Cambodia’s largest and most costly irrigation scheme has failed to irrigate a single hectare, but plans are afoot to double down with an even more expensive project.
Tag: social and ecological impacts
Southeast Asia’s sustainable development path under threat
The latest dam incident is a strong reminder that profit is not everything, and that dams come with a high risk.
Environmental fears as EEC plans rushed
Local residents express worry: we fear the impacts on our way of life, as we do not see any development and promotion of … agriculture and fisheries, which are the livelihoods of local people, in the EEC plan.
The other side of the Mekong development debate
The term “blasting the rapids” used in navigation channel improvement documents and EIAs sounds extremely negative in comparison with the reality: Pham Tuan Phan, MRC
China’s blasting of Mekong will cause environmental peril
China’s plan to blast waterfalls and rapids to clear the Mekong River to allow large cargo ships to pass through has raised concerns among the public as it will damage the habitat for marine life and harm people’s lives.
The soul of the Mekong is in serious trouble
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha last week asked reporters why non-governmental organisations (NGOs), environmental activists and academics continue to protest against the planned blasting of rapids in the Mekong River.
He said many of these protesters are outsiders, meaning people who do not live by the riverside, do not fish its waters or make a living from the river and do not, in fact, have any stake in the river at all.
The NLD should start 2017 by scrapping the Myitsone dam
Julian Kirchherr and Matthew J. Walton The beginning of the year is always a time of prediction and thus peak season for pundits. Twelve months ago, many pundits on Myanmar predicted the National League for Democracy-led government would, once it assumed power, quickly scrap the controversial Myitsone dam project. Three reasons were provided for this prediction. First, […]
Spare the Mekong
The Prayut Chan-o-cha government made an out-of-the-blue decision that paves the way for the demolition of the Mekong River’s rocky outcrops for the sake of “improved waterway navigation”.
The justification offered is both weak and unjustified. The public was neither consulted nor informed while the well-being of the ecology of the world’s tenth longest river is at risk. And the party gaining the most significant trade benefits will obviously be China.
Laos’ Xekaman 3 Dam Break Shuts Off Power to Vietnam
A break in a critical waterway shut down a hydro-electric dam in southern Laos and raised questions about the quality of construction at the facility that sends most of the power it generates to Vietnam.
While officials said the Dec. 16 break in the Xekaman 3 facility’s penstock posed no threat to people living downstream, it marked the second breakdown in the tunnel that channels water to the power turbine, RFA’s Lao Service has learned.
“My Spirit is There”: Life in The Shadow of The Mong Ton Dam
Before reaching the Keng Kham valley, the bright green Pang river, the Salween’s major tributary running south through central Shan state, splits into three parallel rivers that form myriad channels creating islands and islets, blurring the line between forests and water in a pristine and biodiverse riverscape. Rarely seen by outsiders, these are the famed “thousand islands,” forming a stunning inland delta that gives the “Kunhing” township its name. To the south, the Pang meets the Salween in a cascade of waterfalls. Seen from the air, white water tumbles down through verdant forested islands on an escarpment hundreds of meters long.