Mekong Mainstream Dams

The revival of plans to build a series of dams on the Mekong River's mainstream in Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand presents a serious threat to the river's ecology and puts at risk the wellbeing of millions of people dependent on the river for food, income, transportation and a multitude of other needs.

Since the 1960s, several mega-schemes to dam the Lower Mekong River's mainstream to generate electricity have been proposed. The most recent plan, prepared by the Mekong Secretariat in 1994, was shelved in part due to public outcry over the predicted impacts on the river's fisheries and the large number of people who would be displaced or otherwise affected.

But now there are troubling signs that the tide is turning. Since mid-2006, the Governments of Cambodia, Laos and Thailand have granted approval to Thai, Malaysian, Vietnamese and Chinese companies to investigate seven mainstream hydropower dams. The projects are located at Don Sahong in southern Laos; Pak Beng, Xayabouri, Pak Lay and Luang Prabang in northern Laos; Ban Koum on the Thai-Lao border; and Sambor in Cambodia (see map). That these projects are once again being actively investigated is cause for alarm.

Already serious concerns have been raised by non-governmental organizations and scientists over the Don Sahong dam, which is at the most advanced stage of development. The project is located in the Khone Falls area of Laos one kilometer upstream of the Cambodian border and would block the area's most important fish migration route, ultimately undermining fisheries-based livelihoods throughout the basin.

China's dam construction on the Upper Mekong has already caused downstream impacts, especially along the Thai-Lao border where communities have suffered declining fisheries and changing water levels that have seriously affected their livelihoods. By changing the river's hydrology, blocking fish migration and affecting the river's ecology, the construction of dams on the Lower Mekong mainstream will have repercussions throughout the entire basin.

International Rivers is working with partners in the region and internationally to keep the Lower Mekong River's mainstream flowing freely.

LATEST ADDITIONS:

Plans for some old dams unfortunately never die

Academics in bid to stop Mekong plan

Mekong Commission Fends Off Credibility Charges

World's Largest Catfish Species Threatened by Dam

Mekong River Commission Comes Under Fire

CONTACT US:

Carl Middleton
carl [at] internationalrivers [dot] org
+1 510 848 1155