The Mekong’s wet season is underway after a dry season marked by extremely high temperatures and some of the lowest river levels observed in recent years. A new dam (Tuoba) is filling its reservoir, and Nuozhadu the largest reservoir in the Mekong is filling unseasonably early! How did all of this plus regular water releases from dams for hydropower generation across the basin impact the Mekong? How might the 2024 wet season play out in terms of potential La Nina impacts and the operations of over 100 dams? Join the Mekong Dam Monitor team and outside experts for a discussion about what the data shows about the previous dry season and forecasting about how dam operations and weather will impact the hydrology and ecology of the river this coming wet season.
Simultaneous translation will be available for 6 local Mekong languages (Burmese, Khmer, Lao, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese).
Featured Speakers
Dr. Ian Baird, Researcher at the National Maritime Foundation
Ian Baird is a Professor of Geography and Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research is broadly focused on nature-society relations in Laos, Thailand and Cambodia. As a political ecologist, he is presently conducting research about hydropower dams and fish and fisheries; large-scale economic land concessions in Laos and Cambodia; Indigenous peoples in Southeast Asia; Lao, Thai, Hmong and Brao studies; and marginal histories in mainland Southeast Asia.
Alan Basist, President, Eyes on Earth
Alan Basist has worked in climate sciences for almost 40 years with experience ranging from work as a research scientist in NOAA, an employee of a reinsurance company, an entrepreneur identifying climate variability and promoting mitigation and risk management strategies. In 2013 he started Eyes On Earth to service the agricultural and insurance industry on climate related investments, as well as monitoring food and water resources around the world. He is co-lead of the Mekong Dam Monitor.
Brian Eyler, Senior Fellow and Director, Southeast Asia Program, Stimson Center
Brian is an expert on transboundary issues in the Mekong region and China’s economic cooperation with Southeast Asia. He is widely recognized as a leading voice on environmental and water security issues in the Mekong. Brian co-leads the Mekong Dam Monitor, winner of 2021 Esri Special Achievement in GIS Award, 2021 Prudence Foundation’s Disaster Tech Competition, and Renewable Natural Resources Foundation’s 2021 Outstanding Achievement Award.
Srey Lakh Mech, Technical Climate Resilience Coordinator, Mekong Regional Water Governance Program, OXFAM
Lakh is working to strengthen climate resilience in the Mekong subregion, focusing on data sharing and early warning for riparian communities. She takes a human centered and and country-based design approach, centering on environmental and social inclusion. Her work seeks to ensure marginalized communities’ access to information and ability to cope with disaster and adapt to climate change. She facilitated a co-designed study for actionable and accountable data-sharing in Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake.
Oulavanh Sinsamphanh, Assistant Professor and Head of Post-graduate Division, Faculty of Environmental Science, National University of Laos
Oulavanh Sinsamphanh is employed at the Faculty of Environmental Science at the National University of Laos. She has extensive knowledge in climate change adaptation and mitigation, environmental assessment, health impact assessment, and waste management. She is the founder of the Eco Campus Initiative, which promotes a plastic-free campus at NUOL. She has been nominated to provide Technical Working Group support to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Department of Climate Change.
Moderator
Courtney Weatherby, Deputy Director and Fellow, Southeast Asia Program, Stimson Center
Courtney’s research focuses on sustainable infrastructure and the nexus of water, energy, and food issues in the Greater Mekong Subregion. She was a lead author on a range of technical and policy studies related to system-scale planning and electricity trade. She supports the team’s data-driven work through platforms like the Mekong Dam Monitor and the Mekong Infrastructure Tracker.