Water Wars Erupt As Mekong Runs Dry And Temperatures To Hit 43C (109F)

[Thai at Heart]

One of the most important things they can think to do is to make people pay more for their water.

At the moment, farmers have it for free, and households pay a pittance in comparison to how much is consumed. Water should be plentiful in Thailand, but until ALL people put a proper value on it, it will continue to be misallocated.

Oh darn it, better go fill up the carp pond and water the grass.

[brahmburgers]

I can't believe that this article never had anything on the dams being built upstream in China. This is obviously having the greatest impact on the Mekong. Iv'e watched a few programmes on the Mekong and learnt that it has some of the most richest biodiversity in the world. However, this may all change forever with the amount of dams that are now built AND being built on it (another 12 planned for China). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mekong

That's pretty troubling. If they built one at a time, then there might be a livable amount of water interruption while a dam is filled. But 12 dams being built and filled is probably going to mean a decade period where they're filling 3 or 4 at a time. Would guess 2 or 3 years to fill each one, and I doubt the Chinese are going to worry about the impact downstream.

The issue is not so much that China is building dams, it's that they're building such a quantity of them. They're too greedy. It would be as if I went in to the bamboo grove, which is set aside for use by my village, and hired some guys and took all the bamboo for me alone. Rapacious.

And now Chinese charging to send in water that used to come down the river for free.

Big Brother indeed.

Really? Charging for water? Is it for piped water, or are they going to charge for the water they release from dams? If it's from dams, that's the first I've ever heard of someone charging for released water in to a river.

Evaporation is another big loss of water. When water is stored in dams, there's obviously going to be a lot of more lost to evaporation than if the water was flowing.

[orangezeke]

Hi.

If those people would take off their red shirts and pick up some shovels they could actually get something done instead of supporting a certain billionaire's fight for even more billions. THAT guy wouldn't give a hoot about irrigation. Sadly they don't see it.

Best regards......

Thanh

now there is a suggestion - 'these people' should just pick up some shovels and get something done ! the only way this little gem is helpful is when it serves as an example of ignorance at work. im guessing you decided to share this insight from the comfort of your bkk air-con office. when was the last time you picked up a shovel ?

if by 'these people' you are referring to drought affected farmers, here is some news. all they ever do is pick up their shovels. they break their backs scratching out a living, then their kids do the same, and their kids. this country was built on the back of agriculture, farmers and their shovels, while bangkok traders get rich divvying up their commodities.

if they followed taksin it is because he promised change. if he brought change or not is an entirely different question, but your suggestion they simply get back to work has grown old. it can't be the answer any longer.

[HS Mauberley]

^ Good post.

[Scott]

Yes, a good post. I spent my growing up years on a farm. It's difficult enough having your fate in the hands of weather; it's doubly difficult to have your fate in the hands of greedy politicians and arrogant people.

[webfact]

UPDATE

Thai PM believes China not withholding Mekong River water intentionally

BANGKOK (TNA) -- China has no intention to bring suffering to countries in the Mekong River basin by withholding water although the river has dropped to its lowest level in 50 years, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Saturday.

Mr Abhisit said the cause of the current water shortage must be investigated, especially in northeastern Thailand, emphasising that it is too early to conclude that China should be blamed for not releasing water retained upstream.

The prime minister said he believed that China had no intention to bring difficulty to the Mekong Basin countries, and that if requested, China would definitely cooperate.

Water resources specialists have said that dams in China must release water to generate electricity and the ongoing drop of the water level in the Mekong River was not a result of its upstream dams, but rather the effects of global warming.

Meanwhile, Bangkok governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra said while inspecting the water shortage and distributing clean water to people living in four districts on the outskirts of Bangkok that 17 water tanks had been installed in nine areas to alleviate public hardship during the current summer season.

Governor Sukhumbhand said the Royal Irrigation Department will release more than eight billion cubic metres of stored water from three major dams to farmers living in the outer reaches of Bangkok for use this summer.

However, he urged rice farmers not to plant rice for the second crop season beginning April 1 to prevent a new rice crop from being damaged due to the water shortage.

The Bangkok governor advised farmers to temporarily switch to growing crops consuming lesser amounts of water or to find supplementary jobs. He also encouraged the public to conserve water during the current dry season. (TNA)

-- TNA 2010-03-06

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

[Credo]

There not doing it intentionally, so that means they are doing it accidentally.

They will cooperate if someone asks. I think someone should maybe ask then.

[WatersEdge]

There may be no shortage of mouthy arrogant foreigners in Thailand,

so I'll self analyze as a preamble...Yep, it's true.

The thread is initially about the water level in the Mekong,

somehow it got placed in the Farming in Thailand Forum.

Now that it's here, I figure it's fair game.

I have no sympathy for talk of water shortage in Thailand.

There is NO water shortage in Thailand,

only lack of preparation for the dry season.

So Boo Hoo Hoo if it suits you,

then if you are interested we can get on with fixing the non problem.

Coming from the high desert of Nevada,

where my parents still farm Alfalfa (Lucerne) Medicago sativa

a very high water requirement crop,

and we grow it in the desert,

what a miracle eh?

Not really, just judicious utilization of a precious resource.

Water is deadly serious out there.

No one would think of changing someone else's water supply.

The Nevada State Water Engineer is something of a big wheel in the state.

There has been a smart guy in that chair forever,

and every drainage basin in the state has been analyzed with strict limits set for water use.

They have no water shortage, they just don't use more than is there.

California, right next door, by contrast, doesn't have controls on underground water.

Water mining is the name of the game,

may the guy with the deepest well win,

until the water level is depleted beyond feasibility,

then that whole basin goes dry forever.

The Cantil area pumped until they brought up salt brine.

The whole basin went to nothing in a matter of weeks.

The Coalinga / West Hills area pumped until they hit oil,

what a problem to have, but it sure killed the farms.

Let me cite what I see in October and November in Mae Sot,

so you can understand my total lack of tears.

While the rain is still falling lightly,

the rice crop is finishing up.

Water pours out of the public reservoir, down the canal,

to the paddies, which spill water every which way,

running off to the collection canals, and off it goes to the river.

Spent water, right? No, Squandered water.

By cursory observation, I'd say more than half the water is wasted,

they'd have enough for a full dry season crop if they didn't blow it.

Tragic mid term of this story, it's not difficult...it's totally obvious.

Imagine just for a moment that paddy water in October and November was closely monitored by the farmers,

as though dry season was coming this year as it has every year in recorded history.

Fill the paddies with enough water for optimal rice growth,

but then shut it off and wait until more is genuinely necessary.

If any water spills off the paddy, it's waste...stop it this moment.

The public water control agency would have to pay attention as well.

If the farmers don't use the water, and it runs down the canal, it's still lost.

I farm in Mae Sot with sprinkler irrigation immediately on a river,

where my supply of year round wonderful fresh clean water is never contested.

If I wasn't located on the river, I'd drill a well / bore hole.

The water table is shallow, and it's good water....there is no problem on the driest field in the basin.

But here's what I encountered in another farm area up the road,

where the village mindset is so primitive

that they were frightened of proposed pipelines,

intended to divert water during plentiful flow to rice paddies,

thus conserving water stored in a mountain reservoir.

The issue was, I was asking them to change a detail,

and we all know that change is bad, very bad.

I wasn't even asking them to conserve water,

only to squander another source.

My business intent in that entire farm area is dead.

300 hectare total land owned by around 150 owners,

right on the Moei River, really good river silt soil,

and no forward planning to turn it into wealth.

Fast forward to the proposed future,

Mae Sot is gently rolling hill country, marvelous clay soil, 1,450 mm average rainfall,

a dreamy landscape that naturally lends itself to water retention for a dry later day.

But aside from gouging a few random fish ponds out there,

there isn't a concentrated plan to make the most of a grand surplus of water.

We've never farmed in the dry season, it's dry every year,

so what would the point be?

There are two, count them both, public reservoirs in the entire basin.

which has streams spilling out of the mountains unchecked.

The river my farm is located on has no public conservation works built.

It ALL flows into the Moei, except for the tiny fraction that a few guys like me pump.

I've staked off a level canal path on Google Earth,

which would irrigate around 1/3 the land area of the entire valley with gravity flow.

It's no secret, I did it on one Sunday night.

Land value would skyrocket, potential production would triple

I'm guessing the construction cost would be recovered in a few years.

I don't need to study every basin in Thailand,

I can still say there's no water shortage.

Just go out and have a look around...the easy solution is right under your nose,

because water falls from the sky 6 months of the year,

and there is no frost in Thailand....365 day growing season.

Where's the problem?

Who else in the world has that?

Reveal the miracle of a laser guided drag scraper,

which will plane the soil surface to within 1 centimeter over a large area,

enabling perfect level rice paddies.

Have never seen one in Thailand,

but they certainly are a big deal in the Arkansas River prairie rice country.

Old technology, 1970's vintage, no big discovery, off the shelf.

Then have a look at the surrounding country side,

and just imagine places where some well invested tractor work

would vastly increase the area under perfect level paddies.

Now imagine every swail and ravine engineered with tail to head paddy chains,

so that the paddies themselves are their own water storage.

Any land contour with a troublesome steep ravine is asking for an earthen dam across it,

no need for mammoth projects, not more than two meters high,

just do it.

It creates a fish pond / water reservoir dual purpose improvement.

No heavy engineering here, just some simple dirt work.

It will not provide enough water to squander, that's never going to happen,

but there will be a great deal more than we had last year.

Imagine that the pond bottom is perfect leveled before the dam is built.

and the dam has a drain pipe underneath to release the water to fields below,

until the correct perfect depth for farming rice is reached in the reservoir

The paddy is prepared, just waiting for seedlings.

Rather than complain that China does not allow the Mekong to flow into the sea,

how about studying every possible place to store water,

followed by careful use of every drop.

Perhaps Thailand should dip huge pumps in the Mekong,

to remove whatever China can't keep.

Saying that floating boats are a reason to send scarce water down the river is not right.

China has the correct idea, get used to it, the entire world needs all the water it can get.

Now how about the choice of crops.

What if rice wasn't smart to grow when water is scarce.

What about expanding Thailand's horizons to other crops.

If it has protein or fat, it brings a high price in world commodity markets.

If it has mainly starch, then it's not a good return.

That pretty well says to switch from rice to soybean.

If there are fresh vegetable exporters out there who would buy from Thailand,

put your posts up here, and I believe we have a vast production capacity around 100 days away.

Not just me in Mae Sot, in every farm area in the entire nation.

I mentioned Nevada,

but we are lightweights there.

If you want to meet the heavy hitters in this water conservation game,

have a look at Israel.

If an Israeli farmer were to read a thread about water shortage in Thailand,

he'd suffer a breakdown.

If you think I'm heartless, see if we can get some input from those guys.

I think in terms of acre feet & cubic meters...

they think in terms of liters & drops.

Now to the micro level,

water retention in the soil of the fields.

Farmers typically plow their fields in the longest straight line path.

That's smart from the standpoint of tractor cost to plow the ground,

but foolish if that plow direction is down the slope of the field.

Contour plowing is admittedly a bit more costly,

it drives the tractor operator nuts to always have to cut perpendicular to the slope,

then to double back to plow all the small fragments of the chopped up irregular field.

BUT, if you go to the trouble, water soaks into the soil

rather than run down the gully you created.

Any water stored in the root zone is owned by the farmer.

Taken to an extreme,

bring back that laser level mounted on your plow tractor.

If every season your plowing is done toward a long term plan to terrace the field,

cutting contour lines the first year,

then emphasizing those lines every year thereafter,

you will eventually find that the field has very little runoff.

I'm rattling on in generalities, every soil type and crop brings it's own real life requirements.

But the general foundational truth is, you can engineer your soil to hold water.

One more huge mistake ingrained in the Thailand farm tradition.

Burning organic material from the field surface,

rather than plowing it under or just let it rot on the surface.

This is as destructive as anything I've seen in Thailand.

because otherwise good quality soil is never allowed to build moisture holding plant compost.

It's the old slash and burn logic turned into a tradition.

Oh sure, it gives immediate availability of the mineral content in the field straw,

but it's a terribly short sighted non advantage.

[LaoPo]

^^^^

:D

...blaming someone else is a lot easier than changing habits by farmers; your post is more important than all the non sense ones written by others combined, including my own.

Thanks!

LaoPo

[Thanh-BKK]

now there is a suggestion - 'these people' should just pick up some shovels and get something done ! the only way this little gem is helpful is when it serves as an example of ignorance at work. im guessing you decided to share this insight from the comfort of your bkk air-con office. when was the last time you picked up a shovel ?

if by 'these people' you are referring to drought affected farmers, here is some news. all they ever do is pick up their shovels. they break their backs scratching out a living, then their kids do the same, and their kids. this country was built on the back of agriculture, farmers and their shovels, while bangkok traders get rich divvying up their commodities.

if they followed taksin it is because he promised change. if he brought change or not is an entirely different question, but your suggestion they simply get back to work has grown old. it can't be the answer any longer.

Hi.

Appreciate your comment. However i was NOT talking about simply "go back to farming". What i mean is that they should take the initiative and DO something about their problem, the problem at hand being "have too much water half a year and have too little water the rest of the year".

There is a lot of talking, talking and even more talking about these problems but nothing gets done, ever. I am living in Thailand since only 9 years but in these 9 years it has been the exact same situation every year, regardless who was running the country - Isan was flooded during the rain season and bone dry during the dry season, and each season there was the usual talk about "something needs to be done". BUT NOBODY DOES SOMETHING!! Except for talking.

Hence my opinion "they should pick up some shovels and DO something", don't wait for the hot-air-producers in Bangkok to create the n'th committee and draw up plans and and and, just simply dig up the ground, make ditches, make artificial ponds and whatnot, build the irrigation system that is needed! One thing i have learned in my life - if you don't do it yourself it will never get done.

And why did i mention the red shirts? Because they waste their time protesting in Bangkok, i.e. they are not currently farming - and instead of protesting and not farming they could get that irrigation system started and not farm. They want to organize a million people to march in Bangkok - to press the government to return Thaksins dosh, great cause right? How about getting a million people to build an irrigation system in Isan?? THAT would bring some change there, not Thaksin's bank accounts. But as mentioned - their view for the future ends some time middle next week..... whatever comes after is of no importance right now. Which is also why they fell (and still fall) for Thaksin - 200 Baht in hand right now is great, losing 500 for it in a months time - no thought wasted on that.

Oh, when did i last pick up a shovel? Last Christmas. On a farm, no less. And if it wouldn't require a work permit which at the same time is not possible to get for that kind of work i'd do that more often because i LOVE to farm, much more so than sit in a stupid chair all day and hack away on my keyboard. All i get from my current job is a bigger and bigger stomach because while i am sitting all day i still have no time for exercise, such as going to a gym (working up to 14 hours/day). Farming (or some other "lo-so" type of manual work) actually keeps fit at the same time - in my home country i worked on construction sites for a few years, then in a garage for a few years so i know very well what manual labour is and believe me, i LOVE it.

Best regards.....

Thanh

[Thai at Heart]

I would dearly love for anyone around this table to claim that they have sat with farmers in tears looking at their crops. It is genuinely the most destressing thing in the world. I have done it twice, once in Europe and once in Asia.

If that is what the sophisticated western world wants for it's brethren, then it can go and <deleted> itself too. These people are dirt poor and the successive (inbetween the military bunch) Thai governments for the last 30 years whilst they have been arguing have achieved nothing.

[webfact]

UPDATE

Lower Mekong level endangers giant catfish

By THE NATION ON SUNDAY

Sinking water levels in the Mekong River have raised concerns for the well-being of giant catfish, as well as worries that drug smuggling might increase.

CHIANG RAI: -- In Chiang Rai's Chiang Khong district, Pisit Wannatham, president of the Ban Hat Khrai Giant Catfish Association, yesterday said the Mekong had dropped to its lowest level in two decades.

He is unsure whether the situation will resolve itself like in 1992 when a severe drought hit the Mekong but giant catfish continued to spawn in April and May that year.

"This year the issue came from various factors and the water level is now too low for the fish to lay eggs in April-May," he said.

If they do not reproduce, it will be a major crisis and a clearer hint to their extinction, he said.

Suparp Kaewla-aied, chief of Chiang Rai's freshwater fishery station, said that if the problem were prolonged, it would threaten spawning this drought season because the fish needed water to be at least 2 to 3 metres deep.

However, extinction is unlikely because, if they fail to do so in April-May, they will return to lay eggs in the rainy season or whenever the water rises high enough.

Giant catfish mingled to reproduce in nature so some species might be affected, but the giant catfish population will not shrink. Fishery stations in Thailand raise many giant catfish, so they could be released to restore the natural balance if needed, he said.

Captain Dusit Jantharat, head of the Mekong River Patrol Patch in Ubon Ratchathani, said the falling water level caused several dry spots to emerge, which made it more convenient for people to cross over. This increased national security risks, especially drugs trafficked from neighbouring countries.

The authorities have doubled land patrol shifts and are keeping a close watch on major ports and suspect spots, while intelligence officials have been instructed to proactively follow targeted persons, he said.

All riverside villagers have been told to strictly follow the rules, especially one that prohibits launching boats after 6pm, to help accommodate the officials' work.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said he did not think China had intentionally brought suffering to downstream countries.

The cause of the current water shortage must be investigated first and Thai authorities will look up the agreements on international water management to see what they could do next, he said.

It is still too early to conclude that China should be blamed for not releasing water retained upstream, the PM said.

Meanwhile, with the arid season in full swing, smog in the North remained severe with five provinces shrouded in fine dust particles exceeding the standard for a week now.

Tourism associations in Chiang Rai and Lampang admitted the haze was hurting their business. Chiang Rai saw a 20-per-cent decline in tourists both local and foreigners, while Lampang said the region was suffering rather than one particular province because tourists usually visited several neighbouring provinces in one trip.

The northern province of Mae Hong Son and 20 districts in Buri Ram, Chaiyaphum and Surin have been declared drought disaster zones, while some areas of Nakhon Ratchasima are also hard hit.

The Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Region 5 Office has dispatched four water trucks to each of the four northeastern provinces to help local authorities' provide assistance.

Second Army Area chief Maj-General Weewalit Jornsamrit said the drought was expected to be more critical this month, as major reservoirs were running low.

Local Army units are preparing to work with governors and provincial offices of the Internal Security Operations Command in helping drought victims.

-- The Nation 2010-03-07

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

[webfact]

PM to talk with China about declining water levels in Mekong River

BANGKOK (NNT) -- Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has expressed his readiness to negotiate with the Chinese government about the water level reduction in the Mekong river.

Prime Minister Abhisit stated that the Thai and Chinese government will be having an in-depth discussion about the water management system in the Mekong river after China had been blamed for blocking water for electricity generation, resulting in a dry riverbed.

The Thai prime minister believed that China did not intend to cause any problems and pledged that he would urgently negotiate with the Chinese government to resolve the issue.

Prime Minister Abhisit stressed the importance of solving the issue urgently as the drought for 2010 was expected to be more severe compared to other years.

-- NNT 2010-03-07

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

[neverdie]

In Australia, we have 'states' arguing about rivers and rights to water access etc & it gets fairly ugly considering its one country.

I can imagine that its a whole lot more complicated when several countries are all trying to get their fair share of water. Thailand needs to start looking at better ways to manage their water, its as simple as that, relying on neighbouring china, isnt going to cut it.

[webfact]

Thailand wants China's help with Mekong drought: PM

BANGKOK (AFP) -- Thailand will ask China for help in dealing with the record-low water levels in the Mekong River, on which more than 60 million people depend, the prime minister said Sunday.

The flows are the lowest for 20 years, according to the Mekong River Commission (MRC), which has said water supply, navigation and irrigation are at threat.

"We can see the level of the water is getting lower," premier Abhisit Vejjajiva said on the issue, which is affecting northern Laos as well as northern Thailand and southern China.

"We will ask the foreign ministry to talk with a representative from China in terms of co-operation and in terms of management systems in the region," he said on his weekly television programme.

The government has been urged by local activists to hold talks with Beijing on the Mekong following alarming drops in the river's flow, local media reported last month.

The Bangkok Post said the Save the Mekong Coalition - an alliance of environmental groups and Mekong riverside communities - believes the unusually low water levels are caused by Chinese dams.

But Jeremy Bird, chief executive officer of the MRC's secretariat, pointed to extremely low rainfalls in Laos and China.

However, he told AFP last week it was "difficult for us to say categorically that there's no link" between the low water levels and the eight existing or planned dams on the mainstream Mekong in China.

Chavanond Intarakomalyasut, secretary to the foreign ministry, said that Thailand was "not accusing anyone" and blamed the drought on low rainfall across the region.

"The help that we want to get from China is that we want to talk with them," he told AFP. "We would like to solve the problem with them".

More than 60 million people in the lower Mekong basin depend on the river system for food, transport and economic activity, the inter-governmental MRC says, adding that it is home to the world's most valuable inland fishery.

"Severe drought will have an impact on agriculture, food security, access to clean water and river transport and will affect the economic development of people already facing serious poverty," the group has said in a statement.

River tour operators have stopped offering services on the river between the Laotian tourist centre of Luang Prabang and Huay Xai on the Thai border, it added.

-- ©Copyright AFP 2010-03-07

Published with written approval from AFP.

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

[poldebol]

During the rainy season, the land around our house is getting lower every year. The water falls from the roof (about 5,5m) and washes the soil away. In the dry season, everybody is trying to find some cheap landfill to restore the original level of the land. I have offered the in-laws to install a water collecting system (about 200m2 of roof). Their usual answer is: "we have 3 big "ong" (giant jars) and that is enough for us to drink untill the next rain." How can I oppose this wisdom?

[tomahawk]

I am no expert on water or hydraulics, but today I visited local reservoir with people who have lived here long time and they say it is lowest level they have ever seen for this time of year. Also I was at Mae Sai the other day and Sai is just a stream. Whether the country uses water wisely is not the only issue, although it is surely important. But if there is little rain there will be little water, regardless of how you manage it.

And as for China, probably they are not intentionally trying to harm other countries with dams, but from their record it appears they do not much care if they do.

[Loaded]

...The flows are the lowest for 20 years, according to the Mekong River Commission (MRC), which has said water supply, navigation and irrigation are at threat...

20 years ago did people blame China and their dams for the low river levels? Of course not. It's a dry year and that's the end of it.

I grew up on an island where it never stopped raining. Wimbledon - washed out; summer holidays - washed out; summer never came, autumn and winter it always rained and spring was a damp experience. However, a new way of screwing people crept in around 20 years ago - our government said there wasn't enough water to water gardens HOWEVER if you want to use a hose, pay us for a licence. I don't believe what governments say.

[jombom]

Post 38 by WatersEdge is one of the best I have ever read on Thaivisa, and gives me hope for the future. Well done.

In the last 1000 years there have been 15 major droughts in China, and 11 of these were associated with very cold weather.

A number of very large rivers in Asia originate in the Himalayas. In India both the Ganges and Brahmaputra are experiencing low water. In China the Yangtze is stressed, with river ferries suspended below the Three Gorges dam. The water level behind the dam is reducing.

The 3 dams in China on the Mekong hold about 2.5 days of water at mean flow, or 25 days at low flow. We do not know what the water levels are, behing these dams. In the overall scheme of things, these dams are of small significance.

These 3 dams are for Hydroelectricity, not water storage.

The fourth dam under construction at present will have water storage capability, 4 times greater than the other 3 dams combined.

The spring equinox is nearly here (2 weeks). Let us hope the snow melt will start soon.

[MUYTHAI]

That is what you get when you keep on bending over for Mighty china. China does not give a dam_n thing about Thailand, Burma Vietnam or Cambodia. Everybody knows except this government given the fact that the sister of the Lama was refused entry. As long as countries love to get screwed by China nothing will change. Just stop placing orders, impose tariffs on fruit and vegetables because of uneven competition. They have water we don"t

Maybe you should educate yourself a little better before you write...?

China is suffering from serious droughts themselves and it's nonsense what you write.

If the Mekong runs dry it's because of serious lack of water supplies from high up on the plateaus of the Himalaya where the Mekong originates.

The Mekong runs from China via Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Thailand doesn't have the exclusive water rights to the water of the Mekong. To blame China because there are serious droughts is silly.

March 4, 2010:

"BEIJING - The drought that has struck five provinces in Southwest China has become increasingly worse, leaving at least 11 million people short of water and endangering crop yields of at least 3.8 million hectares, authorities have warned.

Guaranteeing the supply of drinking water will be the highest priority for drought relief efforts in Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Chongqing and Sichuan, as the drought is expected to last until mid-March, the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters said on Tuesday.

The dry spell, which began in September, has left more than 15 million people and 9 million livestock without adequate water supplies.

It has also affected 4.4 million hectares of farmland across the country, according to statistics.

There is also little relief in sight. With hardly any rain expected, the dry weather and high temperatures are expected to continue for the next 10 days in affected regions, especially Yunnan, Sichuan and Guizhou, national weather forecasters said. "

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2010-03/...ent_9534325.htm

LaoPo

Lao,

Maybe you should educate yourself about the environmental damage China is causing in other countries. China only cares about the resourses they can extract from other countries and what Chinese products they can sell to other countries. Period. Maybe you should research the figures for blackmarket plant and animal

live specimens and products that are solicited and brought into China. China is probably the largest per capita blackmarket wildlife consumer on Earth. Any scientist concerned with species conservation knows the damage China is causing to ecosystems and species around the Earth. Chinese companies are cutting down massive areas of rainforest in South America, Africa, and Asia. China has turned into a monster that has been and will destroy and damage many species and ecosystems in many countries in which they have their greedy hands on. The Yangzee River Dolphin is just the latest casualty of Chinese apathy for species, etc.. Other than the cuddly, symbolic, world-reknown Giant Panda, China doesn't care about species extinctions or destroying other countries ecosystems. In general, money has become China's God! Sad, but true.

Concerning dams...water into a reservoir does not always equal water out of the reservoir... and into the waterway below. After dams are created, MANY more new people start to pull water out of the system to irrigate new agricultural ventures that are created because there is now more available water to be used (the new reservoir water). Many pro-dam people fail to know this. Maybe they just read about dams but are not "on the ground" and working near/with the people that use the newly available reservoir water.

[ding]

China does not care. People who complained about the US when it was in a position of hegemony will look back on that time as 'the good old days'. I figure China will take ALL the water it needs and send sewage and chemical run-off downstream in the future. They'll take Taiwan back and threaten anyone who complains about water after that, I'd bet.

In the states they use dams as flood control, filling dams to maximum before they have to let water out. China has riots and protests from displaced population to deal with. And it's expensive to relocate. So for now, China is pausing the filling of at least one dam. As of November 2009 they held the level at 171 meters instead of going to 175 meters because towns downstream suffer from drought. But they will not car about Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia, or Vietnam when climate change hits them.

171 meters, but officials have held off from raising the level to 175 meters so that more water is available for drought-hit areas downstream.

[LaoPo]

The topic title is about the Mekong runs Dry....

The Mekong river has it's origin in China and runs through SIX countries: China, Burma/Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and ends in Vietnam into the mouth of the Mekong Delta.

It's a major problem for ALL countries concerned and it is not of any interest for China to create problems since it's own provinces are suffering from MAJOR droughts...the most severe in 60 years!

Yet, this topic is becoming a China bashing topic. How sad and silly.

Drought cripples Yunnan and Guangxi....

The drought has affected nearly 1.2 million hectares of crops in Yunnan and Guangxi, causing the agriculture sector to lose an estimated 3.6 billion yuan. Meteorologists have warned the situation may continue to worsen, with no considerable rainfall forecast in the coming week.

http://en.kunming.cn/index/content/2010-02...ent_2081455.htm

Drought affects over 1.5 million people in Guizhou..water reservoirs empty....

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/photo/2010-02...ent_9492058.htm

Drought continues to ravage SW China

In Yunnan, the worst drought-stricken province, up to 31.48 million Mu of crops had been affected, with 11.53 million Mu seriously damaged and 6.16 million Mu destroyed. About 5.97 million people and 3.59 million livestock are suffering from water shortage.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2010-02...ent_9478809.htm

Drought inflicts a heavy toll

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2010-02...ent_9447073.htm

The worst drought in 60 years that has left millions of people in Yunnan province lacking drinking water has also fueled forest fires and threatened local energy supplies.

ALL recent articles from February.

I said it before: it's easier to blame someone else rather than to deliver constructive ideas and solutions like the one submitted by member WatersEdge on post # 38.

One of the more brilliant posts I've read about controlling and usage of water. A lot more brilliant than the usual crap.

But other members ignore such important posts and start blaming and bashing other countries. How silly and ignorant.

LaoPo

[webfact]

MEKONG RIVER CRISIS

Hua Hin summit to discuss crisis

By Chularat Saengpassa

Pongphon Sarnsamak

The Nation

Photo Nanthansit Nitmetha

Sandbars protrude here and there as the Mekong River courses past Thailand. To the naked eye, it's the driest season in decades, villagers say.

Together with activists, they point the finger at China, as the current has ebbed after the completion of three dams upstream in 2008.

The issue will be discussed at the first Mekong River Summit to be held in Hua Hin from April 2-5. The summit, which is the first of its kind, will gather regional political leaders and experts in the field of integrated water resource management.

Aside from the four member countries of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) - Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam - the dialogue partners of the 15-year-old body, like China and Burma, and non-government organisations will also attend.

'WE'LL RAISE OUR CONCERNS'

"We'll raise our concerns at the summit," says Pianporn Deetes from Save the Mekong Coalition. "We earlier asked the Thai government to tap flow information from China, as China has not responded to our request."

Next month, a group of 100 villagers from Chiang Khong district will submit a petition to the Chinese Embassy, and also seek compensation of Bt85 million from the Chinese government for damages from the flashfloods they experienced two years ago. Their leader, Niwat Roikaew of the Rak Chiang Khong conservation group, accused China of releasing water from the dams, which raised the river's level by one metre overnight. Now, in the dry season, China does not release water, and the water level, at 0.38 metre, is the lowest in 50 years.

Khamphang Chandthakul, headman of Chiang Saen's Ban Sob Kham village, said the village's corn and chilli farms were suffering a water shortage. Last weekend, 10 villagers built a checkdam at a small canal, to slow water draining into the river.

But even after 100 sandbags were placed, hours later the water level remained below 10cm, though it was normally 50cm in previous years. The low level makes it impossible for villagers to pump water from the canal to their farms.

Fishermen from Pak Ing and Pong Kham villages in Chiang Saen have left their fishing nets and boats on the sandbanks.

"Now, we've stopped fishing temporarily. We will have to wait until the river is high enough," said Sak Khamdang, a 48-year-old fisherman. He is ready to look for a job in a big city, if the water does not rise in the near future.

Thao Sommai, 43, a Laotian who plies a tourist boat in Luang Prabang, admitted that the level was the most critical factor.

"Small boats like mine are okay as we're operating near the city. But shipping goods by river from China and Thailand is impossible. Road transportation is more costly. Some boats are still stuck in the shoals, and now, we only can wait for rain to come in May."

CHINA STANDS ACCUSED

Farmers in Laos and Thailand accuse China of saving water for local use. Civil society is greatly concerned about the impact of the three dams in China on the water level. As of Feb 24, all six major water stations in Thailand, from Chiang Rai to Ubon Ratchathani, recorded extremely low water levels, according to data from the MRC.

In Chiang Saen, water on that day was only one metre above the riverbed, compared to the average of 2.4 metres recorded during the summer of 2009 and 2.3 metres recorded in 1992, before China constructed the three dams. The third dam was completed in 2008.

China, as an MRC dialogue partner, now contributes flow information only during the flood season, not the dry season.

But academics are reluctant to blame China. They said the crisis could be a result of global warming and an accelerated El Nino cycle.

Meteorologist Smith Thammasaroj said warmer temperatures lead to faster ice melts. While much of the thawed water flows to the sea, the remaining thin ice is not enough to feed sufficient water to the river. He suggested the construction of reservoirs to stock up water for the dry season.

-- The Nation 2010-03-08

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

[Lancelot]

it was only a few days ago the finger of guilt was being pointed at China, The construction of another dam being the root cause of the problem.

Interesting how the article never referenced China. The "grab" for natural resources could get a tad nasty...

[Tejas]

The topic title is about the Mekong runs Dry....

The Mekong river has it's origin in China and runs through SIX countries: China, Burma/Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and ends in Vietnam into the mouth of the Mekong Delta.

It's a major problem for ALL countries concerned and it is not of any interest for China to create problems since it's own provinces are suffering from MAJOR droughts...the most severe in 60 years!

Good post.........I would like to add two things:

1) Due to global warming glaciers in China that are the source of the Mekong's water are melting......this will eventually lead to less, not more water. The dams will make little difference. Chinese scientists have long since recognized this.......the same problem exists with the Yellow River.

2) Overpopulation coupled with economic growth is increasing the demand for water in China and Asia in general, but China has tried to do something about overpopulation.

This is what happens when countries act irresponsibly to future generations with respect to energy and population........no doubt water wars are upon us.

[LaoPo]

The topic title is about the Mekong runs Dry....

The Mekong river has it's origin in China and runs through SIX countries: China, Burma/Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and ends in Vietnam into the mouth of the Mekong Delta.

It's a major problem for ALL countries concerned and it is not of any interest for China to create problems since it's own provinces are suffering from MAJOR droughts...the most severe in 60 years!

Good post.........I would like to add two things:

1) Due to global warming glaciers in China that are the source of the Mekong's water are melting......this will eventually lead to less, not more water. The dams will make little difference. Chinese scientists have long since recognized this.......the same problem exists with the Yellow River.

2) Overpopulation coupled with economic growth is increasing the demand for water in China and Asia in general, but China has tried to do something about overpopulation.

This is what happens when countries act irresponsibly to future generations with respect to energy and population........no doubt water wars are upon us.

There is more to this topic:

The Mekong river, which runs for more than 2,200 Kms in China and is called the Lancang Jian River there, has it's origin in Qinghai Province, the source for three major rivers: the Yellow River (Huang He), the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang), and the Mekong River (Lancang Jiang).

Qinghai has an average height of 3.000 meters above sea level but has a mere 5 to 6 million people but after the Lancang Jian River has left Qinghai province and it has it's run via Tibet it arrives into Yunnan Province with some 45 million people where it is of extreme importance to agricultural life there, the same as for Thailand and the other "Mekong-countries".

And Yunnan Province, like Thailand is suffering from extreme droughts, the most severe since 60 years.

It's not so simple as Thai authorities/new sources try to explain.

The talk is about the Mekong river.......

WHAT ABOUT all the other MAJOR rivers which have their origins within Thailand itself ?

What about the Chao Phraya, the Mun, the Chi ? (the latter two run into a -Thai- dam just before the rivers enter Laos and end up in the Mekong).

What about the Ping, Yom and Nan...the Pa Sak, the Mae Klong rivers ? All of them have nothing to do with water origins from other countries.

There are hundreds of smaller and larger streams and rivers withing Thailand...why is the discussion only about the Mekong ?

LaoPo

[Tejas]

There are hundreds of smaller and larger streams and rivers withing Thailand...why is the discussion only about the Mekong ?

I found this picture on the net of the main rivers in Thailand.

The Mekong has been discussed already. Obviously extremely important to Thailand.

The source of the other rivers seems to be the highlands of northern Thailand.......maybe parts of Burma/Myanmar.........Lao, etc.

Maybe an expert will tell us about "sources" of the rivers.

[brahmburgers]

Yes Laopo and others, we all know there is a drought affecting all of SE Asia region. I saw it coming and mentioned it in August when I realized that rainfall was woefully low compared to what it was in ordinary years.

The issue is not whether there's also drought in Yunnan, the issue is one country taking far more than its share. China knew there would be protests or worse, but figured the protests would come years later. China hasn't yet finished the fourth of eight planned dams for the Mekong within the same region. The fourth one will be the tallest in the world, at 300 meters, holding back billions of cubic meters.

Chinese officials are predictably tossing out all sorts of soggy excuses, such as how only 15% of the Mekong's flow goes through China. Whether or not that's true, it's not a decent excuse for being so greedy of resources - to the degree of depriving people downstream from a decent amount of water.

It won't become a 'water war' as none of the countries downstream, even collectively, are any match for China's military might. The same military which took control of Tibet which, by the way, is the source for all the major rivers in China and most of the subcontinent.

It would be interesting if Tibet gained independence and then chose to dam the rivers right inside its borders. How would the billions of Han Chinese react to that, I wonder? Would they just roll with it, using their current reasoning, "Well, only 6% of the rivers' water comes across Tibet's border, so it's no problem if they put that water in reservoirs for their own uses." ......yea sure!

[Thai at Heart]

It isn't exactly a common occurence in China for the people or the government to consider their own countrymen down river, when it comes to water management. So why on earth anyone would believe that they are going to care one jot about other countries down river?

[brahmburgers]

Actually, with large dams, you're damned if you do and damned if you don't

If China did release decent amounts of water in a drought year, then there might be none for the one of two months before the rains came again.

If Chinese dam officals are not allowing much water release now, then what they're doing is flat out hoarding resources. They don't give a hoot what happens downstream as long as it doesn't translate to direct harm to them. Rallys and marches, no problem. However, protests could lead to more dire action such as embargos (what does China need from SE Asian countries?).

Another sobeing thought: A big earthquake. 3 dams in operation now, one about to go on line (the tallest in the world) and four more planned for the same immediate region leading in to the Mekong. - that's 8 big dams, any one of which might breach with an earthquake of the size which hit a nearby region a couple years ago.

Thai villagers downstream complained of a 1 meter rise in the river awhile ago, due to an irresponsibly quick release by upstream Chinese dam(s), ....wait until they get a big surge from a breached dam - you can bet it will be a lot higher than an immediate 1 meter rise.