Dam(ned): The Mekong of the Future

This is a bit of a case study on Laos

After spending the last half of 2016 travelling around South East Asia it became apparent to me how prominent the Mekong river is, it really appeared much more often than I expected and goes through most South East Asian countries.

I spend around 10 days in Laos, an very interesting country. Due to it being land locked it is very poor and doesn't have a lot of resources; except the Mekong. Currently Laos has the most dams planned on the Mekong out of any country, many are investments by other countries with a lot more wealth; China and Thailand.

When travelling to Nong Khiaw we past one of the damn projects, although we couldn't see the dam we could see the wealth surrounding the project, immediately there was considerable new Chinese infrastructure in a relatively poor area. The river that is being dammed used to be able to be travelled by boat by villagers and tourists a like but now cannot be. 

With a bit of further research I found the the displacement of people was an important factor in the building of these dams.

http://on.natgeo.com/1TGrR0t - this is the dam

Check out these pictures here by Giovanni Lorusso:

http://yourshot.nationalgeographic.com/profile/1308619/#b/

Further more, many of the other dams are planned along the Mekong, a vital source of food for the Southern Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Southern Vietnam.

Although it can't be said for sure, Laos is one of them most corrupt nations in the world so it is possible that officials are taking bribes and signing deals that aren't in the best interests of their environment or country.

https://news.mongabay.com/2016/10/vietnam-sweats-bullets-as-china-laos-dam-the-mekong/

The Chinese Mekong Dams

China saw economic development a lot early than Laos so had already started building a series of Mekong dams in the 90's. It is now easier to see the end results of these dams.

 Xiaowan Dam on the Mekong in China. The highest and largest arch dam in the world, capable of 4,200MW