Surface water
Rivers and lakes
The other side of the Mekong development debate
China’s Mekong development plan has stirred debate as potentially becoming an environmental and social peril for downstream Mekong countries. The country’s navigation channel improvement plan has recently attracted attention from environmentalists, activists, and the media alike.The pace has picked up since the middle of this ...
Phan Tuan Phan (CEO, MRC)
Is sustainable development along the Mekong possible?
[] Sustainable development of the Mekong basin is too important to be persistently ignored. Approximately 284 million people, including around 400 ethno-linguistic groupings, live on the Mekong River. A majority of Mekong communities are considered “primary producers,” as they rely on the river’s ecosystems for their survival through ...
Linh Tong
Flood control ‘lacking’
Cambodia and Vietnam currently lack a system to effectively forecast and control flooding in the Sesan and Srepok river basins, both at the national and intergovernmental level, according to a study published by the Mekong River Commission (MRC). Keep reading ...
Yesenia Amaro
Chinese dam discharge affects Mekong in Chiang Rai
The volume of water in the Mekong River has risen rapidly following discharges from a dam in Yunnan province in southern China, but the impact on the actual water level is in dispute. Keep reading ...
Chinpat Chaimon
Forget the South China Sea, this is Asia’s real water war
While tensions in the South China Sea have the potential for limited skirmishes far out to sea, the competition over the resources of the Mekong River is putting millions at risk of natural disasters, famine and regional instability. The Mekong River provides a vital lifeline ...
Pollution causes mass fish deaths in Cà Mau
Polluted water may be a reason for the mass fish deaths in Đầm Dơi District in southernmost Cà Mau Province, the province’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment said on Wednesday.Keep reading ...
JICA helps build circulars on water environment management
Experts from the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) have assisted the Việt Nam Environment Administration (VEA) in building circulars on water environment management in river basins.Keep reading ...
Thuận Hòa Hydropower Plant starts commercial operation
Thuận Hòa Hydropower Joint Stock Company and Hà Giang Province’s People’s Committee has jointly inaugurated a power plant on the Miện River.Keep reading ...
Hydropower dams, water diversion threaten Mekong Delta's water security
Scientists have once again raised their concerns about water security in the Mekong Delta, saying that hydropower dams on the Mekong River’s upper course as well as Thailand, Laos and Cambodia’s plans to divert the river are the biggest threats. Le Anh Tuan, deputy head ...
A rising chorus of voices condemns Laos’ planned Pak Beng dam
A damning review of plans for the controversial Pak Beng hydropower dam on the Mekong River in Laos was released this week by US-based advocacy group International Rivers, adding weight to calls for the project to be halted until new impact assessment studies are completed.The ...