Posted on December, 18 2006

The population of the Mekong Region is growing, income and expectations of the urban middle class in cities like Kunming, Hanoi, and Bangkok are increasing, rapid economic expansion and industrial development are moving ahead in many parts of the region – and all of this translates into a rapidly escalating demand for electricity.

Globally, WWF has an overriding goal to ensure that mean world temperatures do not rise by more than two degrees Celsius – implying a need to greatly limit the use of fossil fuels in meeting the world’s growing energy demands. In the Mekong region, WWF will support efforts in Demand Side Management and push for an enhanced rate of development of alternative energy including biomass, wind, and solar power. 

At the same time it is clear that over the next 20 years, a certain amount of the electricity demand in the Mekong region will be met from further development of hydropower on the Mekong main stem and major tributaries. Unfortunately hydropower is known for many negative environmental impacts.

In a new initiative, WWF’s Living Mekong Programme (LMP)  is working together with the Mekong River Commission (MRC) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) towards Environmental Criteria for Hydropower Development (ECHD) for the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) to find the best ways to develop any necessary hydropower with the least environmental and social impact.

For more information, please contact: Marc Goichot