Nations convene to consider first Mekong dam

The water and environment ministers of the four Mekong River Commission (MRC) countries are scheduled to meet in Siem Reap today and tomorrow to reach a key decision on the future – some say the survival – of the Mekong River. The ministers – from Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand – will try to reach agreement on whether or not Laos can build the first hydropower dam on the Lower Mekong, one of the last major free-flowing rivers in the world and a hugely productive ecosystem that is a source of food and income for tens of millions of people. Laos’ plan to build the 1,260-megawatt Xayaburi dam has pitted it against downstream countries, civil society groups and foreign donors, who are concerned about the dam’s environmental impact and also fear that its construction will increase the likelihood of other Mekong dams going ahead. Talks with official sources yesterday indicated, however, that Laos’ chances of getting project approval at the two-day MRC meeting are slim, as Thailand and Vietnam reportedly reached a bilateral agreement last month to ask Laos for a 10-year delay of any Mekong dam project. Te Navuth, secretary-general of the Cambodian National Mekong Committee, could not confirm the existence of the bilateral agreement, but he said, “We expect to hear good news from Laos at the meeting.”…