Pianporn Deetes

Pianporn Deetes's picture
International Rivers
Job title:
Thailand Campaign Coordinator
Tagline:
Save the Mekong
Personal bio:
Based in Mekong Region, I work to protect the Mekong River by focusing on Thailand's role as a dam developer and the main intended market for hydroelectricity.
Date: Thursday, May 21, 2020 - 15:26
The global Covid-19 crisis has shed a light on the deep-seated inequities in the way our rivers and the people who depend on them are treated. With the exposure created by this crisis comes an opportunity.
Date: Thursday, February 6, 2020 - 15:52
Photo by Pai Deetes, International Rivers
Date: Monday, June 17, 2019 - 08:54
Nearly 100 women from more than 30 countries took center stage at our inaugural Women & Rivers Congress in Nagarkot, Nepal this past March. It was a transformative, ground-breaking event. Read our eyewitness report!
Date: Thursday, April 20, 2017 - 22:10
The Salween River holds a unique place among the world’s great rivers. It supports a vibrant ecosystem and rich biodiversity -- and it remains largely untouched by human interventions, including dams.
Date: Thursday, September 29, 2016 - 17:44
The Salween River, also known as Thanlwin, one of Asia’s last remaining largely free-flowing rivers, is the site of a planned cascade of six massive hydropower dam projects, including the Mong Ton and Hat Gyi Dams in Shan and Karen States, now being promoted by Thai investors.
Date: Wednesday, June 22, 2016 - 20:43
This week's visit by Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's state counsellor, to Thailand appears to hold out hope for Thai state and private investors to revitalise their plans for key investments in Myanmar. Among these projects, a cascade of hydroelectric dams on the Salween River.
Date: Tuesday, December 1, 2015 - 19:15
During the one and a half hour hearing, at the Administrative Court in Bangkok, the Court heard testimony from two of the plaintiffs in the case, filed by 37 Thai Villagers against the signing of the Power Purchase Agreement for the Xayaburi Dam. The judges for the case listened carefully to the plaintiffs and took notes during their testimony. It was the first time that the Court heard directly from the community members, in their own words, since the case was accepted in June 2014.
Date: Monday, November 9, 2015 - 02:43
The strong turn-out for Myanmar’s elections on Sunday demonstrates that people in Myanmar are not only eager to participate, but are also demanding their right to participate in decisions which will impact their lives and the future of their country. While communities along the Salween River have long voiced their opposition to the hydropower dams planned on their river, the implications of the changes happening in Myanmar only further calls into question Thailand’s future power development plans.
Date: Thursday, July 23, 2015 - 21:17
The lawsuit filed by Thai Mekong communities against the Xayaburi Dam’s power purchase agreement reaches a critical juncture as the Court accepts final evidence into the case. The lawsuit has become a regional case study, as it pioneers the use of legal mechanisms in holding government agencies and companies accountable for their involvement in cross-border projects and upholding the rights of local communities.
Date: Thursday, May 14, 2015 - 20:03
On May 15, the National Energy Policy Council approved Thailand's new Power Development Plan. Thailand plans to double its installed energy capacity over the next 20 years through imported electricity from environmentally and socially costly projects in Laos and Myanmar.
Date: Sunday, February 8, 2015 - 21:37
Burma has recently become a lucrative destination for foreign investors, ever since the election a couple of years ago. For the hydropower industry, the natural resource-rich country of Burma is among the last targets with high potential.
Date: Tuesday, December 16, 2014 - 02:21
“When we were relocated here, they did not build us a temple,” said an elderly man while staring blankly at the rugged dirt road ahead, which was flanked by new homes built by the company building a huge new dam on the Mekong.
Date: Monday, November 10, 2014 - 02:35
The Thai National Mekong Committee held their first consultation on the Don Sahong Dam today in Ubon Ratchathani. Notably Mekong communities were not invited to take part, nor were they informed that the meeting would be taking place.
Date: Friday, October 17, 2014 - 00:31
We have tried to ask the Thai Government, EGAT and Thai Banks to recognize the transboundary impacts of the Xayaburi Dam, but no one takes responsibility. We now come to the Administrative Court today expecting there will be transboundary justice.
Date: Friday, June 20, 2014 - 10:09
On Tuesday June 24, the Supreme Administrative Court accepted the lawsuit filed by 37 Thai villagers against the signing of the Power Purchase Agreement for the Xayaburi Dam.
Date: Wednesday, January 8, 2014 - 22:49
It is the middle of winter in the Mekong region; however throughout December, floods have brought havoc to communities along the Mekong River. From Chiang Rai province in Northern Thailand downward, the water level in the Mekong has risen rapidly, leaving destruction in its wake.
Date: Wednesday, August 8, 2012 - 19:46
On August 7, a coalition of 37 Thai villagers filed a lawsuit in Thailand’s Administrative Court in Bangkok aimed at stopping the Xayaburi Dam, which is currently under construction illegally in Laos. Even though the Xayaburi dam is not located in Thailand, Thai actors have played a critical role as developers, financiers, and most importantly, buyer of the electricity. If the dam is built, it will cause harm to Thai people living along the Mekong River in the northeast provinces.