The Salween is richly biodiverse and straddles several international borders; as of yet, it is Asia's last un-dammed river. The pressures of globalization and the promise of economic growth have made damming the Salween an attractive option to some, but such a decision would have wide-reaching consequences.
In June, WLE-Mekong published a series of maps identifying a massive range of dams across the major rivers of the Greater Mekong Subregion. In this interview excerpt, the first in a series of two, WLE-Mekong's Kim Geheb points out hot spots and opportunities arising from these maps.
Ecosystem services and manmade "grey" infrastructure need not be in conflict: in fact, sustainable development requires them to work together. This story from the Xe Bang Fai river in Laos demonstrates potential opportunities for synergy between built and "green" infrastructure.
Although the total number of water-insecure countries in Asia has reduced from 38 to 29 in the last five years, water demand is going to increase by 100 percent by 2050. A new report from the Asian Development Bank, presented this week in Stockholm, outlines the implications.
A recent research publication covering two similar catchments in upland Laos and upland Vietnam found a striking different hydrological situation in each place. What accounts for the difference, and what are the implications for forest management policy?
Mekong region governments promote foreign direct investment (FDI) as a path to various development solutions. However, despite FDI's success stories, the benefits of FDI are unevenly distributed and tangled up with a variety of tradeoffs.
The impacts of climate change are felt in every region around the world. In the Mekong Region, these impacts have a particularly profound impact on food security: a new MOOC from SEI will investigate this topic.
Acquatic biomonitoring is a powerful tool for assessing the health of river systems. On a recent trip to Myanmar, IWMI researchers explored the viability of biomonitoring for evaluating the health of the Ayeyarwady and Thanlwin rivers.
Agriculture has changed significantly in the last few decades, making farmers' lives easier and allowing massive increases in production. However, these changes have come at environmental and social costs: collaborating directly with farmers must be a prerequisite for sustainable intensification.
When resettlement of villagers is planned and carried out, local power dynamics and relationships can have a huge effect on the outcome and lived experiences and perceptions of resettled individuals.
With the current drought in Southeast Asia, downstream Mekong countries are concerned that their water is being held up by large mainstream dams in China and Laos. There are, however, hundreds of small dams on Mekong tributaries, and the cumulative effect of these cannot be ignored.
China has agreed to increase the outflow of water from the Jinghong Hydropower Station to the Mekong River to cope with drought and salt intrusion in the lower basin. What are the implications, and how do we make this kind of trans-boundary water sharing sustainable?
