Conference promotes engagement in hydropower planning in Mekong basin
Environmental experts gathered at a conference held in Hanoi on September 11, discussing the important roles of stakeholders in outlining hydropower master plan and protecting water resources in the Mekong River basin.
Hanoi (VNA) – Environmental experts gathered at a conference heldin Hanoi on September 11, discussing the important roles of stakeholders inoutlining hydropower master plan and protecting water resources in the MekongRiver basin.
The event was organised bythe Centre for Sustainable Development of Water Resources And Climate ChangeAdaptation in collaboration with the Centre for Water Resources Conservation andDevelopment and the Vietnam Rivers Network.
Discussions at the conference highlighted water exhaustion and pollution in theMekong Delta region and their impact on local socio-economic development, aswell as potential to branch out small- and medium-sized hydropower plants innorthern Lao Cai province’s Sa Pa district and its side effects on the localenvironment and tourism.
According to Vietnam Rivers Network’s Head Coordinator Dao Trong Tu, theconference aimed to promote the important roles of stakeholders, particularlysocial organisations in Vietnam, in consulting the development of hydropower inthe Mekong River basin and protecting Vietnam’s interests amid the mushroomingconstruction of hydropower works in the upstream area.
Ky Quang Vinh, a member of the Vietnam Union of Science and TechnologyAssociations’ chapter in Can Tho city, said the construction has worseneddrought and saline intrusion in the Mekong Delta for years, leaving criticaldamage to local production and people’s health.
Meanwhile, representatives from Can Tho and Tra Vinh, as well as experts inwater resources exchanged experience in enhancing the roles of relevant sidesin hydropower development in the Mekong Delta./.
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Drought in the Mekong Delta region (Photo: VNA) 
