US Senator aims to bypass weak Mekong commission

US Senator Jim Webb has called for “multinational action” to prevent “potentially catastrophic consequences” of planned dams along the Mekong. He views the Mekong River Commission as being too weak to hold nations liable for environmental damage that these mega-dams would cause.

Nordic countries, which provide more than half the donor support to the Mekong River Commission, are also worried about accelerating hydropower development. But they have told the MRC: “This will be your defining moment.”