Assurance offered over Mekong
Source: Agencies |
April 6, 2010, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINA yesterday denied that its dams were reducing water levels on the Mekong River and blamed the problems on unusually dry weather.
It also offered to share more data with its neighbors.
Leaders of Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos, badly hit by the Mekong's biggest drop in water levels in decades, met in the Thai coastal town of Hua Hin to discuss management of Southeast Asia's longest waterway.
About 65 million people depend on the river.
Vice Foreign Minister Song Tao rebutted criticism of the eight hydropower dams China has built or is building in its south.
"Statistics show the recent drought that hit the whole river basin is attributable to the extreme dry weather, and the water level decline of the Mekong River has nothing to do with the hydropower development," Song said in a statement after the meeting.
The Mekong originates in the Tibetan plateau and flows 4,800 kilometers through rice-rich areas of Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia before emptying into the South China Sea off Vietnam.
Song said southwestern China was suffering its worst drought in decades.
The drought has left more than 19.4 million people and 11 million animals with insufficient drinking water and affected about 6.5 million hectares of crops.
Activists and environmentalists say China has not provided relevant data to assess the impact of the dams on water flows.
But Song said it had given rainy season data since 2003 and dry-season data from two hydrological stations since March in response to requests from its four downstream neighbors through the intergovernmental Mekong River Commission.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the dialogue with China had been positive, commending the nation for cooperation. "The heart of effective management of the water is information sharing," Vejjajiva said.
Song said China had responded to the concerns of downstream countries, even at the expense of some hydropower projects.
See drought report, A7
It also offered to share more data with its neighbors.
Leaders of Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos, badly hit by the Mekong's biggest drop in water levels in decades, met in the Thai coastal town of Hua Hin to discuss management of Southeast Asia's longest waterway.
About 65 million people depend on the river.
Vice Foreign Minister Song Tao rebutted criticism of the eight hydropower dams China has built or is building in its south.
"Statistics show the recent drought that hit the whole river basin is attributable to the extreme dry weather, and the water level decline of the Mekong River has nothing to do with the hydropower development," Song said in a statement after the meeting.
The Mekong originates in the Tibetan plateau and flows 4,800 kilometers through rice-rich areas of Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia before emptying into the South China Sea off Vietnam.
Song said southwestern China was suffering its worst drought in decades.
The drought has left more than 19.4 million people and 11 million animals with insufficient drinking water and affected about 6.5 million hectares of crops.
Activists and environmentalists say China has not provided relevant data to assess the impact of the dams on water flows.
But Song said it had given rainy season data since 2003 and dry-season data from two hydrological stations since March in response to requests from its four downstream neighbors through the intergovernmental Mekong River Commission.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the dialogue with China had been positive, commending the nation for cooperation. "The heart of effective management of the water is information sharing," Vejjajiva said.
Song said China had responded to the concerns of downstream countries, even at the expense of some hydropower projects.
See drought report, A7
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