Abstract: The countries sharing the Lancang-Mekong River are entering a new era of hydropolitics with a growing number of hydropower dams throughout the basin. Three ‘powersheds’, conceptualised as physical, institutional and political constructs that connect dams to major power markets in China, Thailand and Vietnam, are transforming the nature–society relations of the watershed. In the process, new conditions are produced within which the region’s hydropolitics unfold. This is epitomised by the ‘Lancang-Mekong Cooperation’ framework, a new initiative led by China that proposes programs on both economic and water resource development, and anticipates hydrodiplomacy via China’s dam-engineered control of the headwaters.
Tag: energy
Government urged to work with Cambodia on solutions to water resources
Scientists have urged the Vietnamese government to cooperate with Cambodia and draw up a plan to take full advantage of water resources.
ADB approves $230 mln loan to help Vietnam improve power transmission
The Asian Development Bank on Thursday signed a loan agreement of $231.31 million with the Vietnamese government to help build and upgrade the transmission networks in the southern region.
This is the third out of four assistance packages in an investment program approved for Vietnam by the Manila-based bank in 2011.
Environmental destruction is a crime: Vietnamese industry minister
Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh says pollution is a crime against the environment and calls on all major corporations to commit themselves towards environmental protection during their operations.
Power plant, coal mine, and mineral mine developers across Vietnam gathered on Thursday afternoon for a meeting to address environmental issues regarding their operations.
Thousands flee fighting near site of dam backed by Thailand
AS MANY as 10,000 people in Kayin State in Myanmar have been displaced due to fighting over the Hat Gyi Dam construction site, as plans move forward to begin building on the Salween River.
Activists have reported a human rights crisis in the area as more than 1,000 refugees have been trapped in two small villages near the border with Thailand and lack proper housing, basic facilities and food.
Lending loopholes expose World Bank to indirectly financing ‘coal boom’ in Asia
The lending arm of the World Bank is providing loans to institutions that finance the development of coal-based power projects, according to a new report. The projects not only pose an environmental risk to the planet, locally they destroy homes and displace communities. The loans subvert strong warnings from the head of the World Bank that expanding coal in Asia is a dangerous proposition.
Lower Sesan II Dam on Schedule
The Lower Sesan II dam is expected to generate electricity as planned by 2017, filling a power void in the country as national grid construction is under way, according to the deputy provincial governor of Stung Treng.
Coal-fired power plants threaten Vietnam deltas
Vietnam’s plan to take its total number of coal-fired power plants to 31 by 2020 has raised environmental concerns.
To minimize costs and the loss of electrical power during transmission, thermal power plants in Vietnam are usually built near large economic centers of the country’s Red River Delta and Mekong Delta regions, where electricity usage is at its highest.
Environmental hazards caused by these types of power plants came to the fore in April 2015, when coal ashes from Vinh Tan 2 Thermal Power Station in Binh Thuan Province spread to nearby residential areas due to low levels of air humidity.
Renewable energy gains offer us a cleaner future
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”.
Vietnam province scraps coal plant over environmental concerns
The Mekong Delta’s Bac Lieu Province scrapped plans for a coal-fired thermal power plant to pursue clean-energy options, last week.
The provincial government has requested permission to withdraw from the project to build wind turbines. Bac Lieu is currently home to one of Vietnam’s three wind power plants, the other two are located in Binh Thuan Province just north of the tourist town Mui Ne.