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When the leaders of the Mekong River Commission countries meet in Hanoi on Saturday, anti-dam protesters will be urging them to call a halt to the construction of the Xayaburi dam and to put a hold on Laos's plans to build a second dam, the Don Sahong.

Source:
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/radio/program/asia-pacific/concerns-mount-over-lao-dam-projects/1290778

[Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam] In response to the news from the 2nd Summit of the Mekong River Commission that Mekong leaders have reaffirmed their commitment to the sustainable use of the Mekong River and will expedite studies to better address threats facing the basin, International Rivers released the following statement from Southeast Asia Program Director Ame Trandem:

“While International Rivers is pleased that Mekong leaders recognize the negative environmental and social impacts that hydropower development poses to the mainstream, we are disappointed that leaders did not condemn the current rush of dam building on the Mekong mainstream. The ability to make informed decisions, based on sound data and scientific study, should be a prerequisite for starting deliberations over whether to build dams on the Mekong River mainstream. Words without actions are meaningless; the Lao government must stop its free reign of Mekong mainstream dam building. We expect all construction on the Xayaburi and Don Sahong dams to end immediately and that no further decisions or actions be taken until the Mekong River Commission Council Study, Vietnam’s Delta Study, and transboundary impact assessments for each project have been completed and the results have been comprehensively reviewed.”

“In a press conference following the Summit, Vietnam’s Minister for Natural Resources and the Environment, Nguyen Minh Quang, informed reporters that Vietnam and Cambodia had re-iterated their position, made at the last MRC Joint Committee meeting, that all projects on the Mekong mainstream, including the Don Sahong Dam, should undergo prior consultation according to the MRC’s PNPCA process. Vietnam recommended to the Lao government that the Don Sahong Dam should not move forward until after Vietnam’s Delta Study is finished. Vietnam's statement highlights the backward approach that is currently being taken to dam building on the Mekong. This build first and study second approach is not the path to sustainable development.”

When the leaders of the Mekong River Commission countries meet in Hanoi on Saturday, anti-dam protesters will be urging them to call a halt to the construction of the Xayaburi dam and to put a hold on Laos's plans to build a second dam, the Don Sahong.

Source:
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/radio/program/asia-pacific/concerns-mount-over-lao-dam-projects/1290778

Apr 04,2014 PHNOM PENH, April 4 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia will probably call for a moratorium on the Laos' 260-megawatt Don Sahong dam development project on the lower Mekong River during the second Summit of the Mekong River Commission (MRC), to be held on April 4 and 5 in Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam, a senior official said Friday.

Source:
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/article_xinhua.aspx?id=210662

April 3, 2014 2:13 pm Vientiane - Construction of the controversial Xayaburi Hydro-power plant, the first dam on the lower stretch of the Mekong River, is now 23 per cent complete, Lao media reports said Thursday.

Source:
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/Controversial-Lao-dam-on-Mekong-River-almost-a-qua-30230757.html

Thu, 3 April 2014

Laignee Barron and Phak Seangly In anticipation of a regional summit this weekend, government officials and civil society have their sights locked on a controversial hydropower development just across the Cambodian border in Laos.

NGO Forum submitted an open letter yesterday urging Prime Minister Hun Sen to confront Laos about its Don Sahong hydropower project, which environmentalists have described as a potential disaster for the Mekong’s biodiversity and the food security the river provides to millions.

The letter contains more than 400 thumbprints collected during a march against the dam last weekend. “We hope these thumbprints motivate the leader, as they are the evidence of direct victims from this dam,” Tek Vannara, executive director of NGO Forum, said.

The last-minute plea for action comes just days before the 2nd Summit of the Mekong River Commission in Ho Chi Minh City, where prime ministers from Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and Laos are expected to discuss transboundary cooperation and sustainable development in the Lower Mekong Basin.

Source:
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/intervention-urged-dam

Gabrielle Paluch, VOA News 01 April 2014

BANGKOK, THAILAND — This week officials from Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand will meet to discuss the impact of planned hydropower dams on the lower Mekong region. But several environmental groups have already concluded the main Xayaburi dam in Laos will devastate communities that depend on the Mekong river for food, and they want to stop the project.

Source:
http://www.voacambodia.com/content/environment-groups-plan-to-oppose-laos-mega-dams/1883658.html

Wednesday, 2 April, 2014

Leaders Must Take Stand Against Mainstream Dams

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: On Saturday, the Prime Ministers of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, are expected to meet for the 2nd Summit of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) in Ho Chi Minh City. The Summit comes at a critical moment when regional cooperation and the Mekong River are on the brink of collapse. Laos is unilaterally moving forward with the construction of the Xayaburi and Don Sahong dams on the Lower Mekong mainstream, while disregarding its responsibilities to the 1995 Mekong Agreement and repeated calls from neighboring countries for further study and consultation. Regional leaders must use this Summit to demand the immediate halt to construction on these projects and the cancellation of further plans to build dams on the Mekong mainstream.

Tue, 1 April 2014

While hundreds of Cambodians were granted permission to protest against Laos’s controversial Don Sahong dam over the weekend, authorities in Kampong Cham weren’t very accommodating, activists and officials said yesterday.

Four hundred activists made their way along the Mekong River by longboat through Kratie province’s Sambor district and Stung Treng province’s Thala Barivat district near the Cambodian-Lao border on Saturday and Sunday in protest of the planned multimillion-dollar dam.

Source:
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/kampong-cham-turns-away-don-sahong-protest

Environmental groups oppose controversial Laos dam on eve of regional summit Monday, March 31, 2014 15:29, Thanh Nien News

Leading non-governmental organizations issued a joint declaration on Monday protesting against the ongoing construction of the Xayaburi dam on the Mekong River mainstream, the WWF said in a statement.
The organizations also called on the Thai government to cancel the Power Purchase Agreement relating to the controversial hydro-power project.
The declaration, signed by 39 international and national NGOs and civil society groups, including International Rivers and WWF, comes ahead of this week’s Mekong River Commission (MRC) Summit, attended by Heads of Government from the four Lower Mekong countries -- Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand.

Source:
http://www.thanhniennews.com/world/environmental-groups-oppose-controversial-laos-dam-on-eve-of-regional-summit-24986.html