Sand mining contracts cause serious concerns
Sand mining is conducted mainly at open pits, beaches, inland dunes or from the dredging of ocean and river beds. Sand is mined primarily to produce concrete for use in construction but this little-noticed and largely unregulated activity has serious costs because it damages rivers and ...
Jason Boken
Mekong dam: China cuts river flow 50 per cent, is slammed for lack of warning
China’s decision to hold back the Mekong River’s water flow at a hydropower dam for close to a month will disrupt fisheries and local livelihoods along the waterway that is a lifeline for 60 million people, watchers and activists have warned. The Chinese water resources ministry ...
Catherine Wong and Maria Siow
Mekong drowned in water politics
The mighty Mekong River is the heart and soul of Southeast Asia. Millions of livelihoods are linked to it, especially in terms of food, energy and water security. Besides giving birth to one of the planet’s most biodiverse river basins, the transboundary nature of the ...
EDITORIAL
China Belatedly Notifies Mekong Nations of River Disruption
Earlier this week, I wrote about the sudden drop in water levels along the Mekong River in northern Thailand, and their likely link to the filling of a dam reservoir upstream in China. The fall first became apparent on January 4, when locals in the Thai port town ...
Sebastian Strangio
China notifies Mekong River neighbours it is holding back waters
China has notified downstream neighbours it is holding back the Mekong River flow at a hydropower dam on the waterway’s upper reaches for 20 days, as part of a new data-sharing pact, the Mekong River Commission (MRC) and Thailand said on Wednesday. The statements came a ...
Panu Wongcha-um, Kay Johnson
HCMC to boost tap water supply to suburban district linking with Mekong Delta
A project worth VND925 billion ($40 million) has been launched to upgrade HCMC pipeline system to provide water to Binh Chanh District. The pipe with a diameter of 1-1.5 meters will start at the intersection of Vo Van Tan and Tran Van Giau streets in Binh ...
Ha An
Lao Dams Lower Water Levels on a Scenic River, Harming Tour Boat Operators and Other Local Businesses
Water levels lowered by seven dams along a stretch of the Nam Ou River in Laos are blocking boat travel in a scenic area popular with tourists, impacting tour and passenger boat operators and other local businesses, Lao sources say. Travel by water between Nong Khiaw ...
Reported by RFA’s Lao Service. Translated by Max Avary. Written in English by Richard Finney
Mekong river at lowest level this year
The water level in the Mekong river has dropped quickly and was only about 1.90 metres deep in this northeastern border province on Monday, the lowest this year. The lack of water is being blamed on the many dams upstream in China, and this year’s poor ...
PATTANAPONG SRIPIACHAI
Cambodia’s Tonle Sap shows what’s at stake in the Mekong’s dam-fueled decline
Every year around December, fishers, farmers and families across Cambodia begin the season for making the country’s traditional prahok fish paste, a vital staple in the country’s diet. But this tradition, along with the food supply and livelihoods of millions of people, is under threat from a growing ecological ...
Editorial
A floating community in Siem Reap adopting plastic free approach to combat pollution
A floating community in Tonle Sap Lake in Keo Por commune, Puok district of Siem Reap province is aware of environmental impact caused by plastic wastes – thanks to their participation in a campaign to clear the lake from plastic. In an interview with journalists, Mr. ...
Lim Nary – AKP