Civil society groups demand halt to Hpakant jade mining

Civil society organisations meeting in the Kachin State mining town of Hpakant have called for a suspension of all jade mining projects, saying the industry is costing lives, ruining the environment and fuelling conflict.

“Until rules, laws and regulations are legislated and enacted, jade businesses and projects should be halted. Proper policy guidelines, laws, mechanisms, and rules and regulations for the extractive industry should be legislated as fast as possible,” the groups said in a statement directed at the incoming NLD government.

Their call for a suspension of mining activities in Kachin State echoed a call for a moratorium on oil and gas production in Rakhine State that was issued yesterday by Arakan Oil Watch, an NGO that is campaigning for the devolution of management and ownership of natural resources.

China’s Mekong dam release ‘nothing special’

Local activists have accused China of using the Mekong River’s water resources to increase its political power in the region.

The accusation came Tuesday as Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha left Thailand for China for the opening day of the first Mekong-Lancang Cooperation meeting being held in Sanya, Hainan province, until tomorrow.

Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and China will discuss cooperation under the theme “Shared River, Shared Future”.

Earlier, China announced on March 10 it had released water from Jinghong dam in Yunnan, with further releases planned until April 10, to help ease the drought in Thailand and other countries in the sub-region.

China agrees to share data on its dams

China has agreed to share information on the management of dams in the Mekong River, known as Lancang in China, with other countries connected to the river, says Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment spokesman Suphot Tovichakchaikul.

The move aims to reduce the impact of these dams on millions of people who reside around the lower part of the Mekong River, he added.

Mekong Drought Worsens Amid Doubts Over Lao Promises

Drought in Southeast Asia is raising concerns in the Cambodian and Vietnamese countryside where salinity levels are rising in the Mekong River and people are skeptical about fresh promises from Laos that it will respect the rights of downstream countries in dam construction.

The reassurances from Vientiane were delivered by Bounhang Vorachith, who was recently named secretary-general of the Laos Communist Party, sparking hopes he might show a more conciliatory approach to negotiations with countries who share use of the Mekong River.

“Laos will make an effort to ensure that there will be no impact,” Bounhang recently told the Cambodia government in regards to Vientaine’s plans to build 11 dams along the Mekong River and their impact on neighboring countries.

China’s alarming ‘water diplomacy’ on the Mekong

At first glance, it looks beneficent. As countries along the Lower Mekong river that snakes through mainland Southeast Asia struggled in the grip of a severe drought, China announced it would release water from its upstream Jinghong dam over nearly a month from March 15. The announcement was partly intended as a goodwill gesture one week ahead of the inaugural Lancang-Mekong Cooperation summit of leaders of the six Mekong region countries.

But while the water release will spell some immediate relief for the drought-stricken region, it portends future geopolitical tensions between China and its southern Mekong neighbors. Having unilaterally accumulated political power by exploiting geography and manipulating natural waterways through the construction of a slew of upriver dams, China appears intent to set the regional water management rules as it deems fit.

The Mekong, which the Chinese refer to as Lancang, is Asia’s seventh-longest river and provides livelihoods and habitats for riverfront communities and natural wildlife throughout its meandering flow from China and Myanmar to Laos and Thailand, down to Cambodia and Vietnam before it reaches the sea. China’s damming of the upper Mekong has long been considered a geopolitical risk for the lower riparian states and a source of potential conflict for the entire Greater Mekong Subregion — encompassing Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. That risk has manifested itself in an inchoate fashion through the annual dry seasons, when about 60 million people in fishing villages and communities along the Mekong are severely affected. But any protest has been silenced by geopolitical realities.

NLD promises to listen to public on Myitsone Dam

National League for Democracy Spokesperson Zaw Myint Maung soothed local concerns on the future of the controversial dam, Myitsone.

He said yesterday that the new government would heed public opinion before making the next move and if the project does not win public approval, it would not be resumed.

“We have always faced questions on this. Anybody can say what they want. But as the spokesperson of the party, the o nly thing I can say is our policy is clear. We have special consideration for the people. We will not do it if people do not agree. Our chairperson Aung San Suu Kyi already mentioned it. We will aim for the development of the people,” he said.

Vietnam’s Mekong Delta hit by worst drought in years

THE southern tip of Mekong Delta in Vietnam in the country’s prime fertile rice-growing region has been hit by the worst drought the country has seen in recent years.

Accompanied by a saline intrusion, the drought is reported to have affected over a million people who face water shortages in the region.

This has spurred China to dispense twice the amount of water from a hydropower station to aid the situation.

Officials blamed the drought on the El Nino weather phenomenon and excessive construction of hydropower dams on the upper stream of the river, the Associated Press reported.

Yesterday, director of the department at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Ma Quang Trung was quoted as saying the level of inland saline intrusion was unprecedented, resulting in damage to some 180,000 hectares (444,780 acres) of paddy fields.

A request to China to regulate the water flow from upstream Mekong river

Mekong Delta Region (MDR) is the largest rice field of Vietnam now facing the serious drought and water shortage. There are 7 provinces in Mekong Delta region is damaged by salinization. The cause of this situation is the depletion of water supplies by the Mekong River. In order to dealing with this situation, in Hanoi 3 March, 2016, Vietnam Deputy Prime Minister has a working session with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), the Mekong River Commission of Vietnam on research impact of hydropower projects on the Mekong mainstream.

Blocking the Flow: Cambodia’s Sesan II Dam

In Cambodia’s far north, the Mekong is under threat from one of the most controversial environmental project in the country. Luc Forsyth and Gareth Bright are on a journey to follow the Mekong River from sea to source, fully immersing themselves in the adventure of exploring one of the world’s most famous rivers. Over the coming months, The Diplomat will share some of the stories they’ve found along the river.