Both hydropower dams and global warming pose threats to freshwater fish diversity. While the extent of global warming may be reduced by a shift towards energy generation by large dams in order to reduce fossil-fuel use, such dams profoundly modify riverine habitats. Furthermore, the threats posed by dams and global warming will interact: for example, dams constrain range adjustments by fishes that might compensate for warming temperatures. Evaluation of their combined or synergistic effects is thus essential for adequate assessment of the consequences of planned water-resource developments.
Category: Viet Nam
Flood crisis threatens to kill Vietnam’s rice bowl
The Mekong Delta makes up 55.5 percent of the country’s annual rice output. Shortage of floods has resulted in a hefty 50 percent decrease in sediment deposited in the Mekong Delta each year, causing Vietnam’s largest delta to face serious subsidence and likely disappearance in the future.
Major rivers of Vietnam’s Mekong Delta become unusually deeper
Vietnamese scientists have warned of the unusual increase in the depth of two major rivers in the Mekong Delta, with sand mining and hydropower dams said to be the cause.
According to experts, instead of being accreted, the 250-kilometer long Tien (Front) River and 200-kilometer Hau (Back) River have become five to seven meters deeper since 2008.
The Mekong separates in Phnom Penh into the Tien River, the main northern branch, and the Hau River, the primary southern distributor, after entering Vietnam.
China’s lack of cooperation causing problems for Vietnam’s water resources programming
According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment (MARD), the total area of the entire Red-Thai Binh River basin is 169,000 square kilometers, of which 86,700 square kilometers, or 51.3 percent, belong to Vietnam, 81,200 square kilometers (48 percent) to China and 1,100 square kilometers, or 0.65 percent, to Laos.
Tong Ngoc Thanh, director of the National Center for Water Resources Planning and Investigation (NAWAPI), said at a workshop held recently that since China was uncooperative, and that it was difficult for Vietnam to get information for development programming about the water source in the upper course belonging to the Chinese territory.
Into the Zone: SEZs in the Mekong Region, Income…or Instability? (Part 2)
While neighboring Thailand’s Special Economic Zones are now progressing without much public consultation or review, Myanmar may be moving in the opposite direction. Its three SEZs which were launched in the waning years of the junta, are now under the direction of the civilian government fully aware of concerns raised by communities and independent researchers, and inclined to take stock of what their predecessors set in motion. At issue are a whole range of social and environmental grievances, as well as the viability of the projects themselves and to what extent they reflect the new leadership’s priorities.
Vietnam, Laos discuss Vientiane-Hanoi expy project
At a meeting in Laos on Wednesday, the two sides agreed the route layout and related issues for the 760-kilometer expressway connecting the capitals of the two countries, according to Vietnam’s Ministry of Transport.
The agreement was reached based on results of a pre-feasibility study conducted by Vietnam’s Transportation Design Consultancy Corporation (Tedi).
The expressway is planned to start from Vientiane, passing through Laos’ Pakxan and Nghe An Province’s Thanh Thuy, and end in Hanoi.
VN urged to reduce raw mineral exports as natural resources decline
A report from the General Statistics Office (GSO) showed 6.82 percent growth in industry, lower than 9.66 percent in the same period of last year.
The decrease in industrial production growth rate was attributed to a decline in coal, oil and gas mining. The decline was not blamed on weak production activities, but on other reasons, including shortage of natural resources.
Experts warn of over-reliance on coal power
EuroCham vice chairman Tomaso Andreatta said Vietnam should gradually stop the construction of coal-fired power plants as they were dramatically increasing the country’s greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) and causing environmental pollution.
“Mny nations have stopped using coal for operating their power plants because of concerns over the environmental risks. Vietnam should follow suit,” Andreatta told Vietnam’s government at an international conference on clean energy in Asia in early July 2016.
New Study: Excluding Women from EIA Worsens Social and Environmental Impacts
Mekong Partnership for the Environment The Government of Vietnam requires Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) for all large-scale infrastructure development projects and supports public participation in the EIA process. However, a new study shows that women and other marginalized people are often not engaged effectively in the EIA. Mekong Partnership for the Environment (MPE) supported the […]
International reports warn about disintegration of Mekong River Delta
A research work by the National University of Singapore on the impact of the Manwan hydropower dam in China in the Mekong Delta showed that 160 million tons of sediment flowed to the delta each year in the past, before the dam was built.
Since the dam was put into operation, the figure has dropped to 75 million tons.