The Mekong’s normal flow can be restored if large volumes of water are consistently and reliably released from Chinese dam reservoirs. However, China’s water policy shows Beijing is unlikely to change its behavior and the worst for the Mekong is yet to come.
Category: Region
Selected environmental stories from media outlets in the Mekong region and beyond.
China Dams Continue to Hinder Water Flow on the Mekong River
“But it is not about China alone, because there is a need for governance of the river that recognizes its ecological value and its multiple uses for millions of local communities.”
New dam management guidelines to minimise water issues
If water levels in downstream rivers dry up or are insufficient for use in a way that affects biodiversity and agricultural and industrial production and has other impacts, the operators are obliged to provide notification of the situation.
Can a Dam Deal Buy Beijing’s Support for Myanmar’s Junta?
If China takes the bait and resumes this and other deeply unpopular hydropower projects in partnership with the new junta, it is likely to permanently alienate the people of Myanmar, including their democratic leaders.
PM: Government won’t use force in Bang Kloi
Administration won’t use force against ethnic Karen villagers living in Phetchaburi’s Kaeng Krachan National Park as past governments did.
Cambodian Land Dispute Victims Hold Mass Protest Demanding Release of Activists
Land dispute victims from nearly half of Cambodia’s two dozen provinces gathered in their respective communities Tuesday as part of a solidarity protest demanding that the government drop charges against six activists arrested over the past three years after working on their behalf.
Beijing Gives Thailand Conflicting Outflow Data on Mekong River Dams
“This discrepancy between outflow estimates may be due to the use of different methods to calculate discharges,” the MRC statement said.
Oil companies under scrutiny in Myanmar as pro-democracy protests turn deadly
International upstream players Total, Unocal (Chevron) and Australia’s Woodside — the last of which has an ongoing exploration campaign offshore Myanmar — are among companies that have signed up to the ‘Statement by Concerned Businesses Operating in Myanmar’ co-ordinated by the Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business (MCRB).
Military coup, economic sanctions hike threats to Myanmar’s forests
Myanmar’s forests are one of its most valuable natural resources, but have been plundered by logging which helped fund the former military regime that ran the country for 49 years, before an unsteady transition to democracy began in 2011.
New dam to address Northeast drought
The Royal Irrigation Department (RID) is building the Lam Nam Chi reservoir in Ban Khwao district of this northeastern province to help alleviate the chronic water shortage in the kingdom’s northeastern region.