In the Media

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119802214926737977.html?mod=googlenews_wsj Local Critics Scuttle Hydropower Plants; The Right to Say 'No'  DUJIANGYAN, China -- Around 250 B.C., a Chinese official here designed an ingenious system of earthworks that tamed the flood-prone Min River and distributed its water to farmlands. Legend has it that he needed the assistance of a god to complete the task. The waterworks still stand today, guiding the river at the point where it pours down off the Tibetan plateau and into the fertile plains of Sichuan province. Now, they have becom

www.scmp.com The Yunnan government has decided to scrap a controversial plan to dam the famed Tiger Leaping Gorge after strong local opposition and international concern. Breaking a long silence over the fate of the project, the provincial government reached a decision on Sunday that no dam would be built at the gorge, one of the deepest river canyons in the world and close to a World Heritage site. They decided to stop damming of the gorge so as to preserve the integrity of the natural scenery at the gorge and ancient villages nearby, sources familiar with the discussions a

The GuardianApril 21, 2008by John Vidal Seven African governments and the world's largest banks and construction firms meet in London today to plan the most powerful dam ever conceived - an $80bn (£40bn) hydro power project on the Congo river which, its supporters say, could double the amount of electricity available on the continent.G8 and some African governments hope that the Grand Inga dam in the Democratic Republic of Congo will generate twice as much electricity as the world's current largest dam, the Three Gorges in China, and jump start industrial development on the continent, bringin

KIEN SVAY, Kandal Province, Apr 17 (IPS) - Soldier-turned-fisherman Im Vandang is not sure why there are fewer fish in the Mekong river but he is certain that the situation is getting serious. "I have been fishing in this stretch of the Mekong for ten years," said Vandang, squatting in his thatched house in Kandal province, east of the Cambodia's capital. "For the last few years the number of fish in the river has definitely been going down. I used to catch a lot. Now I am lucky to catch three kilos a day. I have just come back from a morning's fishing and caught nothing."Vandang's concerns ar

Article from The National Geographic In the swift currents of the Mekong River in northern Cambodia, fishers expertly navigate their longboats past rock outcroppings and fallen logs.But soon these wild waters may be tamed. Plans for the construction of a large hydroelectric dam just across the border, at Khone Falls in Laos, would permanently alter one of the most pristine areas in Southeast Asia.(See photos of the giant catfish at the falls.)The dam is one of several being planned on the mostly untouched Mekong River, which meanders through six countries-China, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Laos

The Collegiate Tribunal of Guerrero in Acapulco receives Amicus Curiae in support of a constitutional lawsuit against the La Parota dam. Mexican and international human rights organizations presented an Amicus Curiae on March 27th, in defense of affected people's rights and the environment. Download Press Release (1.05 MB):

Article from AFP HANOI - Leaders from the six Mekong River countries are meeting in Laos for two days this week to discuss closer integration, mainly through new transport corridors and a regional power grid. The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) groups China's southern Yunnan and Guangxi provinces with Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar.Initiated by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the group was founded in 1992 to boost economic growth and reduce poverty in the countries that share the Mekong, Southeast Asia's largest river. The region was for decades isolated and impoverished

Article from The Cambodia Daily On the eve of an official visit by Prime Minister Hun Sen to Laos to discuss the implications of the planned Don Sahong dam on the Mekong River mainstream there, a group of NGOs accused the Mekong River Commission of failing in its duties. In a letter to Jeremy Bird, the newly-appointed Chief Executive Officer of the MRC Secretariat, 51 NGOs and individuals from the six Mekong countries challenged him to solve what they called the organization's crisis of legitimacy and relevancy. This has been exemplified, they wrote, by the MRC's failure to respond t

Article from Bangkok Post Citizen groups and individuals from the six Mekong countries yesterday sent a letter to the new CEO of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) Secretariat, expressing concern over the threats posed by proposed dams on the Mekong river. They urged new MRC chief Jeremy Bird to solve the agency's ''crisis of legitimacy and relevancy'' which they said was recently exemplified by its failure to respond to society's concerns over plans to dam the lower Mekong mainstream.''We believe that you join the MRC at a most challenging time. The need for a credible and effective river basi

PHNOM PENH, Mar 28 (IPS Asia-Pacific) - The Lao government's decision earlier this year to press ahead with plans to build the Don Sahong dam on the mainstream of the Mekong River in southern Laos is causing major concern in Cambodia and internationally. The most advanced of eight hydropower projects mooted for the lower Mekong mainstream, the Don Sahong dam is also ramping up pressure on the Mekong River Commission (MRC), the inter-governmental body charged with managing development on the river. The Cambodian government appears to be taking the issue seriously. The Foreign Ministry said on T