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China’s Dams Proving Beneficial

dam
dam

Known as the Lancang River in China, the Mekong river is the heart of Southeast Asian countries, with over 60 million people depending on the river and its tributaries for food, water, transport and many other aspects of their everyday routine.

Since 1993, China has installed six dams along the Upper Mekong Basin with a navigation channel that threatens this complex ecosystem. Over 20 more are under construction and being planned in Yunnan, Tibet and Qinghai.

Experts say this will ultimately disrupt the river’s natural flood-drought cycle, and block the transport of sediment, affecting ecosystems and the livelihoods of millions living downstream in Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. Impacts to water levels and fisheries have already been recorded along the Thai-Lao border.

Despite this, construction has proceeded without consultation with  the Lower Mekong Basin communities and without an assessment of the dams’ likely impacts on the river and its people.

However, though studies have not been concluded, the Mekong River Commission’s (MRC) river monitoring arm has indicated that these Chinese dams do affect water flow in the Lower Mekong Basin, specifically by reducing water flow during the wet season and increasing it during the dry season.

Studies have shown that the downstream water flow in the dry season has increased, therefore easing the effects of droughts. Storage dams can contribute to increased flow during the dry season as they discharge water for energy production.

As a result, the release of supplemental water from the Lancang dams eased the regional drought of 2016.  

A total of 12.65 billion cubic meters of water was discharged from the Jinghong hydropower reservoir during March to May, 2016. The amount released equaled to 40 – 89 percent of flow along various sections of the Mekong River.

The emergency supplemental water increased water level or discharge along the Mekong mainstream to an extent of 0.18-1.53m or 602-1,010m3/s.

Flows would have been 47 percent lower at Jinghong, 44 percent lower at Chiang Saen, 38 percent lower at Nong Khai and 22 percent lower at Stung Treng if these releases didn’t happen. This additional flow has also alleviated salinity intrusion in the Mekong Delta.

So while Mekong communities should be anxious about the adverse effects of Chinese dams on issues such as sediments and fisheries, these dams have not been proven to reduce downstream flows during the dry season.

Authorities Level the Playing Field for Local Fishermen

fisherman
fisherman

Following a fishery legislation installed in 2009, which bans the use of traps and tools that can severely harm fish stocks, authorities in Khong district, Champassak province have recently destroyed hundreds of fish traps along the Mekong River, and the fisherman working upstream are reaping the benefits.

Over 400 fish traps, particularly “lee” traps, or basket-type traps constructed from wood and bamboo, have been destroyed by the provincial committee along certain channels downstream of the river.

Used in the early wet season, lee traps are traditional traps that catch fish migrating downstream and are generally built during the dry season, only to be washed out by the heavy rains later in the wet season.

Fishermen who utilize lee traps to ambush schools of fish have been known to catch over 10 tonnes, earning between 30 and 40 million kip a year. This not only gives them an unfair advantage over local fisherman using smaller tools but also risks overfishing, causing fish stocks to fall below acceptable levels.

A fishery consultant for Don Sahong hydropower plant, Mr Somphone Phommanivon stated, “There are many fishermen upstream that are now very happy to be catching fish after over 430 fish traps and other tools have been removed from seven channels downstream while we’ve also improved the channels to aid fish going upstream.”

“We currently have cleared eight channels to make way for fish going upstream and we are still continuing discovering new ways to do so, creating a more sustainable flow of fish which many local residents can share the benefit of,” he added.

Khong district’s Thakhor Village Chief stated that due to the abundance of fish being caught by local fishermen, fishmongers have been able to market the fish at a low 10,000kip per kilo, while fisherman in other villages upstream are also catching plenty of fish to go around.

In 2000, over 400 lee fish traps and other tools were utilized, allowing fishermen to catch between 1.5 to 20 tonnes per trap, therefore prohibiting the use of traps is necessary in order to sustain the increasing number of fish in the Mekong.

The Don Sahong hydropower plant began construction in 2016 and is scheduled to be completed by 2019, on one channel of the Mekong River near Khone Falls in Khong district.

Seatbelts Now Compulsory on Vientiane Roads

seatbelt-feature-image
seatbelt-feature-image

While regulations on seatbelt use have existed since 2013, the law has rarely been enforced. Recently, however, Vientiane residents have begun receiving fines from diligent police for failure to buckle up.  

According to Article 18 of the Law on Land Traffic, drivers and passengers of vehicles with four or more wheels, including all front passengers, must wear a seatbelt. Infants that are unable to wear a seatbelt must be seated in a car seat.

Vientiane drivers have taken to popular social media sites to vent their misfortunes, stating that they are being fined 150,000 LAK per traffic violation, with paper receipts of the fine to prove it.

Seatbelt Fine Vientiane Capital

So why now? The seatbelt crackdown may be due to a pledge authorities made to road safety back in 2016. As previously reported by The Laotian Times, the Traffic Police Department of the Ministry of Public Security partnered up with Lao Brewery Co., Ltd to run a road safety campaign due to the rising toll of injuries and deaths caused by road accidents.

Statistics show that those who utilize seat belts dramatically reduce the risk of vehicular death by 45%, and cut the risk of serious injury by 50%.

Though the crackdown on seatbelt use may have caught the public unawares, the safety measure has been implemented as good practice and will save hundreds, if not thousands of lives on Vientiane roads.

 

Asean Sustainable Tourism Awards to Encourage New Tourism Standards

asean
asean

With the Asean Sustainable Tourism Awards (ASTA) approaching for the first time in January 2018, the Lao Tourism sector is preparing to inform the public on how to classify sustainable operators for entry.

Launched as part of Asean’s Tourism Strategic Plan 2016-2025, the ASTA were recently introduced and all sustainable tourism operators in Southeast Asia will be eligible to enter.

The awards will occur every two years with a dedicated theme decided jointly by Asean NTOs. The inaugural 2017-18 awards, which are now open, is themed “nature-based tourism.”  

Deputy Director General of Tourism Development Department under the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism Mrs Phonemaly Inthaphome, stated that “ASTA is the recognition of Asean’s best sustainable rural or urban tourism products, proposed and implemented by the public and private stakeholders who have decided to join forces for the benefit of their destination.”

“Each Asean country has its own trainers and committees of Asean standards, to select winners in their countries. We are now translating the documents into Lao before dispersing them to all tourism sectors and operators in provinces for entering the awards next month,” she added.

Two winners will represent each country, one “rural” and one “urban” to reaffirm that city operators can be just as sustainable as rural ones.

After the winners are chosen, they will be submitted to Asean by November before receiving awards in January, 2018.

The deputy director general emphasized that the awards required high standards for classifying winners; therefore in Laos, the main tourism provinces of Luang Prabang, Vientiane, and Champassak would likely be the focus of  the majority of entries.

According to the Tourism Development Department, twenty sustainable tourism winners, with two from each Asean member state, will receive a package of benefits that will raise their business profile substantially, and will be highlighted on Asean’s website www.aseantourism.travel.

Winners will be highlighted on the National Tourism Organisation’s (NTO) website, and receive exposure as a national best practice operator during press conferences and trade shows such as ATF, TRAVEX, International Tourism in Berlin of Germany and World Travel Market.

In addition, winners will be invited on stage to receive a trophy and recognition during the sustainable tourism awards event, which will be part of the ATF in Chiang Mai, January 2018.

Director General of Tourism Marketing Department, Mr Sounh Manivong, stated that the key purpose for the awards  is to highlight the profile and importance of sustainable tourism businesses in Southeast Asia, promote responsible tourism in all Asean countries, combat seasonality, and rebalance tourist flows towards best practice tourism experiences.

Asean has decided to encourage responsible behaviours amongst stakeholders – in mainstreaming the implementation of the Asean Tourism Standards – and to also facilitate the diversification of tourism supply towards emerging, remote destinations and areas.

The ASTA enables the region to recognize and promote sustainable tourism, both rural and urban products, promoting  presence in the Asean market and beyond.

The Paris Climate Agreement and How it Affects Laos

gas emissions
gas emissions

Before June 1st, the average citizen in any given country was probably unaware of the Climate Change Conference that took place in Paris in 2015 (hence, the Paris Climate agreement), and that their country had, more than likely, ratified to take part in it.

However, all that changed when President Trump withdrew the United States from the agreement on Thursday, outraging country leaders and making it breaking news that was shared around the world.

With 195 of 197 countries originally endorsing the agreement back  in December of 2015, the United States has now joined Nicaragua and Syria as the only countries who are not apart of the deal.

With Laos being one of the 194 participating countries who have committed to the pact,  here’s what you need to know about the Paris Climate Agreement.

What is the purpose of this agreement? The agreement is a broad framework designed to sway nations to prevent catastrophic climate change. The pact was created to add structure and momentum in an attempt to reduce greenhouse gas emissions worldwide,  by limiting carbon emissions, adopting clean energy practices and phasing out fossil fuels.

What’s the goal? The objective of the Paris agreement aims to prevent global average temperatures from rising 2°C (compared to temperatures pre-industrial revolution) by the end of the century. Beyond 2 degrees, we risk drastically higher seas, changes in weather patterns, food and water crises, and an overall a more destitute world.

Though some critics have argued that the 2-degree mark is too low to make any difference, many believe that it’s a start, a goal that before Paris, the world was on track to recklessly miss.

How does the United States withdrawing from the agreement indirectly affect Laos?

The agreement essentially urges wealthier countries to help out impoverished and underdeveloped  countries, like Laos.  In the case of global emissions, there’s a paramount inequality. Rich countries have devastated and consumed enormous amounts of fossil fuels, and gotten rich from them. Poor countries who are now attempting to grow their economies are shunned from using the same fuels, and will be among the first to endure the worst impacts of climate change.

Therefore, as part of the Paris agreement, wealthier countries like the US, are urged- but not mandated,  to send $100 billion a year in aid by 2020 to the poorer countries, to assist in obtaining clean energy, cope with sea-level rise, droughts, floods, and other ravages of climate change.

 

What has Laos done to maintain its pledge to the treaty? As previously reported by The Laotian Times, Laos signed the agreement on April 22, 2016 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. Five months later, in September of 2016, the country contributed to the global Climate Change Agenda and implemented Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDCs)for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, funded by Global Environment Facility in partnership with UNDP and the Department of Disaster Management and Climate Change.

Also, the country’s First Programmatic Green Growth Development Policy Operation will be launched this year, which aims to establish the foundation for ‘green growth’, planning and strengthening environmental protection and resilience to climate change in Laos.

The program focuses on three priorities: reducing risks to prudent economic management; integrating principles of ‘green growth’, environmental protection, and resilience into development planning; and promoting sector-specific transformative initiatives, i.e. managing water resources, forest use, and pollution.

To focus on risks to the economy, the operation will target strengthening fiscal sustainability and financial sector stability. Some of the program’s goals include establishing a system of national parks, banishing the use of harmful chemicals and pesticides, and enforcing control on illegal logging.

The ‘green growth’ initiative is part of the World Bank’s new Country Partnership Framework for Lao PDR.  The new framework for 2017 to 2021 outlines the approach of the continued partnership, which includes as a key priority, the protection of the environment through sustainable management of natural resources and enhanced resilience to disaster risks and climate change.

What happens now? The Paris agreement is significantly symbolic, and will persist on even if the United States is withdrawn. In 2020, delegates will reconvene and provide updates about their emission pledges, and report on how they’re becoming more aggressive on accomplishing the 2-degree goal.

Countries will be encouraged to submit new and stronger pledges every five years, starting in 2020. Though the agreement doesn’t require anyone to keep cutting emissions aggressively, the goal is to influence countries to consider stronger action over time.

Click here to read a previous Laotian Times article about Laos Contributing to the Global Climate Change Agenda

 

Vientiane to Launch Weekly Early Morning Citywide Cleanup

garbage
garbage

In a country where a recycling and effective garbage system is void, littered streets and roadsides have always been an eyesore for cities across Laos. The presence of recycling and proper disposal of trash has never taken priority when educating youths at school or at home, so they grow up with the idea that trash just belongs on the ground.

With a concept to develop Vientiane into a “clean city” by 2030, the Vientiane City Office for Management and Services under the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, is urging Vientiane residents to take part in the clean city project by tidying the inside and outside of their homes during designated cleaning hours that will run from from June, 7 through to 2020.

The city office has also issued a warning that a fine of 500,000 kip per incident will be enforced if citizens are witnessed littering on roadsides and on unused land in the capital.

Announced by Ms Vilayvone Chanthalaty, Chief of the Vientiane City Office for Management and Services, Wednesday mornings from 5am-6am (during the rainy season, 5:30am-6:30am for the dry) will be designated to the clean city project, where residents are expected to clean in and around their homes, including garbage clearance and tree planting.

The initiative focuses on transforming Vientiane into a cleaner and greener city, also marking the 45th anniversary of World Environment Day. The Vientiane City Office for Management and Services also requested Vientiane residents to responsibly manage their garbage by separating garbage items, aiming to reduce the payment of garbage disposal from 10,000 kip per bag.

Ms Vilayvone stated, “We will have a special team to provide transfer of garbage from festivals, weddings and construction areas. Besides that, we will soon launch a hotline number to better connect with members of the public for feedback around implementing the city’s Management and Services as well as the ongoing garbage issue in capital.”

With the capital’s officials focused on cleansing the nine districts in central Vientiane, the vision is that the city will be transformed into a standard of cleanliness for the rest of the country to follow.

Vientiane covers an area of 3,920 square kilometres and has a population of around 800,000 people. Authorities believe the city’s population will increase to about 1.4 million by 2030.  

According to a report for 2015, the capital produced about 300-400 tonnes of waste daily while authorities were only able to collect 250-300 tonnes per day resulting in polluted roadsides and the surrounding environment.

Popular Lao Enterprise Still Involved in Illicit Activity With Public Funds

fraud
fraud

PS Lao Enterprise, a company that produces food items such as meat, fish, rice, drinking water and imports various grocery and consumer products in Laos, has been in hot water for some time now, as it has continuously failed to issue full dividends to its shareholders as originally promised.

The Bank of the Lao PDR has repeatedly warned the public to be aware of illegal fundraising by PS Lao Enterprise, claiming the company has adopted various strategies to mobilize money from people illegally. The company has now been instructed by the bank to return all funds to investors before July 7th or be reprimanded. 

 As previously reported by The Laotian Times, despite being warned and fined to cease unlawful activities by authorities, the enterprise continues to dupe shareholders by luring them with outrageously high interest rates.

The central bank’s office issued a notice on Friday, urging members of the public not to fall victim to such illegal tactics.

As the company was established in 2012 as PS-Agriculture and Industry Development Import-Export Co, Ltd., a limited company, it has been prohibited to mobilize deposits or raise funds.

Recently, the company was involved in another business scandal where it had failed to issue full dividends to its depositors as pledged. The company had originally offered a monthly interest rate as high as six percent but soon after decreased it to 4.8 percent, and then even further to just 2-2.8 percent.

The company’s President, Ms Souknaly Thepsymeuang, recently announced at a press conference that the company was pleased to return the money to the many depositors of the enterprise, also claiming that her company had formerly stopped accepting deposits, even offering customers two options on how to withdraw their capital.

The first option required business partners or depositors to officially inform the company of their intention to withdraw the money, with the withdrawal to be made three months later.

The second option encouraged business partners to market the company’s products themselves in accordance with the amount they deposited.

Ms Souknaly has confirmed that several depositors have withdrawn their capital after the government intervened in the company’s illegal operation.

Despite Ms Souknaly’s admission that her company has stopped accepting further deposits, the central bank stated in its latest notice that the company has continuously changed its tactics over time to continue moving capital illegally.

The bank has stated that all the financial issues or debts the company owed to its depositors, shall fall under the company’s sole responsibility.

The bank has recommended for depositors who were swindled by the company to approach local courts or police officers in charge of economic affairs to seek further assistance and address their issues.

The company currently has almost 180,000 deposits valued at 853 billion kip.

After 107 Years, Mahosot Hospital Will Get a New Building

mahosot-old
mahosot-old

Though Vientiane is known and loved for its charming, centuries-old colonial buildings preserved throughout the city, the old Mahosot Hospital is one historical building that has been in need of some modern upgrades.

The first hospital in Laos, Mahosot was established in 1910 by French doctors. It has 31 wards with 450 beds, and employs more 700 medical staff, all of whom are Lao nationals.

In an effort to finally modernize the outdated hospital, Chinese architects are collecting data from Mahosot Hospital this week, as they begin to design and plan for the construction of a brand new medical facility.

The assistance for construction at Mahosot comes by way of one of nine cooperation agreements signed in Beijing, between President Bounnhang Vorachit and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.

Though the cost of the project is still being calculated, the five-year project is slated to begin this year, with construction scheduled to be completed by 2022. The renovated hospital will be  4 or 5 stories tall, and consist of 600 beds;  replacing the existing 450-bed hospital building.

In addition to building a new structure, the Chinese government will also donate new modern medical equipment to all wards at the hospital.

Director General of Mahosot Hospital, Associate Professor Dr Bounthaphany Bounxouei stated,  “When the project is completed, it will become the new face for central hospitals in Laos. The hospital will be upgraded to international standards. We hope that it will attract more people to receive treatment at the hospital. It will also reduce people crossing borders to seek medical treatment in neighboring countries.”

The director general believes that even though the doctors and nurses that are currently employed by Mahosot are experienced and capable, some having been trained abroad, they are unable to effectively do their job due to outdated equipment.

With the new building and modern machinery envisioned, doctors and nurses will no longer be hindered by their lack of  access to the proper equipment. The modern equipment will consist of diagnostics, radiology and magnetic resonance imaging.

To allow the hospital to remain open during renovation, construction will begin from the heart centre, then will move on to the old Mother and Child Hospital Building,  then to the International Clinic and then finally, to the lung disease building.

Though the hospital will continue to collaborate with doctors from other countries for continuous development, the Chinese health sector will be Mahosot’s main cooperator.

The hospital will continue promoting the free-of-charge policy for the underprivileged to ensure that all people have access to standard medical treatment, and will continue upgrading curative skills on endoscopic surgery, heart, hypertension and cancer.

Beyond upgrading the facility and equipment itself, hospital officials have also highlighted that improved staff services will be a focal point for the new and improved Mahosot. The hospital will continue to develop the skills that  doctors and nurses need to ensure that people who are seeking treatment at the hospital are received kindly and respectfully.

The hospital also plans to run a strategy named, ‘five good services’ and ‘one satisfaction’. These five good services focuses on reception, cleanliness, comfort, diagnosis and treatment. The ‘one satisfaction’ is aimed at  how to create satisfactory service to all patients.

Currently, the hospital admits an estimated 800-1,000 people daily in the outpatient ward, with an estimated 200-300 patients staying overnight for more severe cases.