February, 2018. Srekor village in Stung Treng, Cambodia, has now been fully submerged by the rising floodwaters of the Lower Sesan 2 Dam. According to local residents, the flood level in Srekor village has reached 6-7 meters since the dam commenced operations in November. Close to five thousand people, from indigenous Bunong, Lao and ethnic Khmer communities, have been resettled to make way for the dam’s reservoir. The village remains only in name. Captions and Photo source: ©© International Rivers
Excerpts;
Farmers and anglers in Cambodia depend on the Mekong River’s predictable seasonal patterns, but new dams for hydroelectricity are altering the hydrology of the river. These changes have the potential to threaten fish migration, livelihoods, and regional food security…
Read Full Article; Science Daily (05-31-2018)
Cambodian Village Now Fully Submerged by Lower Sesan 2 Dam; International Rivers (02-01-2018)
The Mekong, Dammed to Die; IPS News (11-14-2017)
In Laos, the lush forests are alive with the whines of drills that pierce the air. On the Mekong, a giant concrete wall rises slowly above the trees. The Don Sahong dam is a strong symbol, not only for a power-hungry Asia but also for what critics fear is a disaster in the making…
Don Sarong Dam, International Rivers
The construction of the Don Sahong Dam officially began in January 2016. Located in the Siphandone (Khone Falls) area of southern Laos, less than two kilometers upstream of the Laos-Cambodia border, the dam will block the main channel passable year-round by fish migrating between Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, threatening vital subsistence and commercial fisheries in the Lower Mekong Basin…
Life on Mekong Faces Threats As Major Dams Begin to Rise; Yale E360 (03-03-2014)
Large Dams Just Aren’t Worth the Cost, The New York Times (10-25-2014)
Small Dams On Chinese River Harm Environment More Than Expected, study finds, NSF (05-30-2013)
Sediment Trapped Behind Dams Makes Them ‘Hot Spots’ for Greenhouse Gas Emissions, (08-01-2013)
The large reservoirs of water behind the world’s 50,000 large dams are a known source of methane. Methane has a warming effect 25 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. That knowledge led to questions about hydroelectric power’s image as a green and nonpolluting energy source…
New Global Warming Culprit: Dams (08-08-2012)
Dams – Cutting Off Beach Sand; By Gary Griggs (12-19-2014)
Movement to Take Down Thousands of Dams Goes Mainstream, National Geographic (01-29-2015)
