Source 2: MACAN-MAKAR, M. (2018, November 02). Chinese dams ramp up Lao external debt. Retrieved November 17, 2018, from https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Chinese-dams-ramp-up-Lao-external-debt

Bangkok trying to become the battery of Southeast Asia is quickly accepting Chinese loans to further build more dams. This is continuing to further increase the countries debt to China. Sinohydro is linked to many dams that are funded by over $2 billion from loans in Chinese export-import bank and China’s development bank. Many environmentalists say China’s companies are intertwined in about half of the large Hydropower projects that are being constructed in Bangkok.  Because of the increased spending on dam projects, their debt has gone from 12.6 billion to 13.6 billion in just a year. The paisley dam is one of the second largest dams being built by China after the Pak Beng dam which Cost up to $2.4 billion.

 

This Related to environmental science as it shows how the government often uses dams as a solution to money problems or helping boost their economy. Doing this while at the end run the rivers dry as it cannot provide for so many dams. With the use of the money they are instead further digging themselves into more debt and hurting the environment, in the long run, has more problems begin to rise and they cover it up with dams. So many dams being already built so you would think that it would have provided a solution to their problem. Yet they still continue to build more jams which will further increase putting the environment at risk.  For countries already using the Mekong River in further creating dams will just shorten the supply of water instead of effectively conserving it.