Surface water
Rivers and lakes
Mekong Delta shifts strategy, takes advantage of benefits of flooding
In the past, Mekong Delta residents, striving to produce as much rice as possible, built closed embankments to prevent floods and cultivate third crops. But now they need floods to preserve water to fight drought and saline intrusion. Le Anh Tuan, deputy head of the Climate ...
Will Myanmar lose its Irrawaddy dolphins?
Tears fill U Maung Lay’s eyes as he describes losing the dolphin he knew since his childhood, the latest casualty of a battle against pollution and electrofishing that may see the species disappear from Myanmar. Loved for generations for corralling the catch into fishermen’s nets, ...
Massive fish death occur in Winkamaue creek, Paung Township
A huge amount of fish have died in the Winkamaue Creek, Oaktantar village, Paung Township, Mon State, since the beginning of the year, villagers say. Guan Shein, Oaktantar village administrator, said: “On January 15, villagers informed us about the massive fish deaths in the Winkamaue ...
China hydropower having major impact along Mekong River: study
Hydropower facilities along the upper reaches of the Lancang, which becomes the Mekong River as it flows out of China, have led to major river-flow changes affecting Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, according to a study from Finland’s Aalto University. The study found river-flow ...
Out-of-action irrigation may cut crop yields
Thousands of hectares of farmland are expected to be affected by a lack of irrigation this dry season as provinces are suffering funding shortages for the repair of irrigation systems. This year there are as many as 453 irrigation systems that require repair with the ...
Mekong Delta 2016: historic drought, saline intrusion destroys crops
Dried fields, cattle dying of thirst, expensive drinking water, sea water overflowing houses. In 2016, the lives of millions of people in Mekong Delta, Central Highlands and central region were upset because of drought and salinity intrusion. In the first months of 2016, when the north ...
New dam on Mekong looms
Representatives from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam gathered in Vientiane on Thursday to launch a six-month consultation process on what would be the third mainstream hydropower dam in Laos’s Lower Mekong River. Laos first signalled its intention to move ahead with the proposed 912-megawatt Pak ...
Experts call for water storage for Mekong Delta
Environmentalists have underscored the importance of finding ways to store and share water resources in the Mekong Delta as climate change is inflicting huge damage on the arable delta. At a seminar in Can Tho City on January 10, they agreed this was a measure to ...
Vietnam facing water security challenges
Vietnam’s demand for water is skyrocketing while water resources are being depleted, certain river basins are being overexploited and competition for water resources is soaring. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment said in a report that the basins of some rivers like Ma, Huong and ...
The Dammed Don: Lao hydropower project pushes ahead despite alarm from scientists
Snaking down the length of the Mekong River the beautifully detailed map looks strikingly like those marking the distribution of unexploded ordnance in Laos. The red dots that pockmark the course of the river, from its origins in the highlands of China to its outlet ...
