Rivers and lakes
The Mekong
Xayaburi Dam Dispels Rumors of Role in Dry Mekong River
Amid an ongoing drought and low water levels, the state of the Mekong River is a topic that is animating discussion along the watercourse, with sights often aimed squarely at the Xayaburi Hydroelectric Power Plant. To help clear the waters, the project owners invited regional ...
Steven Cleary
More ports along Mekong river planned
The construction of more ports along the Mekong River has been planned with an aim to improve the transport of agricultural products along the river. Sun Chanthol, Senior Minister and Minister of Public Works and Transport, said that two more ports would be constructed – one ...
Chea Vannak
Thais Living Along Mekong Struggle from Drought, Effects of Dams
Dam operations upstream combined with a drought have caused a severe drop in water levels along the Mekong River, on which tens of millions of people rely for their livelihoods through fishing or farming, say Thais who live by the banks of the great waterway. BenarNews ...
Nontarat Phaicharoen
Damming the Lower Mekong, Devastating the Ways and Means of Life
The water is so clear on the Mekong River in northeastern Thailand that the sunlight pierces through to the riverbed, transforming the waterway into a glinting, empty aquarium. It is beautiful but it means death. At this time of year in Thailand, this stretch of the ...
Hannah Beech
Hydropower dams cool rivers in the Mekong River basin, satellites show
Hydropower dams, which use flowing water to turn a series of turbines to generate electricity, provide a source of energy that doesn’t rely on fossil fuels. But they also disrupt the flow of rivers, and impact the fish and people that live there. Scientists have been ...
Sarah McQuate
New oil pipeline in northern Thailand may worsen flooding
A pipeline stretching from central to north-east Thailand promises to “promote Thailand as an energy hub in the region” and “increase energy security”, according to the Ministry of Energy. Construction began in mid-2019, despite local communities objecting that the largely Chinese-financed project could worsen flooding ...
Southeast Asia’s most critical river is entering uncharted waters
For months now, a single, rare Irrawaddy river dolphin, apparently entangled in a fishing net and disoriented, has been spotted in Southeast Asia’s struggling Mekong River, far from its normal habitat in northern Cambodia. Conservationists are scrambling to come up with a plan to help the ...
Stefan Lovgren
NASA Satellite Images Show Mekong River Change From Brown To Green
NASA and the United States Geological Survey’s (USGS) Landsat 8 satellite captured images of the Mekong river before and after it turned from its signature brown to an unusual aquamarine color. According to authorities, it is possible for the green color to persist until the ...
Athena Chan
Dried-up Mekong forces boats to reroute
The Mekong River has almost dried up in That Phanom district, forcing boats that transport goods and passengers across the Thai-Lao border to find other routes. The provicinial harbour office reported that water in the Mekong River as it flows through the province dropped to between ...
Pattanapong Sripiachai
River deltas are changing shape
Deforestation and damming have altered the shape of river deltas across the globe, contributing to a net 54 square kilometres of land gained per year over the past three decades, according to a study published in the journal Nature. These landforms are home to hundreds of millions of people, ...
Natalie Parletta