Mekong dam delay - a reprieve for giant fish

Hi ya! How’re things? Got a busy day planned? Hope you’ve got time for a mug of Java beans and a treat. Say, when I saw this I knew I’d have to share it with you because it’s close to home…at least for me, since the Mekong River runs across the top and east of Thailand.

The world's largest freshwater fish, the Mekong giant catfish, can breathe a sigh of relief, at least for now. A decision has been shelved to build a huge dam in Laos that threatens its habitat in the Mekong River, not to mention the fate of fisheries, wetlands, and millions of people who would be displaced.

Officials from the four countries through which the lower Mekong flows failed to agree last week at a meeting of the Mekong River Commission on whether to approve the proposed Xayaburi dam, deferring the decision instead to ministers.

Laos, which wants to make money by selling electricity generated by the dam, could find itself isolated and outvoted. Officials from neighbouring Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam all expressed reservations about the dam, especially Vietnam, which has "deep and serious concerns" about potential damage to the Mekong delta, and wants the scheme delayed at least 10 years to give time for more research into impacts of the dam.

The World Wide Fund for Nature, one of 260 non-governmental organizations opposing the dam, says that as well as the catfish, which reaches lengths of up to 3 metres, other species, fisheries and river connections are at risk. In a study also published last week, WWF calculated that the same amount of electricity could be generated without the same environmental impact from smaller dams built on tributaries.

 

That’s one huge fish, my friend, and, not that they’ve asked my opinion, but I’d sure hate to see anything happen that would reconfigure the Mekong and possibly damage the habitat of this and many other species…primarily so Laos can make money!

 

See ya!

Bob