International environment experts are urging Vietnam and its Mekong River neighbors to cancel another hydropower project amid concerns that the project is flawed and needs to be fixed.
At a meeting held by the Mekong River Commission (MRC) last Friday, officials from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam agreed to set December 20 as the start date for a six-month consultation process for the Pak Beng Dam, the third on the lower Mekong mainstream following Xayaburi and Don Sahong.
“Peace and the survival of life on earth as we know it are threatened by human activities which lack a commitment to humanitarian values. Destruction of nature and nature resources results from ignorance, greed and lack of respect for the earth’s living things…It is not difficult to forgive destruction in the past, which resulted from ignorance. Today, however, we have access to more information, and it is essential that we re-examine ethically what we have inherited, what we are responsible for, and what we will pass on to coming generations,” said the Dalai Lama.
This briefing note surveys early hints and speculations regarding the Trump Administration’s possible climate policies and personnel appointments, and discusses them in the context of the surrounding domestic political context and institutional decision-making processes.
Much attention has been given to damages that are being inflicted on Mekong fish by massive infrastructure development. But little has been said about another of the region’s most valuable ecological assets: the spectacular birds of the Mekong.
Today, representatives from Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand, and Vietnam gathered at Mekong River Commission (MRC) Secretariat (MRCS) in Vientiane to start the first meeting of the Joint Committee Working Group (JCWG) on the Procedures for Notification, Prior Consultation and Agreement (PNPCA) for the Pak Beng hydropower project.
In the first months of 2016, when the north saw record spells of cold, the central and southern regions suffered a historic drought and saline intrusion caused by El Nino.
Energy demand in China is slowing. This is causing a major headache for the hydropower sector, which has invested heavily in new projects in recent years. The continued construction of hydropower, as with coal, has led to surplus capacity, tumbling profits and an unbalanced national energy system.
In view of various climate change phenomena, how can economies develop sustainably? Specifically, can economies grow while giving equal consideration to the tri-nexus of economy, environment and society? It is a question confronting policymakers in Southeast Asia on a recurring basis.
The government’s aim to clear the Mekong River’s rocky outcrops to ensure the smooth passage of large cargo boats has set off alarm bells for environmental activists and locals who fear the ecology in the area will be put at risk.
The Mekong River, known in China as the Lancang River, runs through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam over a total distance of 4,880km.
The Mekong River rises from Tibet highland, running through thousands of kilometers in six countries, including China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.
Mekong means Mother in the Thai and Laos old language. As a result, it is not accidentally the name of the river has a blessed meaning. The river also plays an economic hub to feed for more than 60 million people and thousands of kinds of aqua products.
