Dec 13 2011 in biodiversity, Burma | Myanmar, Cambodia, China, conservation, ecosystem services, finance, flora and fauna, Governance, habitat, hydropower, Laos, livelihoods, mekong ecoregion, Thailand, The Mekong River, Vietnam, water services by Paul
Scott Learn for The Oregonian When Robert Costanza and colleagues traveled to Laos earlier this year, the decision to build the lower Mekong River’s first mainstream dam seemed close to done. Then the researchers, most from the Northwest, pointed out the poor history of predicting environmental and social damage from big hydropower dams. Their study [...]
Tags: Institute for Sustainable Solutions, mekong river commission, MRC, Portland State University, Robert Costanza, USAID, Xayaburi dam
Dec 12 2011 in agriculture, aquaculture, biodiversity, Cambodia, conservation, ecosystem services, finance, fish, flora and fauna, food, Governance, habitat, health, heritage, hydropower, jobs, Laos, livelihoods, mekong ecoregion, Thailand, The Mekong River, transport, tributary of the mekong, Vietnam, water services by Paul
Not only is the waterway home to millions of people, but the freshwater fish it supplies is a major food source for the people of four different countries Op-Ed for the Bangkok Post The ministerial meeting to decide the fate of the controversial Xayaburi hydropower dam in Laos ended last week without a clear decision [...]
Tags: Dr Eric Baran, fish migration, mekong river basin, mekong river commission, MRC, WorldFish Centre, Xayaburi, Xayaburi dam project
Dec 10 2011 in Burma | Myanmar, China, communications, Governance, Laos, Thailand, The Mekong River, transport by Paul
By Edward Wong for The NYT BEIJING — Chinese border guards began joint patrols Saturday on the Mekong River with counterparts from Laos, Myanmar and Thailand, according to Xinhua, the state news agency. The effort is a significant step by China toward playing a larger role in regional security. The joint patrols came about after [...]
Tags: drug smuggling, golden triangle, Guanlei, joint patrols, lancang, shipping
Dec 9 2011 in biodiversity, Cambodia, conservation, ecosystem services, flora and fauna, Governance, habitat, health, heritage, hydropower, Laos, livelihoods, resettlement, sedimentation, Thailand, The Mekong River, Vietnam, water services by Paul
Milton Osbourne for The Lowy Interpreter At a meeting of the Council of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) in Siem Reap, Cambodia, yesterday the issue of whether or not Laos should be able to go ahead with its plan to build a major dam on the Mekong at Xayaburi was fudged, with the council members [...]
Tags: Council of the Mekong River Commission, mekong river commission, MRC, Xayaburi dam