News
‘Our River Was Like a God’: How Dams and China’s Might Imperil the Mekong
ON THE MEKONG RIVER — When the Chinese came to the village of Lat Thahae, perched on a muddy bend of a Mekong River tributary, they scrawled a Chinese character on the walls of homes, schools and Buddhist temples. No one in this isolated hamlet in ...
Hannah Beech
Threat to the Mekong River is Critical, Critics Say
It is starting to appear that nothing can save the 800,000 sq. km Mekong River basin, which provides vital sustenance for as many as 100 million people, from environmental depredation from dams all along the 4,350 km length of the mighty river that feeds it. Over ...
Dams destroy the Mekong and damage tourism
Every day thousands of tourists soak up life on the Mekong River, the seventh longest river in Asia. They take cruises, stay at boutique hotels or tuck into a grand lunch at a riverside restaurant. The river is the most compelling reason they travel to a ...
Don Ross
Will climate change spell the end of coal and hydropower in the Mekong?
This year has been rough for the 70 million people who call the Mekong River basin home: a severe drought rocked the region for months before yielding to deadly flooding. The Mekong slowed to its lowest level in recorded history, knocking the world’s largest freshwater fishery—Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake—out of ...
Skylar Lindsay
Mekong record low raises hydropower questions
An elderly fisherman anchored his small boat to the bank of the Mekong in north-eastern Thailand. Inside lay his morning catch of three fat barbs. “We can catch plenty of fish,” said Thong-in Wenkham with a thin smile, “It’s easy for us when the water level is low like this. “I ...
Pratch Rujivanarom
From Pak Mun to Xayaburi: It’s time to rethink hydroelectric dams along the Mekong
The rising demand for electricity is often touted as a reason for building dams. But the proponents of dams conveniently overlook the impact on those living on the river banks and the destruction of ecosystems. Ever since the Pak Mun dam was built in Ubon ...
Kanokwan Manorom
Briefing note provides new insights on small and micro-sized entities in the Mekong forestry sector
Little is known about the small and micro-sized entities (SmEs) engaged in the forestry sector in the Mekong region, their characteristics, the number and gender of people involved in the businesses, their supply chains and levels of compliance with regulations. A new briefing published by ...
Weekly Flood Situation Report for the Mekong River Basin covering the week from 10th to 16th Sept 2019 and potential trend next week
During the week from 10th to 16th Sept 2019, the weather outlook bulletins and maps issued by the Thailand Meteorology Department (TMD) were used to verify the weather condition in the LMB. The low pressure was observed at the middle part of LMB, which attracted ...
The Mekong Part II: How Dams May Damage Children’s Health
Ian G. Baird, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an expert on dams in Southeast Asia, tells of meeting a farmer and his five-year-old son from a village in rural Laos in 2009. The two were sitting in a canoe as the sun rose ...
Dan Southerland
Despite Seasonal Floods Now, Experts See Risk of Mekong Drying Up
Two leading experts on water issues in Asia warn that parts of Vietnam’s fertile southernmost areas bordering Southeast Asia’s longest river, the Mekong, are in danger of drying up. At the same time, they say, much of the Mekong is still flooded from seasonal monsoon rains. ...
Dan Southerland
