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15 Mar 2020 HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam

Vietnam Drought: State Of Emergency Declared In Five Mekong Delta Provinces

The government of Vietnam declared a state of emergency last week in five Mekong Delta provinces in response to prolonged drought which has led to a build-up of salinity, threatening yields of rice and fruit in the region.Increased salinity is spreading throughout the Mekong Delta, as water flows from the Mekong River are about 20 percent less than in 2016, which is the most recent crisis year...

31 May 2019 VIENTIANE

Japan Funds Water Supply Upgrades In Laos

The government of Japan has agreed to provide 97 million yen (US$880,201) to expand the water supply system in the city of Luang Prabang. The project will be carried out from June 1, 2019, to October 10, 2022.

29 Aug 2016 VIENTIANE, Laos

Laos Inaugurates Don Sahong Dam Construction

Laos has inaugurated construction work on the 260-megawatt Don Sahong hydropower project on the Mekong River this month, Lao news agency KPL reported last week.Laos had announced plans to start construction of the $720 million USD, 260-megawatt Don Sahong Dam back in October 2015.The project has faced opposition from local communities in other Mekong states, as well as from environmental groups, due to concerns over its impacts on livelihoods and ecosystems...

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15 Mar 2016 VIENTIANE, Laos

Laos Pledges to Limit Downstream Impacts of Don Sahong Dam

Laos will work to ensure that its downstream neighbors do not suffer negative impacts as a result of the Don Sahong hydropower project, a top Lao political official told Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen over the weekend.During a meeting with Hun Sen in the Lao capital, Vientiane, on March 12th, Bounhang Vorachith, secretary-general of the ruling Lao People’s Revolutionary Party, said that “Laos will make an effort to ensure that there will be no impact” on downstream nations from the dam...

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10 Mar 2016 VIENTIANE

Laos Announces Hydropower Plans at International Water Resources Conference

More than 500 delegates from over 50 countries attended the International Water Resources conference in Vientiane, Laos last week focusing on water resources and hydropower development across Asia. But environmentalists fear the impact of increasing numbers of proposed dams on the region’s river systems and communities, especially along the Greater Mekong River.

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20 Oct 2015 VIENTIANE, Laos

Laos to Inform Neighbors About Start of Don Sahong Dam Construction

Laos will send an official delegation to Vietnam and Thailand to inform them that construction is starting on the $720 million USD, 260-megawatt Don Sahong Dam, according to Daovong Phonekeo, director general of the Energy Policy and Planning Department at the Lao Ministry of Energy and Mines.“We used to talk about the dam often, so it’s not a new issue,” Daovung told Radio Free Asia’s Lao Service...

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28 Sep 2015 VIENTIANE

Lower Mekong Nations Carry Out Flood Response Exercise

Last week's 2015 Lower Meekong Initiative Disaster Relief Exercise and Exchange (LMI DREE) hosted in Laos providing the opportunity for the six participating nations to share emergency management, water resources, health, transportation, and agriculture information involving the response, recovery, and mitigation phases of the disaster lifecycle as they relate to flooding.

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14 Sep 2015 NAIROBI, Kenya

Dams Linked to Over a Million Malaria Cases Annually in Sub-Saharan Africa

A new peer-reviewed study released last week has linked large dams in Sub-Saharan Africa to over a million malaria cases annually.The study, “Malaria impact of large dams in sub-Saharan Africa: maps, estimates and predictions,” whose finding were announced in South Africa on September 11th and published in this month’s Malaria Journal, was undertaken as part of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems...

30 Jan 2015 VIENTIANE, Laos

MRC Ministers to Take Up Issue of Laotian Dam

The Joint Committee of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) this week failed to reach a decision on Laos’ controversial Don Sahong Dam.Members were unable to agree on how to proceed with the project during a special session in Laos’ capital, Vientiane, to discuss the prior consultation process for the $720 million USD, 260-megawatt dam...

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26 Jan 2015 YANGON

World Bank Holds Hydropower Summit in Myanmar

Of all the 167 participants joining the World Bank/International Finance Corporation workshop on hydropower, over 100 were local indicating the enormous interest in this subject. It should be so given that the workshop was hosted in cooperation with International Hydropower Association to help set environmental and social standards in the hydropower sector for Myanmar, which plans massive hydropower projects to satisfy the energy thirst...

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8 Jan 2015 VIENTIANE

Laos Officially Announces Don Sahong Dam Construction

Laos has officially announced that it will build the Don Sahong dam on the Mekong River, rekindling fears about its impact on local ecosystems. Chinese companies will be in charge of the technical side of the project, which includes the construction of some 19 large dams, six of which have already been built...

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5 Nov 2014 VIENTIANE

Xayaburi Dam Almost 50 Percent Complete

Construction of the Xayaburi dam on the Mekong River in Laos is almost half finished, the developer behind it has said. Prasert Marittanaporn, senior vice president of the construction firm Ch. Karnchang, told the Bangkok Post late last week that the $3.8 billion hydropower project -- which conservation groups fear will have grave effects on communities downstream -- is now 45 per cent built...

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