Tag - mekong

 
 

MEKONG

A group of elephant keepers in Chiang Saen, Thailand, remove plastic waste from the Ruak River, a tributary of the Mekong River, as a pair of Asian elephants bathe behind them.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Dec 21, 2024
The mighty Mekong River's growing plastic problem
Flowing more than 4,300 kilometers from the Tibetan Plateau to Vietnam, the Mekong River is the lifeblood of the region. It also faces a spiraling problem with plastic.
A waterway along a portion of the Mekong River where a groundbreaking ceremony took place to begin construction on the Funan Techo Canal, in Prek Takeo, Cambodia, in October.
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 23, 2024
Cambodia's flagship canal in hot water as China funding dries up
Months after a groundbreaking ceremony for a major canal project in Cambodia, touted investments from China are in doubt.
Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet and his wife (both center) press a button to start the groundbreaking ceremony of the Funan Techo Canal in Kandal province on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 5, 2024
Cambodia's prime minister marks start of creating controversial canal
Cambodia's canal project is shrouded in uncertainty, including its main purpose — whether for shipping or irrigation — and who will fund it.
A group of fishing boats sit next to the Mekong river in Phnom Penh in 2021.
BUSINESS
May 8, 2024
Cambodia to cut shipping through Vietnam with China-funded canal
Cambodia's deputy prime minister downplayed environmental concerns about the new canal and dismissed speculation Chinese warships could use it.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 23, 2023
China's Mekong dams turn Thai fishing villages into 'ghost towns'
Local fishing communities who live by the river have seen their harvest fall since China built nearly a dozen dams upstream.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Dec 16, 2022
How dams built by China starve the Mekong River delta of vital sediment
An analysis of satellite data shows how the dams are impacting agriculture along Southeast Asia's longest river.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 14, 2020
Chinese dams under U.S. scrutiny in Mekong rivalry
Beijing has dismissed U.S. research saying Chinese dams have retained water to the detriment of downstream nations.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Jul 25, 2020
Water wars: Mekong River another front in U.S.-China rivalry
The Mekong River has become a new front in the U.S.-China rivalry, environmentalists and officials say, with Beijing overtaking Washington in both spending and influence over downstream countries at the mercy of its control of the river's waters.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 15, 2020
The Mekong is the test of China’s leadership
To show real leadership, China must recognize the needs of downstream nations.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 14, 2020
Chinese dams held back Mekong waters during drought, study finds
China's Mekong River dams held back large amounts of water during a damaging drought in downstream countries last year despite China having higher-than-average water levels upstream, a U.S. research company said in a study.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 19, 2020
Cambodia puts plans for mainstream Mekong dams on hold for 10 years
Electricity-starved Cambodia will not develop new hydropower dams on the Mekong River for the next 10 years, a senior energy official said on Wednesday, as it reviews its policy to seek energy from coal, natural gas and solar.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 21, 2019
Asia's twin curse: Dams and droughts
A proliferation of upstream dams is beginning to impose costs across much of Asia.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 29, 2019
New Mekong dam in Laos opens to protests from villagers in Thailand
The first hydropower dam on the lower Mekong River began commercial operations in Laos on Tuesday amid protests from villagers in Thailand who say the Xayaburi Dam and several others in the works will destroy their livelihoods.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 20, 2019
Damming the Mekong basin to environmental hell
As droughts become more frequent and severe, China's dam network gives it increasing leverage over downriver countries.
EDITORIALS
Oct 12, 2018
Japan strengthens its Mekong ties
Finding common cause with the governments of the Mekong region is a wise move for Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 9, 2018
Tokyo flexes financial muscle at Mekong-Japan Summit
The leaders issued a statement pledging cooperation on the promotion of development programs and further improvement on “connectivity” and “quality infrastructure” projects in the Mekong region.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 19, 2016
Scientists discover 163 new species in Greater Mekong region, WWF says
A rainbow-headed snake and a dragon-like lizard are among 163 new species that scientists recently discovered in the Greater Mekong region, conservation group WWF said Monday, adding rapid development in the area, from dams to mines, was threatening wildlife survival.
COMMENTARY / World
May 2, 2016
China's water hegemony
China's control of several international rivers, through its huge number of dams, gives it power over the nations downstream.

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A man offers prayers at Hebikubo Shrine in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. The shrine is one of several across the country dedicated to the snake.
Shed your skin and reinvent yourself in the Year of the Snake