The Amazon Of Asia - Laos

October 2010

The Mekong River is already being put to serious economic use by the Chinese, and now the Lao people are determined to do the same. But can it really pull the nation out of poverty, and at what cost?

Until recently the 'Amazon of Asia', was one of the world's last untouched rivers, but plans for a series of 55 dams in Laos look set to change that. With the majority of the population of Laos living below the poverty line, the government claims that hydropower is the quickest way to raise living standards, anticipating revenue of $80 million a year. Yet as scores of villages are uprooted to make way for the development, traditional subsistence communities are struggling. "We used to rely on nature for our living. Now if we don't buy, we can't eat", complains villager Cham Pha. The new dams also pose a threat to the ecosystem, endangering several species. Weighing up potential development and damage, the Lao people face a tough dilemma: "I'm worried about the environment but I want our village to have electricity".

Produced By ABC Australia
Distributed By Journeyman Pictures

• Category

  News & Politics

[skywarrior thunder]

a quick way to fuck the country, government gets rich and the people suffered. loas is like a prostitute to foreign countries. 

[theovergrownkid]

FUCK THE GOVERNMENT

[Roelant Frijns]

Well Laos IS a communist country and NO dictatorship (officially :-) )

[Roelant Frijns]

Laos is absolutely the most beautiful country in the world. Definitely. Such a shame the ******* government are damming the Mekong (8 dams on the main stream!) and the Nam Ou and the Nam Theun rivers. If we don't act quickly, the beauty of this country and it's inhabitants will get severe injuries. Laos is the #16 most corrupt nation in the world. THAT'S EVEN ABOVE THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO!

Fuck corruption

Fuck the Lao Government

Power to the people

Power to nature

Power to Laos

[42sundown]

Dictatorships are what become of all Socialist/Communist Governments. Once they seize power, they consolidate power, then the purges begin, and the bloody body count continues, and continues, until everyone is pacified within the Party and the population, to be obedient to the Dictators. The most dangerous thing in the world is a Communist Government. They are definitely not democracies....Get out of your comfort zone and study their records, it's all right here waiting for you to learn.....

[Anna Mei]

Laos is a very nice place ... I born and I new everythong about it... if you don't know then ti say anything

[austinsouvannasane]

Screw u snoopy thats how we r dumass we asian r cool even I still listen to It I dont like it but im asian so wat

[sooper2dooper3]

they listen to crappy music.

[dudley doright]

our media is a FING MONOPOLIST JOKE of government approved propaganda. this furthers keep those pigs in power and the populace stupid shallow sheep........ lets pay more in taxes to the trailer trash in power......

[phet phoybouneloung]

cool facts

[NightSociety]

I am tired when countries used "Communism" improperly as the media. Karl Marx notion of communist is not what portrayed here in SE Asia, N. Korea, or Cuba. They are all DICTATORSHIP nations! Not COMMUNISTS. COMMUNISM is democratic as CAPITALISM.

[Phoudon Boualivanh]

itz xool i got me kiddo space man kiddo