The Belt and Road Podcast

Turning Off the Tap: Tensions between China and Downstream Neighbors over Dams and Drought


Listen Later

After a year of record breaking drought, the Mekong River water has level reached a historical low. Continued water stress, which is likely due to climate change, will permanently change the ecology of the region and water stress is already impacting the lives and livelihoods of millions of people across the region dependent upon the river. Proponents of hydrological dam development along the Mekong, which is primarily done by Chinese developers both in China and in downstream countries (Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam), have emphasized the potential for dams to regulate water flow. But recent conditions have raised questions as to whether dams have exacerbated current water stress and how dams could be differently managed to relieve drought conditions. They also have galvanized calls for stronger mechanisms for transnational information sharing and governance - China currently considers water management data a state secret and does not consult downstream countries about the management of its domestic dams. Brian Eyler of the Stimson Center and Alan Basist of Eyes on Earth discuss with Erik Myxter-Iino the growing upstream/downstream river governance issues that have arisen as a result and the future environmental, socioeconomic, and political challenges raised.

Read related articles:
1. How China Turned off the Tap on the Mekong River (Brian Eyler, Stimson Center)
2. Science Shows Chinese Dams are Devastating the Mekong (Brian Eyler, Foreign Policy)
3. Understanding the Mekong's Hydrological Conditions (Alan Basist & Claude Williams, Mekong River Commission)

Recommendations
Brian
In the Dragon's Shadow: Southeast Asia in the Chinese Century by Sebastian Strangio

Erik
Capital & Ideology by Thomas Piketty

Thanks for listening!

Follow us on BlueSky @beltandroadpod.blsk.social


...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The Belt and Road PodcastBy Erik Myxter-iino, Juliet Lu and Keren Zhu - edited by Taili Ni

  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9

4.9

30 ratings


More shows like The Belt and Road Podcast

View all
Revolutions by Mike Duncan

Revolutions

13,371 Listeners

Chapo Trap House by Chapo Trap House

Chapo Trap House

8,812 Listeners

ChinaPower by CSIS | Center for Strategic and International Studies

ChinaPower

202 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

111,746 Listeners

TrueAnon by TrueAnon

TrueAnon

3,188 Listeners

The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway by Vox Media Podcast Network

The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway

5,312 Listeners

No Stupid Questions by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

No Stupid Questions

3,678 Listeners

The Rest Is History by Goalhanger

The Rest Is History

12,904 Listeners

The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

The Ezra Klein Show

15,220 Listeners

The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart by Comedy Central

The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart

10,508 Listeners

Ones and Tooze by Foreign  Policy

Ones and Tooze

342 Listeners

Stavvy's World by Stavros Halkias

Stavvy's World

2,381 Listeners