In lush, north-eastern Cambodia, the £530m Lower Sesan 2 Dam stands as a potent symbol of China’s growing reach, and Beijing’s ambitious plans to expand its influence throughout Asia by building some desperately needed infrastructure.
Category: Region
Selected environmental stories from media outlets in the Mekong region and beyond.
Dams, Climate Change Lead to Fish Decline in Cambodia’s Tonle Sap: Fishermen
The fish population in Cambodia’s Tonle Sap lake has declined significantly from a year ago, fishermen in the country’s Kampong Chhnang province said Friday, citing the construction of dams in the area and climate change, among other factors.
Green Light for Mekong ‘Time Bomb’ Sparks Alarm
Environmental groups have expressed alarm at the Laotian National Assembly’s approval last week of the concession for the Don Sahong Dam project, which has been described as an “ecological time bomb” about to be dropped on the Mekong River.
Don Sahong dam gets official approval
The Lao parliament has approved the concession agreement for the controversial Don Sahong hydropower dam and expects to begin construction before the end of the year, according to an official in Vientiane.
Satellites to show the way forward for Mekong region
Efficient natural resource management, disaster warning and a reduction in the effects of climate change on the Lower Mekong region will be enhanced thanks to the SERVIR – Mekong project.
Damming the Lower Mekong’s Mainstem
It’s the most feared infrastructure project In the Greater Mekong Subregion. Not just by the 200,000 people directly impacted, and a coalition of local and international NGOs, but the governments of Vietnam and Cambodia, and the Mekong River Commission.
Second Lao Dam for Thai Consumers
Nam Ngiep 1 dam is the second major Lao hydropower project conceived for the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT). EGAT’s first, Nam Thuen 2 has been riddled with social and environmental problems, and Nam Ngiep 1 is shaping up no differently.
Seaside Coal Power in Myanmar
With a population of just over 200,000, Myeik is home to mostly fishermen and rubber and coconut plantation workers. The area, however, is not on Myanmar’s national power grid, a key motivation for the project.
Thai Industry Pushes into Myanmar
It’s unprecedented: the largest industrial estate and deep sea port complex conceived in Southeast Asia. It’s controversial: trampling pristine shorelines; felling valuable forests and orchards; paving highways through remote mountain passes and uprooting ethnic minorities all along the way.
Fish Shortage Stirs Ethnic Rivalry
Chea Takihiro and Igor Kossov The Vietnamese fishing families are gone. Their boats began disappearing from the banks of the Tonle Sap and Mekong rivers near Phnom Penh a few months ago, according to Cham fishing families still living in the area. By the weekend none were left, Cham fishermen told Khmer Times. The ethnic […]