Plan to make river accessible to barges ‘will seriously hurt Thailand and Laos. Economic experts have warned that the Mekong-Lancang River navigation-channel improvement project will only benefit China – while having serious negative impacts on Thailand and Laos.
Category: Region
Selected environmental stories from media outlets in the Mekong region and beyond.
Progress made on SEZ in Luang Prabang
The developer of a US$1.2 billion special economic zone (SEZ) in Luang Prabang province is in the process of demarcating the project site and building an access road.
Thailand Backing Controversial Survey to Clear Mekong Islets
The Thai government is backing a plan by China to demolish islets and rocky outcrops on the Mekong River as part of a decade long project to boost shipping navigation from China’s Yunnan province to Luang Prabang in Laos.
The project, known as the Development Plan for International Navigation on the Lancang-Mekong River (2015-2025) is set in three phases, with an initial survey, design, and environmental and social assessments.
Experts ‘greatly disappointed’ by yet another Mekong hydropower dam
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.
Tibetan Springtime and the Tale of the Major Rivers in Asia – If Tibet dries, Asia dies
“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.
The 2016 US Presidential Election and the Implications for Climate Change
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.
Unchecked Development, Poor Planning Set Stage for Flood Crisis
More than blaming the flooding which has devastated the south just on record rainfall, those familiar with the issue say mismanaged water resources and unplanned development are to blame.
Ambitious Green Energy Plans in Vietnam and Cambodia proceed at snail’s pace
During the 2016 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Marrakech (COP 22) Vietnam and Cambodia professed their commitment to do their part to reduce CO2 emissions. Noting that they are both on the front lines globally in facing impacts from a warming atmosphere, the two neighbors agreed to transition their entire electricity generating portfolios to renewables.
Troubled Wings: 7 Birds We May Lose From The Mekong
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.
Official Prior Consultation Process of the Pak Beng hydropower project kicked off – Mekong River Commission
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.