Hydropower backlash and policy gaps plague Lower Mekong

摘要

The Lao government was forced to suspend the approval of new dams and require impact studies for other projects in the pipeline after the Se-Pian Se Nam Noi dam collapsed and killed dozens in 2018. Early this year, the Mekong River Commission (MRC) proposed impact mitigation and risk management measures for the Pak Lay hydropower project, the fourth of eleven projects planned in the lower Mekong river. However, experts still raised concerns over this project and the others, stating that another collapse should be avoided at all costs.