MRC Adopts Crucial Sustainable Hydropower Development Strategy

Khmer Times — The Mekong River Commission (MRC) Council on Thursday approved the highly anticipated Sustainable Hydropower Development Strategy (SHDS 2021) for the Lower Mekong Basin, one of the key deliverables of the previous Basin Development Strategy and the MRC Strategic Plan 2016–2020, to address the future sustainability of hydropower developments. Water and environment ministers Read More…

Cambodia Retains High Level Of Biodiversity

The Phnom Penh Post — Cambodia is still recognised as a global leader in biodiversity with 6,149 species living in Cambodia on record to date, Ministry of Environment spokesman Neth Pheaktra said on November 19. “The number of species may even increase over time because new examples of Cambodia’s incredible degree of biodiversity may be discovered,” he said on his Facebook Read More…

Mekong Delta Urgently Needs Climate Change Data: Conference

Vietnam Plus — A conference was held in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on November 18 to raise local young people’s awareness of the importance of a database for environmental protection and climate change response. It was part of a project to build a communication programme to heighten awareness of the sustainable and climate-resilient development of the Mekong Delta in alignment Read More…

Absence Of Seasonal Flooding Washes Away Mekong Delta Livelihood

VN Express — For several years, the annual flooding that has nourished the delta for centuries has been late, deficient or absent, and experts have blamed it on climate change and the construction of a series of upstream dams. Early this month, Thang, 48, and his wife, Khen, residents of Hong Ngu District in Dong Thap Province, took their boat and went to collect their catch from fixed-net Read More…

Proposal To Build 6 Sub-Zones For Fisheries Development In The Mekong…

Nong Nhiếp Vietnam— Recently, Mr. Le Van Quang, General Director of Minh Phu Seafood Corporation (MPC), has proposed to Chairman of the National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue on the construction planning of six sub-zones for Mekong Delta. According to Mr. Quang, the MPC with its closed value model for the whole shrimp production chain, currently has 18 member companies including one in the US Read More…

China-Backed Gold Mine In Laos Pollutes Local River, Killing Fish

Radio Free Asia — A gold mine run by a Chinese company in southern Laos is releasing waste into a river in Sekong province, killing fish and fouling water used by villagers for drinking and bathing, Lao sources say. The Lao Kaleum Gold Mining Project began operations last year and has polluted local water sources ever since it was launched, a resident of Ateng village, one of the affected Read More…

Cambodia: Studies Of Mekong Show Ecosystem Under Pressure

The Japan News — The Mekong River Commission (MRC) has released two reports that show fishing continues to be an important livelihood in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. However, the reports also indicate that overfishing and habitat degradation caused by rapid population growth, infrastructure development, and climate change are placing pressure on the Lower Mekong Basin’s Read More…

Villagers Fear Losing Land As Riverbanks Continue To Collapse

Khmer Times — Some 50 years ago, Dul Han’s parents gave her and each of her four brothers and sisters a plot of land measuring 12 metres wide by 40 metres long in Kampong Cham province’s Sdao commune after they got married and had their own families. Unfortunately, like virtually all families living along the Mekong River in her commune, Han, now 73 years old, says the land of her four Read More…

Border Pool Dolphins Down To Just One

The Phnom Penh Post — Dolphin conservation groups and government officials are expressing grave concerns over the decline in the number of dolphins present at the Chheu Teal trans-boundary pool of the Mekong River at the Laos-Cambodia border, saying that if this alarming trend is not halted, it will lead to the extinction of this important mammal. The joint press release on October 24 Read More…

MCR: Lower Mekong Fisheries Facing Challenges Due To Overfishing And…

Khmer Times — Mounting pressure is being placed on fishers in the Lower Mekong Basin as overfishing and climate change affect the population and habitat of their catch. The Mekong River Commission (MCR) has reported that the fishing plays an important role in the livelihoods of Cambodia, Thailand, and Laos. However, the livelihoods of potentially more than thousands of people are being Read More…