Two commune chiefs and tourist boat operators in Kratie province have expressed their dissatisfaction over the construction of Don Sahong Dam, saying people’s living conditions will be getting worse while biodiversity – including rare fish species and dolphins in the lower Mekong River – are facing a threat of becoming extinct in the future if the Lao dam proceeds with its construction.
Category: Mekong
Water Conflicts and the Fate of Mekong Delta
Water conflict on the Mekong is getting increasingly tense and the fate of Mekong Delta is really being threatened by drought and salinity intrusion. The Kong-Chi-Mun-Loei project aims to get irrigation water supply for 4 river basin covering 1.8 million hectares for rainy season and about 900,000 hectares for dry season in 17 provinces of northeastern Thailand. The project will take the water amount equivalent of 1,200m3/s from Mekong River. In the dry season, the flow on the Mekong River in recent years is only about 2,500m3/sec. Thus, the amount of water Kong-Chi-Mun-Loei project would take almost accounts for half the amount of water on the Mekong.
Mega project to take 4 billion m3 of water from Mekong River
On the Loei River, a tributary of the Mekong River, an “unreal” project of water diversion by Thailand is about to commence, which would cause severe conflicts on water usage on the Mekong. The project with the name of Kong-Loei- Chi-Mun is a “massive operation” on the whole of the Loei River and will result in villages and houses being wiped out to make way for water containment. Not only the livelihood of the people connected with Loei River will be threatened, but also serious impacts of such a project will spread down to the Mekong Delta.
Why silt is so important for the Mekong
Just as forests are more than only trees, rivers are more than water. The Mekong river carries massive loads of sediment and nutrients from upstream to downstream and across national borders, replenishing and enriching the land as it goes. This process is key to sustaining the ecological integrity of the river and surrounding landscapes, which in turn supports the economy.
However, a boom in sand mining and hydropower development on the Mekong is transforming the river’s sediment flows, with profound consequences for the region if left unchecked. For a prosperous, sustainable future for the region, all Mekong countries must come together now and adopt international standards for managing transboundary river resources.
As Mekong Changes Course, Development Trumps Conservation
Huge hydropower dams and irrigation systems to power modern farming in the Mekong region have changed humans interact with the river.
Dam the Mekong, Thailand Buys More Hydroelectricity from Laos
A power purchasing agreement was signed on Tuesday, during Thai Prime Minister General Prayuth chan-Ocha’s visit to the Prime Minister of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith, while attending the 28th and 29th Asean Summits and related meetings from September 6-8 in Vientiane.
Thailand has increased its purchase of electricity from 7,000 to 9,000 megawatts from Laos this year to ensure sufficient supply and meet rising demand.
Video Calls for Angkor Beer Boycott Over Mekong Dam
Community members worried about a major dam being constructed in Laos released a video this week appealing for a boycott of Cambodia’s number one beer manufacturer, Angkor Beer.
“Stop Don Sahong, Boycott Angkor Beer” claims the 32 meter-high dam now under construction will affect the flow of the Mekong River, destroy fisheries and farmland in Cambodia and the lower Mekong, and affect millions of people in neighboring countries—all to generate only 260 MW of hydroelectricity. Of particular concern is the loss of of the last of the Irrawaddy dolphin’s Mekong habitat.
Gigawatts for Mega-spenders: Infographic shows Bangkok’s luxury malls use more energy than some provinces
Thailand may be a middle income country, but enter one of the capital’s many new, opulent shopping complexes and you’ll think you’ve been transported to New York or Singapore. EmQuartier, Bangkok’s latest retail destination for the well-healed houses such brands as Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Prada, Dior, Tiffany and Cartier as do half a dozen of its predecessors along a six kilometers retail corridor in the city’s downtown.
Recharging Asia’s Battery
Next week, Barack Obama will be the first sitting U.S. president to visit Laos, a poor, landlocked country whose large-scale efforts to dam the Mekong River threaten to destabilize the region. This concerns the United States because Southeast Asia is one of the country’s largest trading partners and a key security ally that can counterbalance China’s growing regional influence. Obama should seize this opportunity to help Laos make energy choices that, over the long term, can unify the region and preserve the Mekong.
Endangered lives of local people and their protest against a Thai water project
Ban Klang village in Chiang Khan District, Loei province, Thailand is located next to the Mekong River near the border between Laos and Thailand. Living there are more than 300 households, in a village that will disappear if Thailand builds the planned Khong-Loei-Chi-Mun water diversion project. Local people are concerned about the risks the project will cause for their lives such as: homes flooded, fish populations and crops declining, and village resettlement.