Xayaburi Dam
The mega construction damming the Mekong River
Laos pushed ahead with the Xayaburi Dam to become the largest energy exporter in the region or the “Battery of Asia.”
A massive 1,285-megawatt Xayaburi Dam on the Mekong River is built by Ch. Karnchang, one of Thailand’s largest construction companies. The dam is expected to bring enormous profits to these companies and the Lao government. However, 202,000 people living near the land used for the construction and operation of XHPP have been directly affected and at least 2,100 people need to be resettled.
Changes in streamflow and level of water will cause substantial threats in countries downstream and will have an impact on some of the river’s complex ecosystems that serve as important fish habitats including the iconic Mekong Giant Catfish.
Long-term environmental effects will decline the number of fish stocks that feed millions of people along the riverbanks and reduce food security and agricultural productivity. Not only it heightens environmental change and but also it increases Climate Change threats in the Lower Mekong Basin.
