News
Chinese dams under U.S. scrutiny in Mekong rivalry
A U.S.-funded project using satellites to track and publish water levels at Chinese dams on the Mekong river was announced on Monday, adding to the superpowers’ rivalry in Southeast Asia. The 4,350-km (2,700-mile) waterway – known as the Lancang in China and flowing south through Myanmar, ...
Kay Johnson, Matthew Tostevin
Newly thought out strategy for the Mekong
Ministerial delegates from the Mekong River Commission (MRC) Council have now approved a list of strategic documents, charting a new course for it and strengthening its efforts to balance environmental protection and economic development in the Mekong Basin. The MRC Council represents the highest level of ...
Jason Boken
Mekong ministers approve navigation and environment plans
The Mekong River Commission (MRC) says environment and water-resource ministers from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam have approved a navigation plan for the four countries and a regional environmental strategy. In a statement, the MRC said the two documents were among several approved during a virtual ...
After Mekong Data Deal, Experts Call for More Upstream Information, Transparency
While welcoming China’s decision to share hydrological data with Mekong nations, experts said the next step would be to expand the information shared and to make this data accessible to citizens and communities who most need it. The Mekong River Commission (MRC) and China’s Water Resource ...
Aun Chhengpor/VOA Khmer
China Strikes Deal With Fellow Mekong River Countries for Year-Round Data
China last week agreed to share year-round data from the upper Mekong River with downstream countries, where its dams are being blamed for muting the natural rhythms of one of Asia’s great waterways and adding to the pain of recent droughts. For the past 18 years, ...
Zsombor Peter
China commits to share year-round water data with Mekong River Commission
China on Thursday signed an agreement with the Mekong River Commission (MRC) to share year-round data on the flow of its portion of the vital waterway amid concern that Chinese dams may be causing drought downstream in Southeast Asia. A push for more data from China’s ...
Reporting by Kay Johnson; Editing by Ed Davies, Martin Petty
MRC releases new guidelines for Mekong hydropower development
The Mekong River Commission (MRC) released new guidelines yesterday assessing the risks of hydropower development through an assessment of five major themes. This is the third volume of Hydropower Mitigation Guidelines, and the themes include river hydrology and downstream flows, geomorphology and sediments, water quality, fisheries ...
Dina Huon
Germany supplies equipment to monitor Mekong River dam impacts
Germany has provided equipment to the Mekong River Commission to monitor the environmental impacts of two mainstream dams on the lower reaches of the Mekong River. The equipment, worth around $600,000, meant to help monitor the impacts of Laos’s Xayaburi and Don Sahong dams, was handed ...
Viet Anh
Facebook joins flood, drought alert efforts on Mekong River
Facebook and the Mekong River Commission (MRC) launched a collaboration initiative Monday to provide early flood alert and drought monitoring information to Mekong nations. The MRC stated it has installed 22 hydrological stations along the main channel in the lower Mekong River basin to monitor and ...
Nguyen Quy
Mekong nations pressed to share data as water level falls to new low
The inter-governmental Mekong River Commission on Friday urged China and Southeast Asian countries to share more data on hydropower dam operations, as water flow in the Mekong hit record low levels for a second consecutive year. A report by the commission attributes the low water level ...
