Environment and natural resources
Water resources
Thais Living Along Mekong Struggle from Drought, Effects of Dams
Dam operations upstream combined with a drought have caused a severe drop in water levels along the Mekong River, on which tens of millions of people rely for their livelihoods through fishing or farming, say Thais who live by the banks of the great waterway.BenarNews ...
Nontarat Phaicharoen
Mekong activists present case against Laos dam
Environmental activists have submitted more evidence to the Supreme Administrative Court that the Xayaburi dam is cutting Mekong River levels, threatening fish ecology and reducing catch sizes downstream in Thailand.“Today we can clearly see the impacts we’ve been worrying about,” said Ombun Thipsuna, a member ...
Bangkok Post Reporter
Thailand Touted for Rare Move to Drop Chinese Plan for Mekong River
Rights groups and researchers have welcomed Thailand’s decision to cancel a Beijing-backed project to dredge and blow open a shallow and rocky stretch of the Mekong River along the Thai-Lao border.The move is a rare victory for groups and communities fighting to save Southeast Asia’s ...
Zsombor Peter
Victory on the Upper Mekong: Thai Cabinet Terminates Rapids Blasting Project
In a momentous win for the Mekong River, this week the Thai Cabinet formally called for cancellation of the Lancang-Mekong Navigation Channel Improvement Project, popularly known as the Mekong “rapids-blasting” project. The cabinet decision is the culmination of decades of campaigning by Thai Mekong communities ...
China increases water release to help Mekong basin countries
China has agreed to increase the rate of water release from Lan Chang River from 850 cubic metres per second to 1000 cubic metres per second in order to meet the urgent needs of Thailand and other countries in the Mekong River Basin.The Chinese government ...
The Nation Reporter
China and mastery of the Mekong
97 kilometres of rocks in Thai waters stand between Beijing and dominance over the Mekong, a mighty river that feeds millions as it threads south from the Tibetan plateau through five countries before emptying into the South China Sea.China has long wanted to dredge the ...
Falling Mekong water levels increase farming cost in Nong Khai
The Mekong River’s level in Nong Khai province of Thailand dropped to 1.83 metres on Thursday (January 9), much lower than the bank’s 10.37 metres.Compared to the same period in 2019, the current water level was lower by over 2 metres, causing sandy areas to ...
The Nation Reporter
Dams lead to extinction
Before being officially declared extinct by scientists late last month, the Chinese paddlefish, a native to the Yangtze River system, had been listed along with the Mekong giant catfish as “critically endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.The extinction of the paddlefish, one ...
Editorial
Mekong sandbanks obstruct cross-border boat services
The lowest level of water in the Mekong river in several decades has caused sandbanks to emerge, obstructing boat services across the border between Thailand and Laos, according to a local report.The low level of water has been caused by many factors including drought and ...
Pattanapong Sripiachai
Dam testing in China to affect eight Mekong River provinces
Eight provinces along the Mekong River have been told to brace themselves for a dip in water levels between Jan 1-4 as tests at Jinghong hydroelectric power station in China’s Yunnan province are expected decrease of water outflows.According to the Office of National Water Resources ...
Bangkok Post Reporter