15,000 sign up to save the Mekong

Reports of planned hydro-electric dams surprised thousands of people along the Mekong River, say petition organisers. [Reuters]

Friday, June 19, 2009
Claudette Werden
ABC Radio Australia

In an unprecedented move, more than 15,000 people from countries beside the Mekong River have signed a petition urging governments to abandon plans for hydro-electricity along the river's mainstream.

Co-organiser Premrudee Daoroung told Radio Australia's Connect Asia program they printed postcards in three languages - Thai, Cambodian and English - and took three months to gather responses.

This week, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva was presented with the petition.

Eleven dams are proposed along the lower Mekong - seven in Laos, two at the Laos-Thailand border and another two in Cambodia.