Mekong River Commission (MRC)

PR | Course Change on the Mekong Needed Now for a Just and Sustainable Future

Thursday, April 5, 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 5, 2018 Today, the Prime Ministers of Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam meet in Siem Reap, Cambodia for the 3rd Mekong River Commission (MRC) Summit. The meeting follows a two-day International Conference hosted by the MRC this week in the lead-up to the Summit. The MRC Summit is convened every four years. According to the MRC, its purpose is to achieve agreement on strategies to address major challenges and opportunities facing the Mekong Basin, now and into the future. On the occasion of the 3rd MRC Summit, International Rivers makes the following statement:

Striking a Fair Balance on Mekong Dams | Bangkok Post

A 'slow boat' sails the Mekong River near the Pak Beng dam site, down-river from Chiang Kong.
Monday, May 1, 2017
This Friday, the Mekong River Commission (MRC) will hold their second Regional Stakeholder Forum under the Prior Consultation procedure for the Pak Beng Dam, the third hydropower project proposed for the lower Mekong River mainstem. The stakes for the Mekong and the people of the region are too high to get it wrong on Mekong dams. As the institution charged with ensuring sustainable development and conservation within the Mekong River Basin, the MRC must ensure sound decision-making based on comprehensive information and quality, basin-wide studies.

Press Release | Concern as Pak Beng Dam Commences Prior Consultation

Monday, January 16, 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE On Friday, the Mekong River Commission (MRC) held the first meeting of the Prior Consultation Process for the Pak Beng Dam – the third dam on the lower Mekong mainstream following the Xayaburi and Don Sahong Dams. Officials from Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand agreed at the Friday meeting on 20 December 2016 as the official start date for the procedure. The launch event comes two months after the government of Laos formally notified the MRC in November of its intention to move forward with the Pak Beng project. Project documents, including the Environmental Impact

Lao Disagrees with Neighbors on Xayaburi Dam

Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Decision Delay a Temporary Reprieve for Mekong River Bangkok, Thailand: Government representatives from the four lower Mekong Basin countries agreed today that the decision on the Xayaburi Dam, the first dam proposed for the lower Mekong mainstream, be deferred and elevated to the Ministerial level. According to a press release from the Mekong River Commission (MRC), whilst Lao PDR proposed to proceed with the dam, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam called for an extension to the decision-making process citing concerns about transboundary impacts and knowledge gaps that require both further study

Official Review of the Xayaburi Dam Reveals Project Flaws

A long-brewing regional debate over whether or not to build the proposed Xayaburi Dam on the Mekong River has hit boiling point. If there were any delusional fantasies remaining that mainstream dam building could be sustainable, the Mekong River Commission’s new independent technical review of the proposed Xayaburi Dam has surely dissolved them. The MRC Secretariat’s expert review of the Xayaburi Dam’s key project documents – released a few days ago – highlights the grave environmental and social harms associated with the project, while also identifying considerable knowledg
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