Mekong Mainstream Dams

Carl Middleton talks with Alexandra Cousteau about the Mekong region, people and river for Expedition: Blue Planet.

From World Rivers Review, June 2007Tonle Sap Lake is the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia and of great importance to Cambodia and the Mekong River ecosystem as a whole. Located in Northwest Cambodia and connected to the Mekong River via the Tonle Sap River, its ecological value was recognized in 1997 when it was designated a UNESCO biosphere reserve. We talked about the outlook for the lake and those communities dependent upon it with Mr. Mak Sithirith, Executive Director of the Fisheries Action Coalition Team (FACT), a Cambodian NGO that works closely with fishing communities. WR

From World Rivers Review, June 2007Tonle Sap Lake is the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia and of great importance to Cambodia and the Mekong River ecosystem as a whole. Located in Northwest Cambodia and connected to the Mekong River via the Tonle Sap River, its ecological value was recognized in 1997 when it was designated a UNESCO biosphere reserve. We talked about the outlook for the lake and those communities dependent upon it with Mr. Mak Sithirith, Executive Director of the Fisheries Action Coalition Team (FACT), a Cambodian NGO that works closely with fishing communities. WR

From June 2007 World Rivers Review While China is midway through the construction of a controversial cascade of major dam projects on the Upper Mekong mainstream, the lower stretch of the river shared by Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam has so far escaped hydropower development. For the 60 million people who depend on the lower Mekong for food, income, transportation and other services, that has been good news. But now there are troubling signs that the tide is turning, as Laos and Cambodia offer up stretches of the mighty Mekong to dam builders. In 1994, the Mekong Secretariat (t

 From June 2007 World Rivers Review Thailand’s power sector is struggling with contradictory development models. Plans to increase Thailand’s dependence on large polluting fossil-fuel power plants and hydropower schemes that will endanger the region’s rivers are being countered by good policies to promote clean, decentralized energy. The outcome of these competing models could determine Thailand’s ability to meet the major challenges of a changing climate and the protection of critical natural resources. Chris Greacen and Sheila Bijoor of the Thailand-based group Palang Thai

  From World Rivers Review, June 2007 As it makes its journey from the Tibetan Plateau to the South China Sea, the Mekong River is a changing kaleidoscope of cultures, geography and plant and animal life. From a small trickle in Tibet, the river quickly gathers steam and carves magnificent gorges through Yunnan Province of China. It then turns into what it remains for most of the rest of its journey: a fast-flowing, meandering waterway that forms the heart and soul of mainland Southeast Asia. During its passage through China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, the Mekong bur

"Saving the Mekong" produced by Eureka Films portrays the lives of fishers in the Siphandone area of Southern Laos. The documentary reveals how their future is threatened by a plan to build a large dam across the Mekong River that would block major fish migrations and puts at risk already endangered species, such as the Irrawaddy dolphin. Includes an interview with Pianporn Deetes, formerly of Living Rivers Siam, and now the Thailand Campaign Coordinator for International Rivers.

The Mekong is under threat. The governments of Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand are considering plans to build eleven big hydropower dams on the Mekong River's lower mainstream. If built, these dams would harm the river’s ecology and block the major fish migrations that feed and provide income to millions of people. Read International Rivers' fact sheet on Mekong mainstream dams: (English)(Chinese)(Thai)