Temporary Hiatus for Mekong River
By Dr Arvind Kumar
According to a newsreport released by IRIN on 20 April 2011, the Mekong – the world’s 12th longest river and a lifeline for millions – has won a temporary reprieve from the construction of a controversial dam in Laos when the four member countries of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) – Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam – failed to reach an agreement, deferring the decision to ministerial level later this year.
Tiffany Hacker, a spokeswoman for the MRC, told IRIN on 20 April from Vientiane: “This is the immediate next step, although countries were unable to reach a conclusion [to proceed with the dam], they agreed that it needed to be taken to the ministerial level.”
The MRC’s ministerial council generally meets once year in October or November. However, a special session for the Xayaburi project may be held before then. The announcement was welcomed by environmentalists who say the dam would have devastating environmental, social and economic consequences. Carl Middleton, a representative of the US-based environmental group International Rivers, has said: “We are pleased to see that Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam have recognized the trans-boundary impacts of the project and the need for further research and public consultation.” If the project goes ahead, approximately 2,100 people would be forcibly relocated and more than 200,000 would be directly affected, according to an independent review of the project commissioned by the MRC.
