World's second most bio diverse mekong river will be destroyed in a few months

Dear friends,

Governments are about to decide whether to build a deadly dam on the Mekong River -- destroying the world’s second most bio-diverse river and starving thousands of people. But Thailand is on the fence and could stop the destruction by opposing the dam at a key meeting -- click below to sign the urgent petition and help save the Mekong.
Sign the petition


In 48 hours, governments will decide whether to build a deadly dam on the Mekong River -- destroying the world’s second most bio-diverse river and starving thousands of people. Immediate, massive opposition can stop the dam and save the Mekong.

Thailand is meeting with key governments in 2 days -- and they hold the power to stop the dam. But powerful banks and special interests are pushing the dam as sound development and Thailand’s government is wavering. The dam threatens to shatter the river’s delicate ecosystem, annihilate thousands of fisheries and plunge hundreds of thousands of subsistence farmers into poverty -- we have just hours to push Thailand to do the right thing.

Let’s build a public outcry that drowns out the banks lobbying for the deadly dam! Sign the petition -- when we reach 100,000 signers, it will be delivered it directly to Thailand’s PM and Natural Resources Minister.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_mekong/?vl

The Mekong River is the heart of mainland Southeast Asia. More than 60 million people depend on the river’s delicate ecosystem for food, water, transportation and their livelihoods. The Mekong houses the world’s largest inland fishery and has more animal and plant species than almost any other river on the planet.

The dam is proposed to produce power for Thailand, but it’s not certain that the country would even need the energy. Plus, an alternative energy plan proves that Thailand can meet its future energy needs without the dam.

While a few special interests stand to richly profit from the dam’s construction, widespread opposition to the project is growing. Just last week, more than 22,000 people submitted a petition to the Thai Prime Minister calling for the cancellation of the proposed dam and the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously approved a resolution to protect the Mekong and dedicate funding to researching sustainable alternatives to the dam. Sign the petition to Thailand calling on the government to ignore big bank lobbies and stop the deadly dam -- saving lives, entire species and this valuable river:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_mekong/?vl

With hundreds of thousands of lives and an entire ecosystem in the balance, this is the moment for Thailand’s leadership to side with people, not profits. Let’s rally together to force them to do the right thing.

With hope and determination,

Emma, Dalia, Ben, Antonia, Ricken, Luis and the rest of the Avaaz team

More information:

Southeast Asia set to square off again on Xayaburi (WSJ)
http://blogs.wsj.com/searealtime/2011/12/05/southeast-asia-set-to-square-off-again-on-xayaburi/

Power from Xayaburi not needed in Thailand (International Rivers)
http://www.internationalrivers.org/en/node/7012

International petition calls on Thailand, Laos to cancel Xayaburi dam (VOA)
http://www.voanews.com/khmer-english/news/International-Petition-Calls-for-Thailand-Laos-to-Cancel-Xayaburi-Dam-134832868.html

Xayaburi Dam approval sought (Asia Sentinel)
http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3923&Itemid=392

Can damming the Mekong power a better life to Laos? (Time)
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2088013,00.html


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