep reading ...
Dams 'destroying Mekong fish stock'
Fishermen in delta and Northeast Thailand say dams in China and Laos have hit breeding and yields, forcing many to quit. Mekong River fishermen have already suffered dramatically from dams and irrigation works, which have decimated fish stocks and undermined livelihoods that supported families for generations.Nguyen Anh ...
Vietnamese plea to Thailand: Don't divert the Mekong
People in Vietnam hope Thailand will reconsider its plan to divert water from the Mekong, because it would seriously affect their ability to produce food. The Mekong Delta is Vietnam’s most important agricultural area. Each year, the area produces the most rice and fruit in the country. This region ...
As Myanmar elections draw near, fate of Myitsone dam remains uncertain
Thein Sein announced in September 2011 that the construction of the Myitsone Dam would be suspended “for the duration of our government,” a move that will be remembered as one of the key moments of his presidency. However, with the general-turned-politician’s term of office to conclude ...