Surface water
Rivers and lakes
Mekong survey draws protests
A network of environmentalists is getting ready to protest against a Chinese government survey of the Khon Pi Long rapids in Chiang Rai. The Chinese team on April 18 began its 50-day study of the rapids, which lie along the Mekong River. Environmentalists fear China wants ...
Landslides threaten 11 households in Đồng Tháp
Cả Lách Canal in Bình Thành Commune, Thanh Bình District, southern Đồng Tháp Province, was hit by landslides during the past week, threatening 11 houses. This was stated by the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD). The landslide section is 150m in length, ...
Lower Klity Creek villagers: Living with lead poisoning
Over the past five decades, a lead-processing mine and factory in Kanchanaburi province has released toxic waste including lead into the rivers and creeks of the Lower Klity creek, home to about 400 ethnic Karen people. The factory operation began in the mid-1960s and, though ...
Central power plants eye urgent repairs
Four power plants in the central provinces of Nghệ An, Quảng Trị and Thừa Thiên-Huế have been asked to undertake urgent repairs before the flooding season arrives. Tô Xuân Bảo, deputy director of the environmental and technical safety agency under the Ministry of Industry and ...
Joint panel discusses prior consultation process for Pakbaeng dam
Delegates from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam met on April 4 at the second meeting of the Joint Committee Working Group on the procedures for notification, prior consultation and agreement for the Pakbeng hydropower project. The Pakbaeng hydropower project is one of the five Mekong mainstream ...
Water management cooperation to flow from Laos, China joint efforts
Laos and China have agreed to further enhance cooperation in the field of water resources through a new Data and Information Centre in conjunction with river basin management plans. The centre and the River Basin Master Planning Project are set to formulate planning schemes for ...
Diversify food sources, experts tell forum
Cambodia needs to diversify its food sources and improve marine conservation efforts amid dwindling numbers of fish stocks in the Mekong River, which remains one of the main sources of fish for Cambodians, experts said on March 30. During a Sustainable Mekong Research Network (Sumernet) forum ...
Villagers urged to swap fishing for ecotourism
The Tourism Minister has called on riverside communities in Kratie and Stung Treng provinces to avoid fishing in areas where dolphins live to attract visitors who want to see the rare creatures. Thong Khon’s call came as the government prepared to open the third annual River ...
Floating villages to be relocated
Kampong Chhnang provincial authorities have outlined plans to relocate thousands of families living on the Tonle Sap river in an effort to curb water pollution. Provincial governor Chhour Chan Dern said five floating villages in three different locations along a stretch of the river in his ...
Saving Vietnam's floating markets
Amid mighty rivers and dense mangroves, the busy floating markets in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta have long shaped the delta’s well-known “water civilization.” As many as a dozen floating markets still remain along major waterways around the delta, where boats, houses, and markets float upon the ...