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S2E1: Hundreds of dams endangering the Mekong
Manage episode 432316173 series 2347149
In the quest for renewable hydropower, indiscriminate dam building in the basin of the Mekong is changing the landscape and negatively impacting local communities and ecosystems.
Synopsis: Every first and third Sunday of the month, The Straits Times analyses the beat of the changing environment, from biodiversity conservation to climate change.
Unilateral and indiscriminate dam building has been taking place in the quest for hydropower and control over water in the basin of the Mekong river - the lifeblood of mainland Southeast Asia.
But local communities most impacted by the changing face of the river system struggle to be heard amid elite-driven, urban-based decision-making and an engineering mindset, critics say.
Only one in ten of over 600 dams have been notified to the Mekong River Commission, following the 1995 Mekong Agreement among Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. The Agreement was supposed to focus on sustainable development and management and tries to balance needs and rights.
Two other countries where the Mekong river flows - China and Myanmar - are not bound to notify the Commission as they are only dialogue partners.
On this episode of Green Pulse, host Nirmal Ghosh speaks to Senior Fellow and co-lead of the Mekong Dam Monitor at the Stimson Center Brian Eyler and Thailand-based Campaigns Director for Thailand and Myanmar of International Rivers Pianporn (Pai) Deetes.
Highlights of conversation (click/tap above):
02:31 Sounding the alarm with more dams coming up
03:55 Dams in China’s part of the Mekong river are doing the most damage
06:43 How Laos attracted huge amounts of foreign investment with its “Battery of Southeast Asia” programme
12:04 In Thailand, why build more dams when there has been an oversupply of electricity
15:54 Significant environmental impacts on Vietnam and Cambodia from the Funan Techo canal, whose development would also violate the Mekong agreement
19:20 No accountability for damaging consequences
Produced by: Nirmal Ghosh (nirmal@sph.com.sg) and Fa'izah Sani
Edited by: Fa’izah Sani
Follow Green Pulse Podcast here and rate us:
Channel: https://str.sg/JWaf
Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWaY
Spotify: https://str.sg/JWag
ST Podcasts YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa
Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts
Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg
Read ST's Climate Change microsite: https://www.straitstimes.com/climate-change
---
Discover more ST podcast channels:
All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7
The Usual Place: https://str.sg/wEr7u
In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt
COE Watch: https://str.sg/iTtE
Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7
Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN
Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf
Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m
Hard Tackle: https://str.sg/JWRE
#PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad
Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX
---
ST Podcast website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts
ST Podcasts YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa
---
Special edition series:
True Crimes Of Asia (6 eps): https://str.sg/i44T
The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2
Invisible Asia (9 eps): https://str.sg/wuZn
Stop Scams (10 eps): https://str.sg/wuZB
Singapore's War On Covid (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuJa
---
Get The Straits Times' app, which has a dedicated podcast player section:
The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB
Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX
---
#greenpulse
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
1897 episodes
Manage episode 432316173 series 2347149
In the quest for renewable hydropower, indiscriminate dam building in the basin of the Mekong is changing the landscape and negatively impacting local communities and ecosystems.
Synopsis: Every first and third Sunday of the month, The Straits Times analyses the beat of the changing environment, from biodiversity conservation to climate change.
Unilateral and indiscriminate dam building has been taking place in the quest for hydropower and control over water in the basin of the Mekong river - the lifeblood of mainland Southeast Asia.
But local communities most impacted by the changing face of the river system struggle to be heard amid elite-driven, urban-based decision-making and an engineering mindset, critics say.
Only one in ten of over 600 dams have been notified to the Mekong River Commission, following the 1995 Mekong Agreement among Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. The Agreement was supposed to focus on sustainable development and management and tries to balance needs and rights.
Two other countries where the Mekong river flows - China and Myanmar - are not bound to notify the Commission as they are only dialogue partners.
On this episode of Green Pulse, host Nirmal Ghosh speaks to Senior Fellow and co-lead of the Mekong Dam Monitor at the Stimson Center Brian Eyler and Thailand-based Campaigns Director for Thailand and Myanmar of International Rivers Pianporn (Pai) Deetes.
Highlights of conversation (click/tap above):
02:31 Sounding the alarm with more dams coming up
03:55 Dams in China’s part of the Mekong river are doing the most damage
06:43 How Laos attracted huge amounts of foreign investment with its “Battery of Southeast Asia” programme
12:04 In Thailand, why build more dams when there has been an oversupply of electricity
15:54 Significant environmental impacts on Vietnam and Cambodia from the Funan Techo canal, whose development would also violate the Mekong agreement
19:20 No accountability for damaging consequences
Produced by: Nirmal Ghosh (nirmal@sph.com.sg) and Fa'izah Sani
Edited by: Fa’izah Sani
Follow Green Pulse Podcast here and rate us:
Channel: https://str.sg/JWaf
Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWaY
Spotify: https://str.sg/JWag
ST Podcasts YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa
Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts
Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg
Read ST's Climate Change microsite: https://www.straitstimes.com/climate-change
---
Discover more ST podcast channels:
All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7
The Usual Place: https://str.sg/wEr7u
In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt
COE Watch: https://str.sg/iTtE
Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7
Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN
Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf
Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m
Hard Tackle: https://str.sg/JWRE
#PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad
Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX
---
ST Podcast website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts
ST Podcasts YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa
---
Special edition series:
True Crimes Of Asia (6 eps): https://str.sg/i44T
The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2
Invisible Asia (9 eps): https://str.sg/wuZn
Stop Scams (10 eps): https://str.sg/wuZB
Singapore's War On Covid (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuJa
---
Get The Straits Times' app, which has a dedicated podcast player section:
The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB
Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX
---
#greenpulse
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
1897 episodes
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