The National Rivers Website, Rivers of Asia:

The following news is assembled from postings from various sources, as a public service. The sponsors of this website do not assume responsibility for accuracy. Always double-check information before relying on it, especially when your safety is involved!

GENERAL RIVER ISSUES:

Turkish Dam Drowns Ruins

Protesting the Pak Mun Dam

Roman ruins now part of artificial lake

Economic pressures led to the construction of a dam on the Euphrates River that has covered part of the Roman ruins at Zeugma, in southeastern Turkey. The impending flood forced some 200 archaeologists into overdrive as they raced against time to uncover the treasures this ancient trading city and military post on the Silk Road.

Archaeologists and other antiquities specialists were able to unearth and preserve one-third of Zeugma, accomplishing in four desperate months what normally takes 10 years. Some of what they could not excavate they immured in mortar and sand in the hopes of a future excavation should the lake be allowed to evaporate someday.

Village insists on peaceful persuasion

Holding a 14-month-long demonstration next to the Pak Mun Dam since March 23rd, 1999, at 2.00 am of May 15th, 2000, 2,500 villagers, who are members of the Assembly of the Poor at the Mae Mun Man Yeun Village No.1, occupy the crest of Pak Mun dam and the fish ladder.

Mr. Thongcharoen Srihadham, the villagers' leader, said that "our experience has proved that the Pak Mun Dam has destroyed the river's fertility. It has also caused the end of the peaceful livelihood of the Pak Mun community. The fish ladder, which was proposed to be a solution to the fish's breeding, could not be a substitution to natural river for fish to migrate upstream to breed in the Mekong river. Hence, we are demanding that the Pak Mun dam's gate be opened in order to regain the abundance of the Mun river. The gate opening will also prove that if the river is not dammed, fish will be able to move upstream to breed."

Mr. Thongcharoen also said that "this action is done in a peaceful manner. We are holding fast to non-violent means. We will not block any roads, nor will we destroy public properies. We will definitely not use any violent actions, which will cause harm to the general public. If any violent incidents happen, it is certain that the AOP has nothing to do with it. It is most likely that the incident may be created by the government officials or the EGAT's officials to deligitimize the non-violent action of the AOP." Mr. Thongcharoen insisted that the Pak Mun dam's seizure will continue until the villagers' demands are achieved.

The International Rivers Network carries a full report on their web site at www.irn.org.

SPECIFIC RIVERS: Click to jump down to descriptions and news about:

Ganges River

Jordan River

Wetlands dying

The World Commission on Water for the 21st Century finds that the Ganges River in South Asia is so depleted that the unique ecosystem of Sunderband Wetlands in Bangladesh is seriously threatened.

Sucking the river dry

The Jordan River in the Mideast, with only a third of its water ever reaching the Dead Sea, no longer meets the needs of people in the region, according to the World Commission on Water for the 21st Century.

To post your river news for Asia,
as well as alerts, descriptions, opinions, or observations, click to go to the River Rendezvous--World River News and Information. The webmaster will subsequently integrate your information into the news and opinions shown above.

The National Rivers Website and the Rivers of Asia section are made possible by the generosity of the members of the National Organization for Rivers (NORS.) To start or extend your membership, go to NORS Memberships.

The National Rivers Website is part of Adventure Sports Online.