The Guardian
March 25, 2004

One of the world’s greatest rivers has been reduced to a trickle in places by a series of giant Chinese dams and engineering works which are threatening the livelihoods of up to 100 million people in south-east Asia.

(Excerpt)

A body representing four downstream governments reported yesterday that the Mekong was at its lowest recorded level, flowing “close to rock bottom” near the end of a 3,000 mile
journey that takes it from the Tibetan plateau, through China’s Yunnan province, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

The Mekong’s downstream countries, which are almost completely dependent on the river and its tributaries for food, water and transport, fear that China’s plans for a further six major dams on the river could be disastrous.

“China holds all the trump cards,” said one water analyst who asked not to be named. “If all these dams go ahead, the river’s hydrology will be significantly altered and no-one can begin to understand the social or ecological consequences. China can do what it wants with impunity. It is a dangerous situation.”

In recent months huge, previously unseen sandbanks have started emerging from the murky waters along the river’s lower stretches, making navigation increasingly hazardous.
According to the Mekong River Commission, a joint Lao, Cambodian, Thai and Vietnamese governmental body set up to oversee the health of the Mekong, monitoring stations show
the river well below previous lowest levels recorded.

“We are very concerned,” said Pech Sokhem, an MRC director in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh. “It is very bad for agriculture and fishing. If the water doesn’t flow properly, the fish will not spawn or migrate.”

“The river has been getting shallower for many years now,” said Yang Yara, a ferryman near Phnom Penh. “It makes my life hard because my boat is always getting stuck on islands and mud banks.”

“Not only is the Mekong the lowest in history, it is also fluctuating – sometimes up, sometimes down. This comes from dam operations in China,” said Chainarong Setthachua,
director of Cambodia-based environmental group South East Asia Rivers Network.

Low rainfall last year is partly to blame for the river levels, as is increased use of water by growing populations along the whole length of the river, but Chinese dam-building in the upper stretches of the Mekong is thought to be responsible for many of devastating consequences downstream.

The Manwan hydroelectric dam across the upper Mekong, finished in 1996, has been frequently blamed by Thailand and other countries for reduced fishing and also for causing
flash floods when water is released unpredictably.