The Mekong River

Peter Bosshard for the Phnom Penh Post China counts half of all the world’s large dams within its borders. During the last 10 years, Chinese companies have also successfully conquered the global market for hydropower projects. With the Kamchay Dam and five other projects under construction, Chinese companies are also the dominant player in Cambodia’s [...]

AFP WASHINGTON — US senators on Thursday urged greater environmental safeguards for dams on the Mekong River, calling on Washington to use its influence through global lenders to encourage a sustainable approach. A bill introduced in the Senate applauds the delay in Laos of construction of the $3.8 billion Xayaburi project and called for further [...]

Kenneth Ingram and Phak Seangly for the Phnom Penh Post Snapping at monks and government officials with jaws capable of shredding through bone, a rare adult Cantor’s Giant Soft-Shelled turtle was one of 100 reptiles given a new home at a conservation centre that aims to boost dwindling turtle populations in Cambodia. The US$20,000 Mekong [...]

Lets Rock! For Led Zeppelin fans and ichthyologists alike (really?) this takes the biscuit. Jimmy Page meets Larry Page in an unlikely combo on the Mekong river - Mouth to Source Apinya Wipatayotin for The Bangkok Post writes… A new freshwater fish species discovered in natural water sources in Thailand a decade ago has been [...]

A foundation for the long term cooperation and prosperity for China and ASEAN by Phạm Phan Long for Viet Ecology Foundation Lancang-Mekong River is the world’s 11th longest river running through China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. In terms of bio-diversity, Lancang-Mekong is second only after the Amazon. For thousands of years, the river [...]

Move it along now! Next Tuesday, a crucial decision will be made over the fate of the Mekong River in Southeast Asia. On April 19th, the governments of Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam will decide whether to build the first dam on the lower Mekong mainstream, the Xayaburi Dam. If you also object to this [...]

By Supalak Ganjanakhundee for The Nation Some 400 people from provinces along the Mekong River in the North and Northeast gathered yesterday in Nong Khai’s Si Chiang Mai district to voice their opposition against Laos’ proposed Xayaburi hydropower project, which they believe will have a negative impact on their lives. The protesters also signed a [...]

International Rivers | World Water Day 2011 263 non-governmental organizations from 51 countries submitted a letter yesterday urging the Prime Ministers of Lao PDR and Thailand to immediately cancel the proposed Xayaburi Dam on the Mekong River’s mainstream in Northern Laos. The letter urges the Government of Lao PDR to cancel its plans to build [...]

Piyaporn Wongruang for The Bangkok Post As construction of the Xayaburi Dam project is set to begin, concerns over its potential environmental, human toll and whether the energy it provides is even needed, remain unsettled. Construction on the US$3.5 billion (107 billion baht) Xayaburi Dam along the Lower Mekong is set to begin, pitting Southeast [...]

I was just sent a link to this article ‘Mekong – Cửu Long 2011. A Look Forward into the Next Half Century’, by Long Beach writer and physician Ngo The Vinh. It reads like an Op Ed but throws up some challenges to the present status quo surrounding the governance of the Mekong as a [...]