By Samanachan Buddhajak and Donlawat Sunsuk |
Due to unseasonal water level fluctuation in the Mekong River, a result of upstream dams, many species of migratory birds that use to lay eggs along the riverbank in Bueng Kan City are disappearing. Meanwhile, tourism and riverbank development is also causing traditional lifestyles and natural habitats to disappear.
By Sirirung Srisittipisarnpop |
Living along a river destabilised by dam discharges, Upper Mekong residents tell how they cope with unseasonable water level fluctuations to protect natural environments, like the “Boon Rueng Forest” wetlands, and preserve traditional Akha cuisine.
By Wanna Taemthong |
No government has ever admitted that the building of dams is the cause of “poverty” among the people of the Mekong River. The fish of the river and their economic value have been taken away in the name of development that comes with the construction of dams. Mekong people have seen their options for survival restricted and narrowed. The poverty of their lives is not something that has just appeared out of the blue. Their fate lies entirely in political decisions, despite the government’s attempts to make the issue apolitical.
By Samanachan Buddhajak |
Fermented fish jars, once a sign of prosperity in Thailand's northeast, are now a grim reminder of a culinary tradition threatened by the construction of dams on the Mekong River.
By The Glocal |
<p>Waste in the Mekong is largely due to poor waste management by riverine communities. Although it includes plastic materials from China, this material may well have been discarded locally. There are also an abundance of discarded containers from Thailand and neighbouring Myanmar. Moreover, microplastic contamination can now be found along the entire length of the river.</p>
By Yiamyut Sutthichaya |
<p>The US plan to invest over 20 million USD to support Mekong countries in clean energy transition, environmental protection, and regional interconnection was made at the end of the Bangkok APEC meeting. In the eyes of civil societies along the riverbank, the final picture still leaves many questions unanswered.</p>
By Rattanaporn Khamenkit |
<p>When the Mekong River changes, a way of life does too. Listen to the reflections of two generations of “Mekong people” from Pho Sai District, Ubon Ratchathani Province, who are facing dead plants, disappearing fish, falling incomes, and diminished tourism – because of upstream dams in China.</p>
By Network of Community Organization Council of Seven Northeastern Provinces in Mekong Basin |
By Yiamyut Sutthichaya |
<p>How do the China Lancang-Mekong cooperation and the Mekong-US Partnership operate – the two international cooperation frameworks that are expanding political influence over Thailand and its neighbours? How much money has Thailand received? And what has been missing in this battle?</p>
By People's Network of Isaan Mekong Basin |
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<div>An environmentalist group has filed a lawsuit urging the government to oppose the construction of yet another dam on the Mekong in Lao PDR, saying local participation must be more than window dressing. </div>
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<div>On 8 June 2017, an environmental conservation group called Khon Rak Chiang Kong filed a lawsuit at the Administrative Court against the Thai National Mekong Committee Secretariat, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) and the Department’s Director-General. </div>
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<div>The group asked the court to order both organisations to oppose
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By Kornkritch Somjittranukit |
<div>Dams constructed by Chinese government along the Mekong river are forcing villagers in Ubon Ratchathani into lives of uncertainty, even as they reap no benefits from the dams themselves. </div>
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