China's hydroelectric dams on River Mekong leave devastating impact, livelihoods of millions affected, here’s why

Owing to China`s haphazard construction activities in the upper Mekong, the regions in the lower basin area are witnessing droughts as well as the destruction of fishery and agriculture activities.

Beijing: China's construction of large hydropower dams along the River Mekong is causing problems downriver, leaving the region dry having devastating impacts on water availability and the fertile soil that feeds hundreds of millions of people in Southeast Asia. Fabien Baussart, in a blog post in The Times of Israel, said that the people living along the river and even those dependent on its water are now staring at survival. The gravity of the problem can be gauged from the fact that Laos, which has a poor rating for transparency and accountability, has planned to build 140 dams on the Mekong and its tributaries with financial assistance from China. River Mekong that originates in the Tibetan plateau and flows through six countries is home to the world’s largest inland fishery and supports the livelihoods of over 60 million people in poor countries like Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.  China has built as many as 11 giant dams in the mountainous region of the upper Mekong to meet its energy needs. Moreover, it has plans to widen the river and build hundreds of dams in the Lower Mekong River and its tributaries as a part of the Belt Road Initiative (BRI), reported The Times of Israel blog post.