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PM seeks Mekong answers from China |
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| Bangkok Post: 9 Mar 2010 |
PM seeks Mekong answers from China
A meeting of experts will help, Beijing told
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is putting pressure on China to discuss the impact of its dams on the water level in the Mekong River.
Drought in Thailand has resulted in critically low water reserves and has seriously affected cultivation, especially in the Central Plains.
Mr Abhisit passed on his message to Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Hu Zhengyue during a visit by Mr Hu yesterday.
The prime minister said drought was a serious problem and asked whether dams in China had caused problems along the Mekong River.
He said it would be beneficial if China held a meeting of experts to discuss the issue and exchange information.
Mr Hu said the federal and local governments in China considered drought solutions "an important mission". Dam projects in China were developed on the principle that they would not affect countries downstream.
He also insisted water in the river passing through China accounted for only 13% of the total amount of water along the river.
Mr Hu said the Mekong River Commission (MRC), which is made up of representatives from Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, maintained contact with China. He said China did not wish to lose its interests in the subregion.
The Mekong River has a great influence on nature and the livelihoods of people living on the Indochina peninsula. The river runs 4,800km from its headwaters on the Tibetan plateau through Yunnan province in China to Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Its section in China is about 2,100km long.
Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said he proposed to Mr Hu that China conduct a joint survey of the rainfall in this region to come up with better information for handling future water shortage problems.
Forecasting the rainfall is important because as much as 35% of the rain water entering the river comes from Laos; if there is drought in Laos, it would affect countries downstream along the Mekong River.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti said the MRC resolved last week to inform China of the critical situation along the Mekong River. The MRC will invite representatives of China and Burma to its next meeting on April 3 and5.
Mr Suwit said the problems along the Mekong River had many causes, one of which was the unusually low amount of rain over Thailand and Laos.
Kasemsant Jinnawaso, the director-general of the Water Resources Department, said China naturally contributed less to the Mekong River than Thailand and Laos and that the amount of rainwater in northeastern Thailand was the lowest in a decade.
Meanwhile, Chalit Damrongsak, the director-general of the Royal Irrigation Department, warned that water reserves at Thailand's medium and large dams were at critical levels.
He said the dams hold about 22 billion cubic metres of usable water and more than 70% of the reserves had been used.
Ninety-two percent of water reserves in the Chao Phraya River basin in the Central Plains has been consumed.
"The water crisis is in the Chao Phraya basin in the Central Plains where third crops are impossible," Mr Chalit said. "I have asked officials to try harder to convince rice farmers not to grow a third crop or their paddy fields will be damaged."
He said the remaining water reserves in Sirikit and Bhumibol dams amount to only 3,922 million cubic metres, which was critical, and his department must retain enough for power generation.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/34116/pm-seeks-mekong-answers-from-china |
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