Maybe I'm an incurable optimist, glass half-full person, but there's been so much fanning of nationalist sentiments between these countries, that it's encouraging to read here that all the Mekong fishing communities in the region are working together to protect their common interest - Thais, Cambodians and Vietnamese in particular.

http://www.voacambodia.com/content/comm ... 55820.html

Civil society groups on Thursday criticised the Lao government over delays to public hearings for the controversial 260-megawatt Don Sahong hydropower dam.

The hearing, or "prior consultation meeting" will begin in Pakse today, more than four months after it was scheduled to get underway.

But activists said the exercise is likely to be fruitless and will serve only to justify the construction of the dam in Laos' Champasak province.

Following pressure from groups concerned about the ecological impact of the dam, the Lao government agreed at a Mekong River Commission (MRC) meeting in June to organise the hearing process over a period of six months, beginning on July 25.

"The Lao government has clearly stated they intend to proceed with the Don Sahong dam, in spite of the ongoing prior consultation process," said Ame Trandem, Southeast Asia programme director for International Rivers (IR). "With this attitude, it is difficult to see how the process can be anything more than a rubber stamp."

Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam have expressed concern about the potential trans-boundary impact of the dam. A Mekong agreement means the three countries are also required to consult people about the project.