Mekong Currents

BANGKOK, Dec 31 (IPS Asia-Pacific) - As more severe and irregular floods occur in the countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), public discussion on their possible causes has been escalating.  A point of contention is whether floods along the Mekong River and other regional rivers are related to the operation of dams in combination with ever-increasing deforestation and subsequent land erosion, or whether the increase in water volume is due to natural circumstances, eventually impacted by climate change.

Renowned for its magnificence and the unpredictability of its waters, the Mekong River is the longest waterway in South-east Asia, flowing down from the Tibetan highlands to the Mekong Delta and into the South China Sea. Through a drift of more than 4,300 kilometers, its waters connect six countries - Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam - offering mute testimony to the unfolding of their histories and their transnational relations.

BANGKOK, Jan 25 (IPS Asia-Pacific) – The perilous flight of the nearly 1,000 Rohingya who made it to Thailand in December before they were sent back to sea is a sign of worsening humanitarian crisis in the region.

BANGKOK, Jan 3 - As 2008 came to an end, so did the World Health Organization's commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the Declaration of Alma-Ata. Launched in late 1978 at the International Conference on Primary Health Care, the Declaration affirmed health as a fundamental human right and boldly proclaimed the goal of attaining health for all peoples of the world. It stressed the socio-cultural and economic determinants of health.

BANGKOK, Nov 3 - Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his family’s fleeing to England is making the Thai public familiar with the intricacies of international conventions regulating the protection of people escaping conflict or political repression.

They are learning that persons who consider themselves victims of war, civil conflict, political strife or gross human rights violations are "refugees" who may seek asylum from persecution, thus becoming "asylum seekers", in another country.

BANGKOK, Oct 7 – A short article by Agence France Presse on the front page of Thailand’s English-language daily ‘The Nation’ (Oct 4) reported that Cambodian and Thai troops stationed to guard the contested border around the Preah Vihear temple exchanged gunfire, wounding at least three soldiers.

BANGKOK, Mar 3 - Policymakers and development planners in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) may not think of artists as partners in their development efforts. Many may quickly dismiss the suggestion that artists have a role to play in envisioning development models, promoting understanding about the needs of different populations, and identifying solutions to development problems. There is also little appreciation for the social and cultural dimensions that they add to an otherwise technical and economic model of development.

BANGKOK, Jan 25 - In envisioning an integrated Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS), the governments of the six riparian countries and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) regard the "connecting of nations" as contributing to the "linking of people" and vice-versa.

BANGKOK, Sep 20 - Recently, Philipp Borgs, a student of mine at the South-east Asia Studies Masters’ Programme of Chulalongkorn University, submitted a term paper on drug smuggling in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS).

BANGKOK, Jul 19 - Regional development plans in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) are grounded in the building of an extensive infrastructural structure that integrates all its countries into an unique ”growth area”. A network of transnational roads and, to a lesser extent, rail routes that links transport systems, power grids and markets across and beyond the sub-region is meant to facilitate fuller participation of GMS countries in the regional and global economy by enhancing their competitiveness as an economic bloc.