Over 200 villagers from Thailand and Laos organised a Buddhist ceremony to declare the first transboundary fish sanctuary on the Mekong River, and to voice their concern over the hydropower development and destruction of the river’s ecosystem.By Pianporn Deetes and Carl Middleton
Bangkok Post
Since the end of last year, Jeerasak Intayos, a 38-year-old villager from Chiang Khong district of Chiang Rai, has seen the Mekong River's level drop dramatically. Mr Jeerasak works with the Chiang Khong Conservation Group that has monitored the Mekong and its development for over a decade, and he has never seen the river this low. He witnesses first-hand how riverside communities are now suffering from declining fish catch, scarcity of water for drinking, irrigation and livestock, and how river transportation has been grounded, affecting tourism and trade.
The current drought is now widely declared as a water crisis by government officials in Thailand, Laos and China's Yunnan province. And it is, but that's not the whole story.
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