Mekong dams

Five years after the Xayaburi dam in northern Laos began operations, the cost of Mekong hydropower is becoming ever more clear.

The Mekong Delta of Vietnam stands to be most in danger in the time of accelerating and intersecting impacts from climate change and hydropower. 

Policymakers have clung to the fiction that damage to fish populations from hydropower projects can be avoided – with devastating consequences.

Hun Manet also announced the official cancellation of the $1.5 billion, 700-megawatt coal power plant.

In a new report, the World Wildlife Fund claims that dam developments, often hailed as an economic boon, could end up weighing down economic growth.

The China-backed Pak Lay hydropower project is just one of nine dams that the Lao government has planned for the Mekong River.

Analyzing Chinese dams in Laos provides insight into the local origins and drivers of the BRI, particularly along China’s borderland regions.

Firsthand glimpses of how dam construction changed the river over the course of eight years.

The fall in water levels has again raised questions about the activities of Chinese dam engineers upstream.

The Sanakham dam is one of seven mega-dams that the landlocked country is planning, in defiance of environmental and economic sense.

The move is a welcome development for downstream nations, but only underlines China's strategic hold over the crucial waterway.

The shrinking Tonle Sap, the river's “beating heart,” is the latest wake-up call of the damage wrought by dams.

The Lancang-Mekong Cooperation leaders' meeting discussed the river's dire situation -- and also pushed for a new trade corridor.

Whether through its own dams or the financing and construction of dams in other countries, China is largely in the driver’s seat when it comes to the Mekong.

China’s solution to the Mekong’s problems is the same as its approach to most nontraditional security issues: increase development.

The World Heritage site in Laos is endangered by mega-projects and Mekong dams.

A policy reversal on Mekong dams has put Hanoi’s credibility – and the river’s fate – on the line.

Communities in Thailand and beyond are learning to organize to demand that dam construction consider their rights.

This year's drought is just a preview of more dire problems to come if government don't change course.

Grading the Southeast Asian states on their environmental efforts so far this year.

How China’s grand strategy for the Mekong impacts the river, and the countries downstream.

Political realities – starting with China – make Mekong management difficult.

Lessons learned from last year's disaster can shape a climate-resilient approach in the Mekong Delta.

A visit to Beijing by Vietnam's Communist Party chief underscored a major shift in Sino-Vietnamese bilateral relations.