UNESCO Calls For Heritage Assessment For Lao Hydropower Dam

The Diplomat — Last week, Radio Free Asia reported that UNESCO has requested an assessment for a planned hydropower dam close to the town of Luang Prabang, fearing that the dam’s potential impact could put the World Heritage Site at risk. Luang Prabang is the former center of the precolonial Lan Xang kingdom and has remained an important spiritual and religious center in the centuries Read More…

Mekong Delta Faces Peak Saltwater Intrusion In March, April

Vietnam Plus — Saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta will continue to increase in March and April, according to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorology Forecasting. The peak of saltwater intrusion will occur during high tide on March 12 -16, March 27 – April 1, April 9 – 14 and April 24 – 30. The delta, the country’s largest rice, fruit and seafood producer, is facing a Read More…

SUTD Study Uncovers How Big Droughts In The Greater Mekong Trigger…

EurekAlert! — A study on big droughts in the Greater Mekong region revealed findings that can help reduce the carbon footprint of power systems while providing insights into better designed and more sustainable power plants. The study, titled ‘The Greater Mekong’s climate-water-energy nexus: how ENSO-triggered regional droughts affect power supply and CO2 emissions’, was published Read More…

Thailand Court Rejects Appeal For Petition Against Laos’ Pak Beng…

Radio Free Asia — A court in Thailand has refused to hear an appeal on a case concerning a large-scale Mekong River mainstream dam in Laos, a blow to Thai civic groups concerned about the dam’s potential transboundary environmental impact. Laos’ Pak Beng dam project is the northernmost in a proposed cascade of 11 dams on the Mekong River’s main stream, part of Vientiane’s Read More…

MRC Says Wet Season To Start Earlier Than Expected This Year

Khmer Times — The Mekong River Commission (MRC) forecasted Monday that the current dry season would be wetter than the last two seasons while the wet season would start earlier this year. “This year’s dry season will be wetter than in 2019 and 2020, with the rainy season likely to begin in early May. Normally, the monsoon rains begin in late May and end in October,” the MRC said in Read More…

Mekong River Levels ‘Slightly’ Rise Amid Conflicting Regional Data

Reuters — The inter-governmental Mekong River Commission (MRC) said on Monday that levels on the vital waterway have “slightly” increased and it would look into why its outflow data from Chinese dams upstream differed from data later given by Beijing. Whether or not China’s 11 dams are harming downstream nations dependant on the 4,350 km (2,700 mile) river has become a geopolitical Read More…

Mekong Takes On Bluish Tinge As Water Levels Again Fall

The Diplomat — Water levels in the Mekong River have fallen to “worrying” levels since the start of this year, the Mekong River Commission (MRC) said last week, as the region heads into a third straight year of below average rainfall. In a statement on February 12, the Mekong River Commission (MRC) said that drought conditions, flow changes upstream, hydropower operations in the Mekong Read More…

New Planning Views Climate Change As Opportunity For Mekong Delta

Vietnam Plus — A draft master plan for the Mekong Delta for 2021-2030 and vision to 2050, recently released to collect public feedback, views climate change as not only a challenge but also an opportunity for local development. Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong said the draft features three guiding viewpoints, with the first respecting the ecosystem’s natural Read More…

‘Vulnerable’ River Tern Population Doubles In Five Years

Khmer Times — The Mekong population of the rare River Tern has doubled in the past five years, raising hope for the species’ conservation, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said yesterday. According to the WWF statement, its research team has so far encountered 68 River Terns during their initial bird surveys which were conducted earlier this month, along the Mekong landscape between Read More…

Mekong River At ‘Worrying’ Low Level Amid Calls For More Chinese…

Reuters — Water levels in the Mekong River have fallen to a “worrying level” in part due to outflow restrictions from Chinese hydropower dams upstream, the Mekong River Commission (MRC) said on Friday, calling on Beijing to share all of its water data. The vital waterway has turned blue along the Thai-Laos border, from its usual murky brown colour – signaling shallow water and low Read More…