Energy
Electricity production
Cambodia’s fisheries at risk due to hydropower development on Mekong, MRC warns
Hydropower development will likely deal a serious economic blow to Cambodia, with dire outlooks for its fisheries and rice outputs predicted even under best-case scenarios, according to key findings from the Mekong River Commission (MRC).Keep reading ...
Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon
UW project seeks sustainable blueprint for hydropower dams
In the Pacific Northwest, the conversation about hydroelectric dams is complicated: Dams hamper the natural migration of salmon, yet they are an important source of cheap, renewable energy for the region.[]In Southeast Asia, the Mekong River and its tributaries support what is likely the largest ...
Michelle Ma
Searching for sustainable energy in the Mekong
Southeast Asian governments are starting to wake up to the vast potential of solar energy, under pressure from civil society groups that insist it is time to get on board with a global revolution in renewable energy.[]This global change has lessons for Southeast Asia, especially ...
Tom Fawthrop
Urgent response discussed for Mekong River
Eighteen million Mekong Delta residents are suffering serious consequences as the Mekong River is drying up due to over exploitation of hydropower plants in upstream countries, delegates heard at Friday’s conference in the Delta province of An Giang.Keep reading ...
VNS Reporter
New research shows hydropower dams can be managed without an all-or-nothing choice between energy and food
Nearly 100 hydropower dams are planned for construction along the tributaries and main stem of the Mekong River’s 2,700-mile stretch.[]The University of Washington, Arizona State University and other collaborators have proposed a solution in the Dec. 8 issue of Science that allows dam operators to ...
UW News staff
Designing river flows to improve food security futures in the Lower Mekong Basin
Hydropower dams radically alter river flow regimes, often with consequences for the functioning and productivity of the waters downstream. Where fisheries in large tropical river systems are affected, there can be knock-on effects on food security. For the Mekong River, Sabo et al. used a data-based time series ...
Science Magazine Reporter
Pollution, Overfishing Threaten Important Cambodian Lake
A rich fishery in Southeast Asia is at risk because of overfishing, pollution and hydroelectric dams. The Tonle Sap is a freshwater lake in the middle of Cambodia. The lake shrinks and expands by thousands of kilometers, depending on the season.[]“There are plans to build ...
Kevin Enochs
Renewable Power in Southeast Asia: Will the Legal Regime Catch Up with the Opportunities?
Southeast Asia offers rich renewable sector opportunities, recently exemplified by Chevron’s multibillion-dollar sale of its Indonesian and Philippines geothermal projects, and the purchase of Equis Energy for $5 billion. However, industry players and their lawyers face several challenges in developing a responsive and bankable legal ...
Sean Prior and Benjamin Thompson
Save the Mekong Coalition raises concerns over hydropower dams on Mekong River
On the occasion of the Mekong River Commission’s 24th Council Meeting, the Save the Mekong Coalition has raised concerns over the ongoing development of hydropower projects on the Mekong mainstream and within the basin, despite evidence that these projects are undermining regional food security and ...
Save the Mekong Coalition
China bets on mega projects in Tibet
China’s well-tested mantra that has powered its economic rise — build quality infrastructure and the rest will follow — is in full play in Tibet. The Qinghai-Tibet railway, the 1,956-km track passing over bridges and through tunnels, has already made history. []Several major rivers — the ...
Atul Aneja