Myanmar Rivers Network has called for the suspension of construction on mega dam projects, a special economic zone and extraction of value-added mineral resources until a federal agreement is signed.
At a press conference at the Orchid Hotel on December 7, the network released a statement saying that the respective governments and companies must give full compensations to villagers who had been moved by force because of previous dam construction projects.
The Mekong basin is being stirred up by dams, both on the mainstream and tributaries, despite the warning that they pose serious threats to an ecologically and agriculturally vital area of the world. Experts say a basin scale vision is crucial for good water governance, but when will it become a reality?
In commemoration of LaoFAB’s 10th anniversary, the top 25 most popular research papers and reports in its repository have been made public. The list is dominated by studies of land concessions and food security.
From 26-28 October 2016 in Hanoi, Vietnam, USAID-supported Mekong Partnership for the Environment (MPE) partners PanNature and Internews’ Earth Journalism Network trained Vietnamese journalists and local NGOs on how to better source, analyze and incorporate environmental data to tell compelling stories. The workshop aimed to build journalists’ skills in using data to understand and describe environmental issues – particularly in stories about the costs and benefits of regional development projects such as dams, mines and power plants.
Amid a wave of popular protest, construction on the Chinese-backed project was halted by the Thein Sein government in 2011. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s assurances in August that there will be a solution to the stalled dam may be welcome news in Beijing.
In a bid to create the impression that the coal-fired power plant in Krabi has won backing from locals, Krabi governor Pinit Boonlert submitted a list of supporters’ signatures last week, totalling 15,000, to the government. That is worrisome.
The move came immediately after Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said the government attached importance to public participation and would pay heed to locals’ needs when making a final decision over the contentious project in the province with a population of 456,800. He made the comments in response to the fresh round of protests by anti-coal supporters at Government House last month.
Thuong Kon Tum dam, which is built in the Dak Snghe River watershed, is one of the biggest hydropower projects in the basin of the Se San river. The effect of the dam is still questionable but it raises concerns about environmental impacts as the project will take more than 382ha of watershed protection forests in Kon Tum province and divert water into the Tra Khuc river in Quang Ngai province.
Hydropower development is always a trade-off between economic benefits and environmental issues. Human-beings’ intrusive intervention has been turning many rivers into dead flows. The fate of the 3S basin – the name of three rivers Sesan, Sekong and Srepok which run through the territories of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia before joining the Great Mekong – are drastically threatened by hydropower dams.
Extractives Industry (EI) activities in the Mekong Region have been controversial, causing environmental impacts and con icts between the private sector and affected communities. Although the mining and extractives sector in Cambodia is still relatively small, in recent years there have been a large number of exploration licenses granted to both local and international companies. Cambodia is on the verge of a major expansion of its EI. However, the legal framework governing mining in Cambodia is still undeveloped and concerns have been raised by communities that there is a lack of transparency in the licensing and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) processes.
Cities are now taking lead in addressing climate change. New and innovative policies are being implemented at a local level because of the government´s closer relationships with their businesses, residents and institutions, and partnerships are being promoted globally. This shows how cities are well-positioned in to play a leadership in reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions.
