Vietnamese and foreign experts and scientists gathered at a conference in Can Tho city on March 31 to seek solutions to boost sustainable development in the Mekong Delta region amid climate change.
Saltwater intrusion on the Mekong River will abate gradually but still be at high levels. The phenomenon is forecast to remain strong on some distributaries until early May.
The Cambodian Ministry of Mines and Energy affirmed on March 19 that the country’s newly-approved Master Plan for 2020-2030 will not include the construction of new hydropower dams along the Mekong River.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has urged residents and businesses in Phnom Penh to be prepared for electricity shortages which could occur in this year’s dry season if water levels at hydropower dams run low.
The Lao government will begin inspecting the safety standards applied to the construction of all hydropower dams in the country next year in a bid to prevent further accidents, reported the Vientiane Times on November 30.
The Government has mapped out plans to ensure the safety of reservoirs at the Hoa Binh and Son La hydroelectric plants, two of the country’s largest, said Tran Quang Hoai, permanent member of the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control.
As many as 18 million residents in the Mekong Delta are suffering serious consequences as the Mekong River is drying up due to over exploitation of hydropower plants in upstream countries.
The Mekong Delta, home to some 18 million inhabitants, is plagued by severe riverbank erosion, which has been blamed on climate change and human factors.
Many scientists have asked the Vietnamese Government to propose Laos to suspend its Pak Beng hydropower project to wait for thorough assessment of the project’s possible impacts on areas in the lower Mekong River.
Mainstream hydropower projects on the Mekong River caused a loss of 5.2 trillion (231 million USD) in seafood and agriculture output to the Mekong Delta.
Developing mainstream hydropower projects on the lower Mekong River could lead to long-term and unrecoverable losses to its deltas and the water environment, impacting millions of people.
Laos is now in its most comprehensive development stage since its founding four decades ago, an achievement to which its neighbour Vietnam contributed.
The construction of hydropower dams on the mainstream Mekong River has had the largest impact on fishing and local livelihoods in the lower basin, as heard at a consultative seminar in Hanoi.
Environment
