Category: Key Issues

The undammed Mekong River has an extraordinary aquatic biodiversity, second only to the Amazon. Building mainstream dams would push the endangered species such as the Irrawaddy Dolphin, the Mekong Giant Catfish, and countless other migratory fish species to the brink of extinction. Losing this ecological wealth would be a tragedy of global proportions.

Reports, Briefings and Websites

• Don Sahong Dam and Irrawaddy Dolphin. WWF Briefing Sheet, Mark R. Bezuijen, Richard Zanre and Marc Goichot. September 2007.
• Mekong fish survey in Chinag Khan district, Loei, Thailand. Living Rivers Siam 2007
• See stunning 360 degree photography along the Mekong River, including at Luang Prabang, Siphandone, Stung Treng, Kratie, and the Mekong Delta.

Media

World’s Largest Catfish Species Threatened by Dam, Stefan Lovgren, National Geographic News, 8 April, 2008

China’s dam construction on the Upper Mekong mainstream (Lancang) has already caused serious environmental problems on downstream Burma, northern Thailand and northern Lao PDR. Declining fish stocks and unpredictable water levels made life more difficult for downstream communities, pointing towards the damage that mainstream dams will inflict.

Reports, Briefings and Websites

• Visit Living Rivers Siam webpage on Lancang Dams
• Visit International Rivers webpage on Lancang Dams
• A Testimony of the Downstream People : Downstream Impacts of Hydropower and other Development Projects in the Upper Mekong, Living Rivers Siam 2008
• Chinese dam planner says upper Mekong dam impacts “limited” , Grainne Ryder, Mekong Utility Watch, 29 October 2008
• Thai Baan Research in Chiang Kong, Thailand Living Rivers Siam
• Skyscraper Dams in Yunnan, Grainne Ryder, Probe International Special Report
• Downstream Impacts of Hydropower and Development of an International River: A Case Study of Lancang-Mekong SEARIN November 2004
• Lancang Development in China: Downstream Perspectives from Thailand,  By Pianporn Deetes, Southeast Asia Rivers Network
• Fact Sheet: China’s Upper Mekong Dams Endanger Millions Downstream, October 2002, International Rivers Network Fact Sheet
• Downstream Ecological Implications of China’s Lancang Hydropower and Mekong Navigation project, January  2001, Tyson Roberts

Media
Visit Living Rivers Siam website

The bulk of electricity generated by the Mekong mainstream dams is destined for distant energy-hungry cities in Thailand and Vietnam. Yet the region’s urban electricity needs could be better met by improving energy efficiency and deploying recent innovations in decentralized energy technologies. By adopting policies that encourage investment in new energy technologies, Mekong governments could leapfrog 1950s-era big hydro and start growing sustainable, modern economies. Securing electricity supply in this peaceful way would also avoid cross-border disputes arising from these dams’ cross-border impacts.

Reports, Briefings and Websites

• Visit Mekong Utility Watch’s webpage
• Visit International Rivers Mekong Power Grid webpage
• “Powering 21st Century Cambodia: Rethinking Cambodia’s Energy Future” NGO Forum on Cambodia and Probe International, November 2009
• “Govt can purchase all “clean power”, article in the Nation, Thailand, 10 June 2009
• Fact sheet on Energy Efficiency, International Rivers, February 2009
• Cambodia’s Hydropower Development and China’s Involvement, International Rivers and the Rivers Coalition of Cambodia, January 2008. English with Khmer Executive Summary
• Decentralized Energy in Thailand: An Emerging Light. By Chris Greacen and Sheila Bijoor, World Rivers Review. June 2007.
• Assessment of Vietnam’s Power Development Plan, Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations. April  2007. [English] [Vietnamese]
• An emerging light: Thailand gives the go-ahead to distributed energy. By Chris Greacen, Cogeneration & On-Site Power Production Magazine. March/April, 2007
• Decentralizing Thai Power: Towards a Sustainable Energy System. By Chris Greacen and Jim Footner. Palang Thai / Greenpeace study on clean energy future for Thailand. November 2006
• Big Hydro in the Red: The Drive for Decentralized Energy Reform in China, Grainne Ryder, Probe International, June 2006
• Electricity Governance in Thailand: Benchmarking Best Practice and Promoting Accountability in the Electricity Sector. Health Systems Research Institute, King Prajadhipok’s Institute, Thailand Environmental Institute, Federation of Consumer Organizations, Palang Thai. 30 March, 2006
• An Alternative to Thailand’s Power Development Plan, Witoon Permpongsacharoen, Watershed, Vol. 10 No. 1. July-October 2004
• Thailand’s electricity reforms: privatization of benefits and socialization of costs and risks. By Chom and Chris Greacen. Pacific Affairs 77(4) Winter 2004/5.
• Electricity for All: Watershed Special Issue on Electricity. Vol. 9 No. 2 November 2003 – February 2004
• Power to Choose: Watershed Special Issue on Electricity. Vol. 7 No. 2 November 2001 – June 2002

Media
Visit Mekong Utility Watch’s webpage.

The prospect of damming the Mekong has evoked widespread concern amongst potentially affected riverside communities, civil society groups, academics, journalists, businesses, and the general public within the Mekong region and internationally. As the Mekong River sustains both rural and urban populations and is intimately linked to local cultures and traditions, damming it will undermine the region’s prospects for sustainable development.

Reports, Briefings and Websites

• International Conference on “Mekong Mainstream Dams: People’s Voices across Borders. 12-13 November 2008 Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
• “Statement: Questioning the MRC’s “Sustainable hydropower development” The Thai People’s Network for Mekong (TPNM) and The Rivers Coalition in Cambodia (RCC), 24 September 2008
• MRC’s looming crisis of legitimacy and relevancy challenges new CEO TERRA Press Release 27 March 2008
• Requests from Mekong civil society to the new MRC CEO – Regional Letter 27 March 2008 and response from MRC CEO, Jeremy Bird, 11 April 2008
• Rivers Coalition in Cambodia requests a moratorium on the Don Sahong dam – Letter to H.E. Lim Kean Hor, CNMC Chair 27 March 2008
• Public Statement: With six proposed dams threatening the sustainability of the Lower Mekong River, Cambodian civil society calls for the MRC to address its shortcomings. Rivers Coalition in Cambodia 16 November 2007
• Mekong River Commission facing crisis of legitimacy TERRA Press Release 13 November 2007
• Letter to Mekong River Commission re MRC and hydropower dams on the lower Mekong mainstream 12 November 2007
• International alarm raised on dams across Mekong mainstream, MRC must wake up to its responsibilities TERRA Press Release 12 November 2007
• MRC silent as mainstream dams move forward TERRA Press Briefing 8 November 2007
• Letter from thirty scientists to Governmental and international agencies responsible for managing and developing the Mekong River regarding concerns about the Don Sahong Dam. May 2007
• Letter from 28 NGOs to the Lao PDR Government, the MRC, and the Government of Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam calling for plans for the Don Sahong Dam to be abandoned. 30 April 30, 2007
• Technical review of Mekong Secretariat 1994 Mekong mainstream dam plan, 31 March 1995, International Rivers Network

Media

For compilations of media articles about Mekong mainstream dams, visit TERRA or Living Rivers Siam

The Mekong River Commission (MRC) is an intergovernmental agency with a history of promoting hydro development along the mainstream that dates back to the 1950s. Today the agency is supported by the lower Mekong governments and survives on international donor aid from the World Bank, Australia, Denmark, Finland, France, Japan and Sweden, amongst others. Despite its mandate to promote sustainable development of the Mekong River, the MRC has failed to adequately respond to the threat posed by Mekong mainstream dams.

Reports, Briefings and Websites

• The Governance Role of the MRC vis-a-vis Mekong mainstream dams, By Gary Lee and Natalia Scurrah, November 2008, Mekong Brief Number 10, Australian Mekong Resource Center [English] [Thai] [Khmer] [Vietnamese] [Chinese]
• 13 Years of bad luck? A reflection on MRC and civil society in the Mekong, Philip Hirsch, Watershed, Vol. 13 No. 2 November 2008
• “Striving for Excellence or Race to the Bottom?” International Rivers presentation at the MRC Hydropower Consultation, Vientiane, September 2008
• “Statement: Questioning the MRC’s “Sustainable hydropower development” The Thai People’s Network for Mekong (TPNM) and The Rivers Coalition in Cambodia (RCC), 24 September 2008
• Requests from Mekong civil society to the new MRC CEO – Regional Letter 27 March 2008 and response from MRC CEO, Jeremy Bird, 11 April 2008
• MRC’s looming crisis of legitimacy and relevancy challenges new CEO TERRA Press Release 27 March 2008
• Rivers Coalition in Cambodia requests a moratorium on the Don Sahong dam – Letter to H.E. Lim Kean Hor, CNMC Chair 27 March 2008
• Mekong River Commission facing crisis of legitimacy TERRA Press Release 13 November 2007
• International alarm raised on dams across Mekong mainstream, MRC must wake up to its responsibilities TERRA Press Release 12 November 2007
• The MRC: unwilling or unable to respond to concerns over mainstream dams Watershed Vol. 12 No. 2 March – October 2007
• The Mekong River Commission and the question of national interest(s) By Phillip Hirsch Watershed Vol. 12 No. 1 July 2006 – February 2007
• National Interests and Transboundary Water Governance in the Mekong, By Phillip Hirsch and Kurt Morck Jensen, May 2006, Australian Mekong Resource Center

Media

• Visit TERRA’s webpage on Mekong River Commission