Every since China erected a cascade of giant dams on the Mekong, droughts have become more frequent and intense in the downriver countries. Beijing denies that its upriver dams are to blame.
Category: Region
Selected environmental stories from media outlets in the Mekong region and beyond.
Seoul can help to regulate Mekong’s flow
Asean nations urged to embrace South Korean river management know-how.
Myanmar officially discloses results of energy tender
1070 MW emergency project(s) are expected to be highly expensive, but with election next year, voters will be extremely unhappy if they find themselves paying even more for electricity and blackouts are worse.
Plastic Kingdom: On Cambodia’s Recycling Trail
Most of the work being put into recycling in the country is still done in a bottom-up way, dealt by hand, every day, by thousands of tireless edjais–informal waste pickers.
Vientiane Hit by Water Shortage amid Drought
The water level of the Mekong River is already exceptionally low, but some of its tributaries will continue to fall as the rainy season has come to an end.
Thugs with strong-arm debt collection tactics? Vietnam’s misunderstood informal credit sector
Formal credit is often praised for being cheaper than informal credit, yet this is untrue. Many banks and financial companies charge annual interest rates of 40 to 50 per cent on consumer loans.
Greater cooperation needed among Mekong nations
Flow modification, loss of wetlands, deterioration of habitats, pressure on the fishing industry and limited sharing of development information worries the four countries that are part of the Mekong River Commission (MRC).