Time: April, 2011

Place: The Mekong River with silt called liquid dirt. The silt has offered colorful life to over 60 millions of people downstream. The Mekong River has been regarded as the lifeline of villages and towns from rocky Tibet to the Vietnam delta.

Event: The four countries - Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam – are contemplating whether they agree to the construction of a proposed Xayaburi dam. The decision can change the characteristics and natural biodiversity of the Mekong River, one of the most bountiful rivers in the world.

Issue: All four countries have the right to build dams with or without agreement by neighboring countries. However, Laos seems to hurt such cooperation spirit. Since November 2010, the Laotian government has embarked on working at the suggested site of the Xayaburi Dam. China, the neighboring country of the four countries, has already constructed four dams closer to the source of the Mekong River. For that reason, people are looking upon the Xayaburi dam as very critical, because the plan can have deep impacts on fish migration and start the construction of five other dams at the lower reaches of the Mekong River.

Problem: The international community has a deep interest in avoiding the regional conflict, by preserving the health and well-being of over 60 million people who have lived and depended on the Mekong River. Farmers in the Mekong Delta, including Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam fear that the increased number of dams can cut the water volume and that it can worsen the problem of saltwater seeping into farming area from the sea. However, Laos – landlocked and sparsely populated (see the above picture) – has a firm belief that revenues from hydropower can lift Laos out of poverty and carry out government programs. The Laotian government proposed moving people who live in villages to be flooded by the dam?s reservoir to a place farther upstream, but the villagers believed their new homes would not be along the riverbank.

Solution I suggest: If China, who already constructed dams on the upstream of the Mekong River, takes up and uses the water source of the Mekong River, the four countries downstream cannot use plentiful water source of the Mekong River. Likewise, if the Laotian government pushes for dam construction upstream the Mekong River, the other three countries cannot use the plentiful water source. So the five countries must bring face to face with each other and find a peaceful solution to using the Mekong River, not hurting the river. The five counties must not call the doctor after the death of the Mekong River.