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

[webfact]

MEKONG RIVER CRISIS

China brushes off accusation on dams' effect

By The Nation

Senior Chinese and Thai officials brushed off claims yesterday that Chinese dams had dried up the Mekong River, saying China had only a small proportion of water flowing into Southeast Asia's longest river.

Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Hu Zhengyue told Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva during a meeting at Government House that Chinese dams on the upper Mekong in Yunnan province made no significant impact on water flow into the lower part of the river, according to an official at the meeting.

Beijing and local administrators paid a lot of attention to drought within the region and China would not do anything to damage mutual interests with neighbouring countries in the Mekong, Hu was quoted as telling Abhisit.

The PM told Hu people living in the lower Mekong region were worried about the drought as they had no clear information about the dams in China. It would be useful if there was a forum for experts to share information, he said.

"China plays a significant role in regional development and I believe China does not want to see people in the lower Mekong basin in difficulties," Abhisit was quoted as saying to Hu.

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, who met Hu separately, said countries in the lower Mekong should not blame China for the drought since 35 per cent of the river's water supply came from rain in Laos. The dams in China held only 4 per cent of total water in the Mekong, he said.

"We should not blame each other but should find ways to cooperate with China for water management of the Mekong," Kasit told reporters.

Natural Resource and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti said separately that Chinese dams were not a big contributing factor to the drought in the Mekong basin. There are many other factors in the region that could have caused the river's low water level, he said.

"It is difficult to blame China, as it shares only some 15 per cent of the water flow. Water supply to the river from Thailand and Laos is more than half of the total," he said.

However, the Mekong River Commission would invite representatives from China and Burma, to meet as dialogue partners of the commission, to discuss the issue at a meeting next month, he said.

"The problem is that we don't have sufficient information about water in Chinese dams and we also have a problem of water management," he said.

"We have to find better solutions for water management otherwise we will face drought in the dry season and flood in the wet season," Suwit said.

China has been blamed for controlling water flow into the Mekong since it began operating three hydropower dams with a combined reservoir capacity of three billion cubic metres on the mainstream of the Mekong in Yunnan province.

A fourth dam is under construction at Xiaowan and due for completion in 2012. With a height of nearly 300 metres, the Xiaowan dam, if completed, will be the world's highest dam, with a reservoir capable of holding 15 billion cubic metres of water.

The Mekong River Commission said recently river levels in southwest China were at their lowest in 50 years, with water flowing at only half the level that would be considered normal for February.

-- The Nation 2010-03-09

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[Thai at Heart]

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.

And don't worry, Yunnan gets more than its fair share of shakes. Sichuan isn't that far away either. They might stand up, they might not, but looking at how many of the buildings in Sichuan were below building code, fingers crossed they have made these damns correctly.

[elcent]

Thailand looks carved out on this map - full size link - http://www.use.com/da90a52e54be17c01534

[Chinavet]

Watersedge post #38...excellent post.

I grew up in central Australia at the end of a 370 mile water pipeline, I value water and I despair at the abuse and misuse the 'lucky' countries continue to practice.

I have lived in China for 13 of the past 27 years and I am well aware of their excesses, but I don't think the current situation can simply be blamed on China. That said, no doubt they will continue to dam in Yunan and fund new dams in the southern countries. It's not just a China thing....grabbing water resources upstream is a worldwide issue and it will continue.

I see a big problem is the polarization of pro and anti dam groups. Unless someone very quickly introduces population reduction, dams are a fact of life and there will be more of them. Governments lean towards haste and secrecy because of the bad press and opposition any proposal will get, but their duty is still to get energy and irrigation to their populations. Thailand's dams have over 70 billion cubic meters capacity. Dams alter things forever with major positive and negative effects. More focus on the many things that could be done to minimize the negatives would be a step in the right direction.

The Mun and Chi river basins of N.E. Thailand contribute +/- 12% of the Mekong's flow, roughly the same input as China. Thailand's input is 18% total. I live about 30km from the Dong Rek mountain border with Cambodia. This area is the source for a network of small creeks, rivers and wetlands that feed the Mun river. Damming these waterways has been in place since the 1950's and you will find a weir every few kilometers. The dam walls are constructed to serve the optimum for water management of the adjacent paddy.

Everywhere I look in my locality (and I assume most of Isan) the local authorities are bulldozing the connected wetlands and making reservoirs. These wetlands are the source for practically all things alternative to rice for the Isan way of life, the fish, frogs, lotus, birds etc. The wetlands filter the runoff from rice paddy with all the fertilizer nutrients that destroy natural habitat and accumulate all the way to the Mekong. The difference in life supported between relatively natural swamps, polluted swamps and the reservoirs is astonishing. Vegetation protecting river banks from erosion fall into the same category, either bare or with a single line of vegetation, the natural water ways are severely threatened.

Unlike the concept of indigenous rain forest people being the best stewards for their land, poverty, lack of education and law enforcement in Isan results in a never ending assault on natural resources with a 'take it all' mentality. Daily, I watch the local villagers trying to catch the last remaining fish, of any size, with every kind of illegal net and trap available. They are very, very good at it, as they are at shooting, netting and trapping anything that moves. With mechanization rapidly increasing, the attack on the remaining depleted forest is visible everywhere. Bulldozing, chain saw and ring-barking is rampant with no apparent law enforcement at all. The salt encroachment problem is well known and a lower dry season water table is noticeable since the first well I put down 20 years ago.

Everything points towards massive salinity destruction, declining water quality and rapid desertification of Isan with all the knock on effects accumulating in the Mekong. But the two biggest impending disasters are the salinity creep of the Mekong delta in Vietnam and the threat of losing inflow to the Tonle Sap in Cambodia.

So while the China bashing might be satisfying, it is unlikely to produce results, they will take care of themselves first. Immediate intelligent programs of education and law enforcement to protect, manage, restore and enhance the thoroughly abused river basin drainage system is Thailand's best chance of slowing the decline of water and life quality for the 20 million (?) people of Isan and take proportional responsibility for health of the Mekong.

Sorry, needed to get that off my chest. These issues are visible daily to me and the negative rate of change is increasing rapidly. Mostly the same issues that have been managed so badly by rural Australia and around the world. I try to keep the glass more than half full, but the potential for real and focused political will does not look great. Today's situation after 60 years of governments, organizations, money, banks, studies, programs and academics is not very promising.

[LaoPo]

^^^^

LaoPo

[LaoPo]

..There isn't much hope in the immediate future for the Mekong, running dry...

Mekong Runs Dry

Severe drought in SW China regions likely to linger till May

(Xinhua)Updated: 2010-03-10 13:42

KUNMING - A severe drought in southwest China, which local people say is the worst in a century, is forecast to linger and extend till the start of the rainy season in May, according to two provincial meteorological stations.

Villagers place dozes of buckets in front of their houses, waiting for the fire engines to bring water in Gangchang village, Huize county in Qujin city of Southwest China's Yunnan province on March 6, 2010. [Photo/Xinhua]

The meteorological stations in Yunnan and Guizhou provinces made the forecast Wednesday saying no effective and widespread rainfall could be expected before May, although weak rainfall was likely in the second half of this month.

The Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) said Sunday that the drought since autumn last year had affected 61.31 million mu (4.09 million hectares) of farmland in southwest China as of March 5.

About 32.95 million mu (2.20 million hectares) of that area was seriously damaged, according to the MOA.

The affected acreage was in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan provinces and Chongqing Municipality.

"The drought is the most severe in Guizhou's 100-year meteorological history. The parched farmland cannot be revived without effective rainfall," said Xiang Hongqiong, director of the Guizhou provincial meteorological bureau.

Zhang Min, a villager in Puding County, Guizhou, said he has not seen a drop of water from the water faucet at his home since the end of January.

According to the Guizhou Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, emergency measures, such as digging wells and diverting water, have been taken to provide water for 2.52 million people, who suffered drinking water shortages. However, 960,000 people still have drinking water problems.

In Yunnan, similar measures have been taken to temporarily solve the drinking water problem for 7 million people. The province had earlier reported 7.4 million people facing drinking water shortages.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2010-03...ent_9567448.htm

LaoPo

[ding]

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. http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Water-Wars-E...3403493#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.

Both very good posts. I do feel that similar downstream issues in my area can overlay on Thailand vis-a-vis China. My neighbor who could read. write, and speak Thai -worked on this issue in Thailand and here as his job. Didn't mean to go OT.

Edited March 10, 2010 by ding

[brahmburgers]

Lots of good responses on this thread, particularly the recent one by Chinavet.

Overpopulation in general, across the whole region, is the #1 concern in my view.

Knowledge of and husbandry for the environment is a close 2nd. Knowing what a watershed is and how important it is to keep it as natural and untainted as possible, is part of the equation.

I know it's easy to be a 'China basher' and I'm no exception. I also know it's a region-wide issue, and the onus is not just on Chinese authorities.

In Chiang Rai, we have a tributary to the Mekong, the Mae Kok river, which has been dammed since October. It's a small dam, but it backs the river bed up several Km, and it's like an algae packed long lake, starting to stink. I've not seen one plying a boat on it or swimming in it. That water is used for irrigation, such as a 2nd rice crop in the area.

Upriver, is a silty light-brown stream coming in from Burma. After an ordinary wet season, the river is about 2.5 meters, deep and broad. I'm the only person I've known who actually swims in it (not counting waders near shore) - so I test its depth personally.

The Mae Kok is probably typical of most, if not all rivers coming out of Thailand and feeding in to the Mekong.

Growing rice is an issue which should be dynamically addressed. Granted, it's ingrained (pun intended) in locals' psyche to grow rice without even thinking about its ramifications. Yet there are grains and other crops which take a lot less water. However, if you're familiar with how Asians think, you'll know they're slow to change firm habits. Hemp would be a great crop for many reasons (it also has nutritional seeds, besides it's many other benefits), but it won't happen because Uncle Sam tells Thailand that hemp is a drug (of course, it's not), and Thailand dutifully follows America's dictates.

Thais could learn a lot from people who inhabit drier regions, such as north Africa, about how to farm and get by when things get very dry.

The big irony here is, as soon as the monsoon season gets going, there will a collective hue and cry about flooding - throughout Thailand and SE Asia.