<p>Administrative Court officials have said that Thai governmental agencies accused of failing to safeguard the public interest by giving the green light to the construction of a controversial hydroelectric dam on the Mekong River should be acquitted. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>The Administrative Court, on Monday morning, 30 November 2015, held the final hearing on a case over the Xayaburi Dam, a controversial hydroelectric dam on the main stem of Mekong River, east of Xayaburi Town in northern Laos.</p>

<p>The Thai military government has agreed to amend the Town Planning Act to deregulate industries in city areas. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>Atchaka Sriboonruang, Minister of Industry, on Tuesday, 10 November 2015, revealed that the Cabinet has given the green light to the Ministry to amend the 1975 Town and City Planning Act to be more ‘flexible’ in order to facilitate industry.</p>

<p dir="ltr">With an increasing need for energy, the Royal Cambodian Government has spent nearly a billion US dollars on a hydroelectric dam that it claimed was necessary for industry. However, the real social and economic cost of the dam, which will flood an area equivalent to a small province and submerge thousands of families’ houses, might far exceed its construction cost as it might deprive millions of Cambodians of their most important food staple.</p> <p></p>

<div> <p>An anti-dam committee in Northern Thailand has submitted complaints over the provincial governor’s secret meetings to construct controversial dams in the area.</p> <p>Villagers in Sa-iap Subdistrict, Song District, Phrae Province in northern Thailand are outraged at the revelation that the governor has been pushing for dam construction on the Yom River.</p> </div>

<div><span style="font-size: 12px;">The military demanded an Isan environmental activist to shut down his personal Facebook and a campaigning Facebook on the controversial Pak Moon Dam and order him to report in. The activists defied, however. &nbsp;</span></div> <p></p>

<div> <div>Military and police officers on Tuesday interrupted a private meeting between a lawyer and her clients in northeastern Udon Thani Province, while they were discussing a case related to the environmental impact of a dam. The military also told the lawyer to ask for permission for every meeting with her clients.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Four military and three police officers interrupted the meeting at a hotel in central Udon Thani Province and forced the lawyer to write and sign a letter asking for permission to hold the meeting. </div></div>

<div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Hydroelectric dams are technically thought of as clean energy. In fact, their construction and operation have serious impacts on the health of rivers and communities. Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) are meant to prevent such negative consequences. </div>

<div>News about the visit to Myanmar of Gen. prayuth Chan-O-Cha, Thai Prime Minister and Head of the junta, on 9–10 October indicates that there will be talks between the Thai and Myanmar governments to revive the stalled Dawei Deep Seaport and Industrial Estate projects. Recent daily press reports refer to the economic advantages that could benefit Thailand, and predict the resumption of the project in November. </div>

<div>Can Tho - Vietnamese civil society groups gathered in preparation for an upcoming official public consultation about the Don Sahong dam in Lao. </div>

<p>The conflict over the mine in Loei is the first test of the junta’s policy to create reconciliation. The villagers say they have lost trust after the military intervened.</p> <p></p>

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<p>The media has recently reported that the sky is now clear over Dawei for the Italian-Thai Development Company (ITD), the developer of the Dawei deep seaport and industrial estate project. For the thousands of people for whom Dawei has been their home for generations, there are only dark clouds on the horizon.&nbsp;</p>