China Hydropower Dams in Mekong River Give Shocks to 60 Million
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| Bu Sonthana, right, sits with other Banmai villagers in Stung Treng Province in northern Cambodia. Photographer: Namas Bhojani/Bloomberg Markets via Bloomberg |
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| A woman fishes in the Mekong River in Laos. Photographer: Namas Bhojani/Bloomberg Markets via Bloomberg |
By Yoolim Lee
Bloomberg Markets Magazine
The Mekong River sparkles in the early morning sun as Somwang Prommin, a stocky fisherman wearing a worn-out black T-shirt and shorts, starts the motor of his boat. As the tiny craft glides on the river’s calm surface in the northeastern Thai district of Chiang Khong, Somwang points to a nearby riverbank. Three days ago, he says, the water levels there were 3 meters (10 feet) higher.
The Mekong, which translates roughly as “mother of the waters” in the Thai language, has become unpredictable since China started building hydropower dams and blasting the rapids upstream, says Somwang, 36, who’s been fishing for a living since he was 8.
In August 2008, there were devastating floods that reduced his catches and income, Bloomberg Markets magazine reports in its December 2010 issue. Early this year, he witnessed the most severe drought in his life.
