20 February 2020

....[D]ams in China and Laos have disrupted the lives of Thai people whose villages abut the Mekong River.

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Thai farmers said their troubles on the river began when the turbines of the Xayaburi Dam started churning....

"Lately there is no water. ... It's very dry," Mr. Chai, a fisherman..."[t]here are impacts from the dams. We can see the sandy river bed."

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...[E]nvironmentalists say that dams threaten fish populations, alter the Mekong's natural hydrology and cause major soil erosion.

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"...Thai provinces experienced sharp and unusual water fluctuations, and 'clear blue water' – a phenomenon that signals an absence of the nutrients and sediment that are critical to aquatic lives and fisheries," the International Rivers NGO said....

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A study released by the Mekong River Commission in August 2018 showed that fish stocks in the river could fall by up to 40 percent, with a 97-percent reduction in the amount of sediment going downstream as a result of the dam projects.

...Thai water-resources chief Somkiat Prajamwong...documented complaints from villagers who had suffered economic hardship as a result of the river's erratic flow, which had lowered soil fertility and hampered yield in agriculture.

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Somdej Thanatulyakul, a fisherman in Ban Sob Kok village in Chiang Saen, a district of Chiang Rai, said the fluctuating water-level led to unpredictable fishing harvest.

"We caught more fish five years ago, even during dry season," he told BenarNews. "The water tides are unpredictable. They change so fast, fluctuating in rapid manner. Dams have such impacts."