Senior officials of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and experts from non-governmental organizations gathered at a conference on the sustainable development of Sesan-Srepok-Sekong Rivers (3S Rivers) taking place in the central highlands city of Buon Ma Thuat May 31-June 1. The conference, held by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Mekong River Commission (MRC), look for long-term measures to enhance the efficiency in using and managing water sources, to maintain freshwater ecosystems on the rivers, the Tien Phong newspaper reported June 1. The participants emphasized 41 hydropower projects along the three rivers are making severe pressure on water sources of the river basin. The conference highly spoke of a strategic cooperation among the three Indochinese nations in handling with the above challenges. The 3S basin contributes 20% of flows and 15%-40% of alluvium to the Mekong River and is home to roughly 4 million people, including up to 3 million Vietnamese. The 3S basin plays a very important role in maintaining the Tonle Sap freshwater lake, Cambodia’s main fish supply, and Vietnam’s Cuu Long (Mekong river delta) granary.
