The Phnom Penh Post –
Letter to the Editor: World Wildlife Fund (WWF) was extremely pleased to hear recent comments from His Excellency Keo Rattanak, the director-general of Electricite du Cambodge (EDC), that he does not want to see the proposed Mekong River mainstream hydropower projects of Sambor and Stung Treng as part of the energy mix going forward.
The comments were made during an “Energy Vision” forum in Phnom Penh organised by the American Chamber of Commerce.
The comments were a welcome recognition of the immense value the free-flowing Mekong brings to Cambodia and the millions of people who rely on it for their livelihoods, fish catches and protein base.
The Mekong River is the defining geographic feature of Cambodia. Flowing south from the Lao border, it empties into a massive delta in Vietnam.
It hosts the world’s largest freshwater fishery and is home to some of the planet’s most unique and rare species, such as the critically endangered Irrawaddy dolphin and the Mekong giant catfish.
It is the longest river in Southeast Asia and second only to the Amazon in terms of fish biodiversity, home to over 1,100 freshwater species, with more discovered every year.