3S Rivers Under Threat

In order to better understand the challenges confronting the 3S Rivers region’s natural resources and its people, this report from International Rivers and the 3S Rivers Protection Network provides information on the policies, agendas and various actors playing a role in hydropower development in the Sesan, Srepok and Sekong (3S) river basins in Cambodia, Vietnam and Lao PDR.  

International Rivers and the 3S Rivers Protection Network hopes that this report will help fill information gaps and promote discussion amongst stakeholders about the future of the 3S Rivers and the people who depend on the basin’s resources. The report focuses on several planned hydropower projects that carry significant environmental and social risks, such as the Lower Sesan 2 Dam in Cambodia. The report also documents regional and bilateral initiatives, such as the Development Triangle Area of Cambodia–Laos–Vietnam, established by the region’s governments, which are contributing to the dam building rush in the 3S River Basin.  By helping to promote improved understanding of the current benefits and dangers of the 3S region’s current development model, we hope that appropriate action will be taken to protect these rivers and sustain the rich ecosystems services they provide, before it’s too late.