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Ticking water time bombs in hydropower plants?

By Nantiya Tangwisutijit

A tunnel break in the Song Bung 2 hydroelectric power plant in the central province of Quang Nam released nearly 30 million cubic metres of water that rushed to thousands of villagers living downstream, killing two, and caused at least VND5 billion of losses. The latest incident raised alarms about whether the hydropower plants in Viet Nam meet safety requirements, especially when the Song Bung 2 had already passed the highest examination bars.

The Song Bung 2 hydropower incident washed away two people, one of who is still missing, and local residents cannot shake off the horrifying thought that they, too, might have been among the dead.

Renewable energy gains offer us a cleaner future

By Nantiya Tangwisutijit

China has made a number of significant steps towards building a future of more sustainable energy.

President Xi Jinping has made good on his commitment to increase the supply of renewable energy at the climate change conference in Paris last year, a time when the toxic smog choking streets in Beijing and Shanghai was making global headlines. I wrote about this at the time in my column “China’s energy paradox”.

Risks from Mekong River water transfer

By Paritta Wangkiat

Mekong River originates from China and flows through six countries, of which Vietnam is located in the lower part. In recent times, many hydropower dams have risen upstream, making 55% of the river length into a reservoir blocking the water flow further downstream.

The pressure in terms of water on the Mekong River downstream region is growing ever bigger when the water transfer projects to dry regions have been set up.

Asia: Heading towards a seismic shift

By Nantiya Tangwisutijit

In a decade’s time, visitors to Asean, South and North Asia may find their personal experiences in their respective destinations differ quite drastically.

Each Asian nation is busy operating at its own pace, plotting a new stage of economic development and growth – despite ongoing global economic uncertainty.

In the process of this seismic shift, some countries have chosen to work in partnerships while others are tackling the challenges alone. All of them reflect Asia’s unique aspiration to take on global competitive pressure. Some nations aim to get out of the middle-income trap, while others want to secure a higher standard of living for their people.

Kratie’s Tourist Boat Operators Worry Over Don Sahong Dam Impacts in Laos

By Paritta Wangkiat

Two commune chiefs and tourist boat operators in Kratie province have expressed their dissatisfaction over the construction of Don Sahong Dam, saying people’s living conditions will be getting worse while biodiversity – including rare fish species and dolphins in the lower Mekong River – are facing a threat of becoming extinct in the future if the Lao dam proceeds with its construction.

Water Conflicts and the Fate of Mekong Delta

By Paritta Wangkiat

Water conflict on the Mekong is getting increasingly tense and the fate of Mekong Delta is really being threatened by drought and salinity intrusion. The Kong-Chi-Mun-Loei project aims to get irrigation water supply for 4 river basin covering 1.8 million hectares for rainy season and about 900,000 hectares for dry season in 17 provinces of northeastern Thailand. The project will take the water amount equivalent of 1,200m3/s from Mekong River. In the dry season, the flow on the Mekong River in recent years is only about 2,500m3/sec. Thus, the amount of water Kong-Chi-Mun-Loei project would take almost accounts for half the amount of water on the Mekong.

What’s the Deal with “Sustainable Banking”?

By Nantiya Tangwisutijit

Citizens in the Mekong region are increasingly hearing about “sustainable banking,” mostly associated with infrastructure and energy projects. It means regional banks, slow to commit to sustainability, are increasingly considering more responsible ways of doing business.

Cambodia recently joined Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, China and 20 other emerging market economies in committing to better environmental and social risk management practices under the International Finance Corporation’s (World Bank Group) Sustainable Banking Network. And just this week, the Association of Banks in Cambodia (ABC) announced an initiative promising to work toward sustainable banking principles for Cambodia, “as ways to mitigate the damage associated with infrastructure, energy and large scale agribusiness projects.”

Govt sidesteps controversial Thanlwin in hydropower push

By Nantiya Tangwisutijit

U Htay Aung, deputy permanent secretary of the Ministry of Electric Power and Energy, told The Myanmar Times last week that the projects – the Shweli (3), Upper Yeywa and Upper Kyaing Taung dams – are seen by the ministry as a means of meeting energy-deprived Myanmar’s electricity needs, while noting that the earliest expected completion dates were 2020.

Along with a fourth dam under construction in Rakhine State and a fifth in Nay Pyi Taw’s Pyinmana township, the projects’ electricity generation will total more than 1500 megawatts, he said, nearly half of Myanmar’s current installed capacity nationwide.