Welcome to Mekong Watch

Mekong Watch is a Japanese NGO based in Tokyo. We combine research and advocacy to address and prevent the negative environmental and social impacts of development in the Mekong Region. We are especially concerned about the lack of consultation with affected communities in development planning and implementation and the role Japanese financing. By contacting communities directly, we try to bridge the information and communication gaps between them and decision-makers in Japan.

Do you know that...

• The Vietnamese government has applied for a loan from Japan for a dam expected to relocate 4,500 people. JBIC is now funding a preliminary study.
• The Japanese government has given a grant to a hydropower plant repair project which is under guard by the Burmese military whose battalions are well known for their use of forced labor and other forms of human rights abuse.
• Of 23 planned dams in Laos, 13 involve Japanese aid.
• Japan is the largest bilateral donor for all countries in the Mekong Region, and the largest contributor of funds to the Asian Development Bank.
• ADB Inspection Members were not allowed to make a site visit to the Samut Prakarn Wastewater Management Project in Thailand to inspect for violations of ADB policy.