Mekong Mainstream Dams

[Bangkok Post] A planned dam in southern Laos threatens a stretch of the river known for its biodiversity and natural beauty With its picturesque waterfalls, tranquil waterways and a colony of endangered Irrawaddy dolphins, the pristine beauty of the Mekong River flowing through Siphandone (Four Thousand Islands) in southern Laos is a mecca for ecotourism and an important site for international conservation. But this unique site for biodiversity is threatened by a Malaysian project to build a hydroelectric dam across the Hou Sahong channel of the Mekong, only a few kilometres upstream - trigge

[VNS and ANN] VIETNAM - In a bold outpouring of public concern for Southeast Asia's Mekong River, people from the six-country Mekong region and around the world have urged governments to abandon plans for hydropower development along the river's mainstream.In the face of strong government backing for dam building on the river, which feeds 60 million people, over 11,000 citizens in the region have signed the "Save the Mekong" petition addressed to the Prime Ministers of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Viet Nam urging them to keep the river flowing freely and to pursue less damaging electricity opt

[CNN] It is the life blood for tens of millions of people -- but the mighty Mekong River in southeast Asia is now facing a "devastating" threat from not one, but 11 proposed dams.A group of NGOs has come together to issue the stark warning, claiming if the plans go ahead for hydroelectric projects in Laos, Cambodia and Thailand, that people, animals and the environment will all suffer irreparably.Under the banner "Save the Mekong" campaigners are hoping to pressure regional governments to shelve the plans, which are being put forward by private companies from Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Ru

[DPA] Bangkok - Environmentalists on Thursday pressed Thailand to put the dangers posed by dam construction on the Mekong River to regional food supply on the agenda of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN). Some 12,365 people living in the four Asian countries rimming the Mekong River signed a "Save the Mekong" petition delivered to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva Thursday, urging a review of plans to build 11 hydroelectric dams in Cambodia, Laos and Thailand."Thailand is now the leader of ASEAN, so we would like the prime minister to bring the issue of Mekong dams to the ASEAN

[The Phnom Penh Post] Group says Cambodian fisheries vulnerable to planned Mekong hydro dams. ELEVEN large-scale hydropower dams proposed for the Mekong River's lower mainstream will threaten regional food security and the livelihoods of millions of people, including thousands inside Cambodia, according a regional anti-dam coalition.As part of a new campaign to be launched in Bangkok today, representatives from the Save the Mekong coalition, which includes NGOs, community groups and citizens, are to present Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva with a petition signed by 15,000 people cal

In a bold outpouring of public concern for Southeast Asia’s Mekong River, more than 16,000 people from within the six-country Mekong region and around the world have signed a “Save the Mekong” petition urging governments to abandon plans for hydropower development along the river’s mainstream. On June 18, representatives from the Save the Mekong coalition handed the petition to Thailand’s Prime Minister, H.E. Abhisit Vejjajiva, and asked him to work with regional leaders to protect the Mekong River and to pursue better ways to meet the region’s electricity needs.Over the past two

MILLIONS in the Southeast Asian region's trans-boundary river basins are facing the devastating effects from planned hydropower development. Sao Rawangsri, a 70-year-old Mekong River fisherman in Thailand's Chiang Khong District may have to give up his occupation. "I am a fisherman, as was my father and his father. There used to be a lot of fish in the Mekong River. That is how we made our living. But the dams far up the river have destroyed it," he says, pointing towards the barriers that have been built upstream in China. Sunday, March 22 was World Water Day, and a time to reflect upon the l

On March 14th, the International Day of Action for Rivers, the Save the Mekong coalition launched a new campaign to protect the Mekong River from eleven dams planned for the river's mainstream. The Mekong River is the region's lifeline. If built, these dams would destroy the river's rich fisheries, placing at risk the livelihoods and food security of millions of people. You can support this new campaign by signing the coalition’s online petition to ask the region's Prime Ministers to keep the Mekong mainstream free of dams. The Save the Mekong coalition is a new partnership of local and

[The Guardian] Dam would block fish migrations that feed millions of people in region and threaten Irrawaddy dolphins and giant catfish A Lao fisherman harvesting fish from the powerful Khong falls on the Mekong River near Si Phan Don (Four Thousand Islands) in Southern Laos. The Mekong River basin supports one of the most diverse fish faunas in the world.With its picturesque waterfalls, tranquil waterways and a colony of the critically endangered Irrawaddy dolphins, the pristine beauty of the Mekong river flowing through Siphandone (Four Thousand Islands) in southern Laos, is a magnet for tou