Somkiat Prajamwong, director of Thailand’s Office of Natural Water Resources (ONWR), told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service, he had documented complaints from villagers who had suffered economic hardship as a result of the river’s erratic flow. “We compiled from and studied those concerns of the people along the Mekong River,” Somkiat said. “During the next meeting of the Mekong River Commission, expectedly in February, we will address the issues and make it a top priority.”
The commission, known by its acronym MRC, an inter-government agency that works with regional governments to manage the Mekong’s resources, warned Sunday that water outflows could potentially drop by half along the river that stretches through China and five other nations.
