Rivers and lakes

The Mekong

For Thai fishers facing dwindling catches, a Lao dam looms large

In the rustic old town of Chiang Khan on the Mekong River, a tourist haven in northeastern Thailand’s Isaan region, local fishing communities now live in fear of a proposed dam that threatens to devastate their livelihoods. The $2 billion, 684-megawatt dam would sit just 2 ...

Tom Fawthrop

Meet the 2022 Goldman Environmental Prize Winners

Seven grassroots environmental activists will receive the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize today, on May 25. Known as the Green Nobel Prize, the Goldman Prize honors environmental activists from each of the six continental regions. The prize was founded in 1989 by U.S. philanthropists Rhoda and ...

Liz Kimbrough

Indigenous activists among Goldman environmental prize winners

Indigenous activists and lawyers who took on transnational corporations and their own governments to force climate action are among the 2022 winners of the world’s pre-eminent environmental award. Taking on powerful vested interests is a risky business, and the recipients of this year’s Goldman prize demonstrate ...

Nina Lakhani

A win for Kru Ti and the Mekong River

Over the past 20 years, Niwat Roykaew, a teacher, activist and founder of the Chiang Khong Conservation Group in Chiang Rai province has been campaigning to bolster the grassroots movement he initiated to protect the Mekong River, a crucial lifeline for countries in the Mekong ...

PASKORN JUMLONGRACH

Mekong River water level rises amid dry season

Lower Mekong River water levels have increased by 20-30 percent compared to the same period of previous years as China releases dam water. According to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, the Mekong Delta region, where the Mekong River reaches the sea, has received a volume ...

Ngoc Tai

Anti-erosion embankment suffers repeat deterioration in Mekong Delta

An embankment of 850 meters long was built in 2016 on the bank of the Tien River, a tributary of the Mekong, in Thanh Binh District of Dong Thap Province to protect 250 households in Binh Thanh Commune from erosion. In 2019, when it was near ...

Ngoc Tai

There are reasons to be hopeful. If things come together well and if Mekong River countries can work together.

VOA Khmer: You have been reporting on Cambodia as a journalist [and then] you primarily focused on politics and foreign affairs. Why did you become interested in the Tonle Sap Lake and [Mekong] River issues, and what that led you to write a book about ...

Sokummono Khan

Death of last river dolphin in Laos rings alarm bells for Mekong population

Known only by his identity code, ID#35 was the last individual of a doomed subpopulation of freshwater Irrawaddy dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris). He was the sole occupant of a deep pool in the Mekong River that spans the border between Cambodia and Laos, and fought for ...

Carolyn Cowan on

How the Mekong River Commission ignores reality

Among the many “days” celebrated by the international community, one entrant seems especially incongruous. “Mekong Day” was proclaimed by the Mekong River Commission’s (MRC) headquarters in Vientiane to celebrate the signature of the “Agreement on the Cooperation and Sustainable Development of the Mekong River”, which took place ...

MILTON OSBORNE

GT investigates: Who are the mouthpieces of US-led war of public opinion on “Chinese dams’ threats” along Mekong River, and what are their typical methods?

US’ politicization of ecological water issues in the Mekong River for the purpose of tarnishing China’s reputation via launching rhetoric battles has become more trendy. The Stimson Center, a US-backed think tank, again bashed China in February for allegedly “holding a massive amount of water” ...

Hu Yuwei and Zhao Juecheng

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