WHAT ARE THE POTENTIAL EFFECTS OF THE PLANNED HYDROPOWER SCHEMES ON THE MAINSTREAM MEKONG?
Hydropower brings with it several concerns regarding the potential for impact on the environment, fisheries and people’s livelihoods. These concerns need to be balanced with the economic and poverty alleviation priorities of the MRC Member Countries. • Hydropower dams can have both positive and negative consequences for people living downstream. On the positive side, for example, the storage of water for electricity generation upstream will regulate extremes of water levels. Dry season water levels could increase making water available for irrigation and urban water supply and there is some potential for flood attenuation from the larger reservoirs, upstream. Conditions for navigation will also improve. • However, damming will cause changes in flow regimes, water quality and sedimentation leading to changes in wetland areas, increased risk of bank erosion and the reduced flows of nutrients. In addition there are concerns over how water quality may be affected during construction. Hydro
