News
Don’t make dam business solely about profits, say advocates
Last month’s dam collapse at the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy hydropower project in Laos’ Attapeu province has so far claimed 35 lives, with 99 missing and thousands displaced.This tragedy has prompted the Lao government to set up panels to find the cause of the incident and exactly ...
Piyaporn Wongruang
Rethink plans to dam Mekong after Laos disaster
The collapse of the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy dam after heavy rains last month that killed more than 30 in Laos and left thousands of Lao and Cambodian people homeless is reigniting an urgent debate about preventing similar tragedies in future.Keep reading ...
Brian Eyler
Mekong River Commission (MRC) Announces Laos Intentions to Build “Fourth Dam” on Mekong River
The Mekong River Commission (MRC) announced yesterday (June 16) that Laos has formally notified the Commission of its intention to construct the Pak Lay dam on the mainstem of the Mekong River. The notification triggers commencement of the Prior Consultation procedure under the MRC’s Procedures ...
Solar Surge Threatens Hydro Future on Mekong
Thousands of megawatts of wind and solar energy contracts in the Mekong region of Southeast Asia have been signed, seriously challenging the financial viability of major hydropower projects on the river, an energy expert told a water conference last week.Buoyed by a recent Thai government ...
VOA Khmer
Mekong River bird species threatened by dam discharges
The Mekong River ecosystem has been devastated from rising water levels during the dry season, as upstream dams in China discharge water to facilitate navigation in the river.Keep reading ...
Pratch Rujivanarom
Mekong researchers seek ways to improve dams
Researchers backed by multi-million-dollar grants from NASA are heading to Southeast Asia’s Mekong River region to find ways to improve dams so they are less harmful to people and the environment.Researchers from Michigan State University (MSU) will spend three years analysing sites in the lower ...
Thomson Reuters Foundation