Rivers and lakes
The Mekong
Villagers urged to swap fishing for ecotourism
The Tourism Minister has called on riverside communities in Kratie and Stung Treng provinces to avoid fishing in areas where dolphins live to attract visitors who want to see the rare creatures. Thong Khon’s call came as the government prepared to open the third annual River ...
Saving Vietnam's floating markets
Amid mighty rivers and dense mangroves, the busy floating markets in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta have long shaped the delta’s well-known “water civilization.” As many as a dozen floating markets still remain along major waterways around the delta, where boats, houses, and markets float upon the ...
Cambodia’s Sambor dam plans causes controversy as public left in the Dark
“If the dam is built, it will be like before, in the time of the Khmer Rouge when we all had to move,” said Plau Saret, 44, of Domrae Village on the Mekong River island of Koh Tnaot, right next to the proposed Sambor Dam ...
Call for ban on Mekong dams
A group of 50 youth, community and civil society representatives from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand gathered to celebrate the International Day of Action for Rivers in Kratie province on March 14. They used the event in Sambo district to urge the government and the ...
Mekong riverbanks to be restored
Mines Ministry officials on March 9 announced a project to shore up sections of the Mekong river affected by erosion that threatens families in Kandal province’s Mok Kampol district. Fifty-nine families living along the river say they have been affected by riverbank collapses. Speaking to about 100 ...
Mekong water diplomacy vital
Dr Lê Tuấn Anh, deputy director of the Research Institute for Climate Change at Cần Thơ University, speaks to Sài Gòn Giải Phóng (Liberated Sài Gòn) newspaper about the negative impact of climate change. Do you anticipate that in 2017 the Mekong Delta region will face a drought as severe as last year’s? ...
Water experts: Myanmar needs to prepare for climate change
With the threat of climate change and population growth, Myanmar – a nation rich in water resources – has to put in place proper measures to ensure water security for the future, experts said. National University of Singapore’s Assistant Professor Dr Winston Chow, who has ...
Global hydropower boom will add to climate change
From the Amazon Basin to boreal forests, and from the Mekong to the Himalayan foothills, rivers worldwide are being targeted for major new dams in a global hydropower boom that also aims to supply drinking water to exploding human populations and to facilitate navigation on ...
Three fish species known as ‘sea monsters’ in danger of extinction
Ca ho (Catlocarpio siamensis), vo co (Pangaius sannitwongsei) and tra dau (Pangasianodon gigas) living in the Mekong Delta are all large-size fish which can reach 300 kilos in weight and three meters in length. They are all in danger of extinction. As they have enormous ...
Striking a balance between conservation and development at the heart of Mekong struggle
Depending on who you speak to, there are naturally differing perspectives in regard to the future of the Mekong River, as most people living along the river look for a sustainable future through conservation of the existing ecosystem, while governments seek balanced resource usage and benefit-sharing ...
