Posted on 03/25/2010 2:05:51 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Last Update: 1:34 p.m. (GMT+7), Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Chinese dams blamed for Mekong River woes
Tuoi Tre
The mighty Mekong River has seen its water level shrink to a 20-year low, badly affecting farming in five nations in its lower region.
Besides climate change and a decline in rainfall, the construction of giant dams on its mainstream by China is reported to be a major cause for this.
Around 250 million people in Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam depend on the Mekong for water, with 60 million earning a living mainly by fishing.
Many parts of the 4,900-kilometer river have dried up this year, upsetting fish migration and shipping, and parching thousands of hectares of agricultural lands.
China has built four major hydroelectric dams on the Mekong in the last 30 years -- the 292-meter Xiaowan, 126m Manwan, 118m Daichaoshan, and 107m Jinhong.
The total capacity of their reservoirs is 18 billion cubic meters.
China is building two large dams which are due for completion in 2012 and 2017, and plans to build two others, meaning it alone will have eight giant dams by 2030.
Besides, 11 other hydropower plants have been planned in Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia.
Fishermen in the region have been reporting a fall in fish catches and sizes.
Fish caught in the Mekong provide around US$2 billion a year, according to the Mekong River Commission – a joint management and information-gathering body founded by Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos in 1995.
This is how wars start
Fa King Shy Nee
The Chinese and Vietnamese have a history of wars against one another.
Yes, China and Vietnam are traditional rivals. I bet the Chinese tell all of ‘em to pound sand and no one will say boo about it.
More like the Chinese has a history of getting their hiney’s spanked by the Vietnamese.
That’s probably the only way they’ll resolve this but it would take a coaltion of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Burma and Thailand to make any impression on China
Vietnam doesn’t need all that fast flowing water. Charlie don’t surf.
You know Vietnam seldom gain fully independence against China during its past 2300 years recorded civilization history, and not to be mention being directly ruled by China for at least 1100+ years.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.