Laos plans to build a $2 billion, 684-megawatt dam on the Mekong River, just 2 kilometers (1.25 miles) from the Thai border. The proposed Sanakham…
Tom FawthropJune 10, 2022
The government of Laos plans to build a 1,460-megawatt hydroelectric dam upstream of the ancient city of Luang Prabang, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The…
Tom FawthropDecember 10, 2021
The shrinking Tonle Sap, the river’s “beating heart,” is the latest wake-up call of the damage wrought by dams. A river barge carries sand on…
Tom FawthropSeptember 2, 2020
World heritage site vulnerable to earthquake possibility, Thai specialist says Photo by Tom Fawthrop A leading Thai geologist is warning that a huge new…
Tom FawthropJune 30, 2020
This wonderful oasis of Lao culture Mekong heritage is under threat from more dams along the endangered Mekong In 1995 Luang Prabang became…
Tom FawthropApril 4, 2020
Rivers contribute to transport, tourism, hydropower and resources including fish and freshwater. Yet excessive drought, dam-building and other development can ruin rivers. That is happening…
Tom FawthropNovember 28, 2019
It has been 62 years since the United Nations gave birth to the Mekong River Committee and 24 years since the establishment of the Mekong…
Tom FawthropSeptember 11, 2019
Review | The Mekong is mighty no more: demise of the great river system lamented in Brian Eyler’s new book. Author sounds a stark warning…
Tom FawthropFebruary 28, 2019
Will the delay to the Pak Beng dam in Laos on the Mekong trigger a wider review of hydropower plans on the river? A major…
Tom FawthropJune 14, 2018
