News
Cambodia supports Lao dam: PM
Cambodia will support the Don Sahong hydroelectric dam planned to be built in south Laos less than two kilometers from the Cambodian border, while civil society groups continue to appeal to regional authorities to halt construction on environmental grounds. According to a post on Prime ...
Minister eyes commission to manage Thanlwin River
A Union minister is trying to launch a new tripartite commission for management of the Salween/Thanlwin River with a stated aim of avoiding disputes concerning water resources. Minister for Transport and Communication U Thant Sin Maung said the Thanlwin River Commission should include representatives from ...
Changing Mekong currents compound dam anxieties in Southeast Asia
Several factors are disrupting the terrain for investment in large hydropower dams, and governments should take note. The government of Laos officially submitted the Pak Beng Dam to the Mekong River Commission in mid-November and has begun preparatory work around the future dam site. While ...
Salinization threatens Vietnam’s Mekong Delta
Saltwater has intruded into a large section of a major river in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, threatening the livelihoods of local residents. Saline water has spread to some 20 kilometers of the Tien (Front) River, with locals now bracing themselves for an extended drought and further ...
New Laos dam draws criticism
News that Laos will move ahead with the proposed 912-megawatt Pak Beng dam, which would be the third mainstream dam in Laos’ Lower Mekong River, has sparked criticism from environmental groups who say downstream countries should decide the fate of potentially harmful development projects. Laos ...
Irrigation systems all pumped up for dry season agriculture
Irrigation systems will be able to supply water to about 180,000 hectares of crops this dry season, even though some systems are in need of repair. About 120,000 hectares of the irrigated land will be given over to rice, while other crops will be cultivated ...
Pak Moon dam’s committee resigns en masse
Committee members are Professor Prakob Virotekoot, Mrs Sunee Chairos, Mr Detrat Sookkamnerd, Mr Chavalit Witthayanont, Mr Anant Harnpanichpant, Mr Chalotorn Kansantisookmongkol and Mr Pornchai Tantiwittayapitak. In a statement issued on November 17, the committee said that in the past 20 years, the construction and operations ...
China continues to court on Myitsone project ahead of commission presser
As the commission tasked with reviewing hydropower projects along the upper reaches of the Ayeyarwady River submitted its first report to the president this past week, Chinese state media has assured its nation of the ongoing “friendly and cooperative” Sino-Myanmar relationship. The China News article, ...
Experts question praise of China’s ‘drought relief’
The Mekong River Commission, in a missive posted on their website on November 14, credited China’s “emergency water release” from its Mekong dams with successfully helping to alleviate the drought in the Mekong River Basin earlier this year, a claim disputed by experts. The statement ...
Thái Bình Province plans to grow 1,320 ha of coastal forest
Thái Bình Province aims to plant more than 1,320 hectares of coastal forests in the next five years and protect almost 4,000 hectares of forest, with total investment of US$18.7 million. The plan by the province’s authorities aims to recover lost forest areas, consolidate existing forest ...
