Saigon News – This morning, August 14 the NCHMF issued weather information that the water level upstream in the Mekong River was rising. The water levels was expected to reach its peak of 3.7m at Tan Chau Station yesterday; in the Hau River at Chau Doc Station at 3.17m. The center forecast up to August 20, the water level will reach its peak of 3.85m at Tan Chau Station; in the Hau River Read More…

VN Express – Numerous recent studies based on both current and historical data show that sediment-trapping hydropower dams upstream on the main stem and tributaries of the Mekong River are by far the most important cause of the fast increasing erosion of the coast and deeper penetration of sea water, even into the interior of the delta. Most large dams trap between 80-90 percent or more of Read More…

STL News – The Ministers/Representatives of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam (hereafter referred to as the “Lower Mekong Countries”); the European Union, the Governments of Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, and the United States; and the World Bank (hereafter referred to as the “Development Partners”); and Mekong River Commission (MRC), Read More…

  NPR – Some 25,000 Cambodians raced to find higher ground after floodwaters spread to their province from a failed hydroelectric dam in neighboring Laos, according to state media in Cambodia. In Laos, the government says flooding has killed at least 27 people and destroyed the homes of more than 3,000 residents. Cambodia's Sekong River hit a water level of nearly 12 meters Read More…

CNN – An estimated 25,000 people are being evacuated from a northern Cambodian province following extensive flooding due to the collapse of a massive hydropower dam in neighboring Laos. Authorities in Stung Treng province are attempting to evacuate towns and villages downstream from the dam, which has caused waters to rise above 12 meters (39 feet) in places, according to Cambodia's state Read More…

Bloomberg – Stretching from its headwaters in the high-altitude Tibetan Plateau to its endpoint in the delta marshes of Vietnam, the mighty Mekong River is one of the world’s great ecosystems. For Laos, it represents so much more: the energy source behind an ambitious hydro-power buildout and decades of potential economic growth.  Now the landlocked nation’s dream of becoming the Read More…

Khmer Times – Pou Sothirak, executive director of the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace, sat down with Khmer Times’ COO Kay Kimsong to discuss the Mekong river and Cambodia’s role in its conservation in light of China creating the Global Centre Mekong Study (GCMS) to conduct academic research on the river’s condition as development grows in the region. KT: Can you Read More…

VOA – A catastrophic dam collapse in Laos has left hundreds missing and thousands homeless with at least several feared dead, according to state media and observers. A local official said some residents were washed away by the flooding and others were left clinging to trees. The dam "was fractured, and the water had leaked to the downstream area and down to the Xe Pian River, which is Read More…

Asia Times – The Greater Mekong region – Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Yunnan in southern China – was once the world’s most densely forested area. But it has lost a third of its natural forest cover and could lose a further 15-30 million hectares by 2030 unless serious action is taken immediately, a top environmental group has warned. The region has experienced Read More…

Vientiane Times – The Japanese government has pledged to continue its support for the Mekong River Commission (MRC) to implement a regional project to promote the installation of fish passages in irrigation facilities in the Mekong basin. A senior official from the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Mr Hidefumi Murashita, and his delegation reaffirmed their Read More…