6 Countries Collaboratively Address Mekong’s Impacts

Six countries standing along the Mekong River join forces to cope with the impacts of fluctuating discharges in the river, according to the Office of the National Water Resources.

ONWR deputy secretary-general Chayan Muangsong said that China raised the discharge rate of the Jinghong Dam on the river on March 1 and consequently the level of the river surged. China kept changing the discharge rate and downstream countries had to always monitor the level of the river closely, he said.

The downstream countries informed China of their concern and asked it to set a clear pattern of the discharge rates. Previously China kept answering that changes in the river did not result from it alone, he said.

At the latest development, six countries in the Mekong River Commission and the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation agreed to jointly study the changing patterns of hydrological conditions in the Lancang-Mekong River Basin and adaptation strategies. They are Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and China.

The study was aimed at finding out appropriate discharges at dams across the river and proper adaptation, Mr Chayan said. (TNA)