Rivers and lakes

In the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, where the Tonle Sap and Mekong rivers meet, workers are putting the final touches on the grandstand for Bon Om Touk, the annual water festival which begins this weekend. It’s a huge party—the country pretty much shuts down for ...

For more than two decades, communities in Southeast Asia have been facing threats from the expansion of hydropower development. Dams have been justified by the governments of Southeast Asian countries as the main development agenda, which would generate large amounts of income and contribute to ...

A new Luang Prabang Film Festival initiative has asked five Southeast Asian directors to focus on the vital river’s future. Five Southeast Asian directors will present their visions — and fears — for the future of the Mekong river, one of Asia’s most vital waterways, through ...

The Mekong River Commission Tuesday acknowledged that climate change played a role in this year’s widely varying water levels on the Mekong, but said that dam construction was the main culprit in sharp water level increases and decreases, emphasizing a need for data-sharing between countries. The ...

About 200 people representing civil society, academics, the private sector, governments and development partners have gathered in Laos for the Mekong River Commission’s regional forum. Today, participants discussed the Lao-proposed Luang Prabang hydropower project and An Pich Hatda, chief executive officer of the MRC Secretariat, ...

The newly-built Xayaburi dam has raised some key concerns about Lao PDR’s hydropower strategy. While hydropower is one of the country’s main exports, Lao PDR still has to import electricity. And although the government says the Xayaburi dam will improve access to electricity for its citizens, ...

The Mekong River is possibly the most important waterway in Southeast Asia. It feeds 60 million people in six countries and there have been long-standing concerns that China is trying to control it. China recently halted plans in March to blast rapids along the river ...

LOEI, Thailand: The once-mighty Mekong river has been reduced to a thin, grubby neck of water in stretches of northern Thailand – record lows blamed on drought and a recently completed dam far upstream. The US$4.47 billion Thai-owned Xayaburi hydro-electric power plant went into operation this ...

Xayaburi Dam has been nine years in the making and the 135-billion-baht project. It was built and financed by Thai companies and banks, has been controversial since inception. The first hydro-power dam on the lower Mekong River began commercial operations in Laos on Tuesday. The opening ...

For centuries, Cambodians have looked to Tonle Sap, both a river and a lake, for dinner. But a repast of grilled river fish, sprinkled with salt and stuffed with lemongrass, may soon be a very special event. Today, “there is only water but no fish,” said ...