Environment and natural resources
Death toll from Mekong floods in Cambodia rises to 15
Mekong River floods have killed 15 people in Cambodia over the past three weeks, forcing thousands of families to evacuate to higher grounds, a disaster control spokesman said Monday. Keep reading ...
Provinces prepare for floods as water levels of rivers in Mekong Delta rise
The Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control has instructed Mekong Delta provinces to keep farmers informed about weather and tide conditions so they can harvest crops unprotected by dyke systems. Keep reading ...
Moratorium on new Mekong dams in Laos provides window of opportunity
As Laos hits the pause button on its huge hydropower dam building spree, this is an opportunity to push for other forms of renewable energy – solar and wind – that Laos is well-placed to use, argues Brian Eyler. Keep reading ...
Rethink plans to dam Mekong after Laos disaster
The collapse of the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy dam after heavy rains last month that killed more than 30 in Laos and left thousands of Lao and Cambodian people homeless is reigniting an urgent debate about preventing similar tragedies in future. Keep reading ...
Laos' govt to inspect all dam standards, shelve new hydro projects
The government has announced it will examine the safety standards applied to the construction of hydropower dams across the country following the deadly disaster caused by the collapse of a dam in Attapeu province. Keep reading ...
Vietnam’s Mekong quandary: settling the sediment issue
As the biggest loser, Vietnam has to use its influence to limit dam damage on Mekong Delta, says Mekong specialist Richard Cronin. []Already, upstream dams in China and on major Lower Mekong Basin (LMB) tributaries in Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam have trapped a major share of ...
Mekong Delta province works to prevent coastal erosion
The Mekong Delta province of An Giang is devising measures to prevent coastal erosion, which has become more serious due to climate change and socio-economic activities. Director of the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Dang Duc said 36 coastal erosion have occurred in ...
China dismisses U.S. criticism over dams
Beijing dismissed criticism from the United States after a U.S. official claimed that China’s construction of dams on the upper Lancang (Mekong) River had a detrimental effect on lower Mekong countries. “Related comments by a U.S. official are groundless and they have ulterior motives,” Foreign ...
Mekong floods kill 6, force nearly 5,000 families in Cambodia to evacuate
Six Cambodians have died so far and nearly 5,000 families have evacuated to higher grounds after Mekong floods hit five provinces along the river, a disaster control spokesman said on August 6. Keo Vy, a spokesman for the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM), said ...
How Taming the Mekong Could Give China Unprecedented Power
The deadly collapse of one of the dozen or so dams dotted along the Mekong River and its tributaries has highlighted the rapid development of a waterway that is increasingly important strategically for China and its neighbors. For hundreds of thousands of people living on ...