As parts of southern China suffer the worst drought in a century, a dramatic fall in the water level of the Mekong has triggered anger and desperation among fishermen and farmers in northern Thailand and Laos who blame Chinese dams on the upstream Mekong for erosion of the river banks, declining fish catches and a damaged ecosystem.
With water levels at their lowest in 50 years, the four Southeast Asian countries badly hit by falling water levels in the mighty Mekong River - Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia - will use a summit in the Thai coastal town of Hua Hin this week to confront China, which is blamed for squeezing the river with dams.
China has planned a cascade of eight hydroelectric dams upstream. Three dams are in operation and a fourth named the Xiaowan, which will be the largest, will start operating later this year.
But concessions from Beijing, which is participating as an observer at the summit, are unlikely.
'The Mekong is everybody's river. But when China released water from the dams, the river's level was raised by one metre overnight,' Niwat Roikaew, a leader of 'Love Chiang Khong', a Mekong conservation group, said.
'We have no warning. Now, in the dry season, China does not release water, and the water level, at 0.38 metres, is the lowest in 50 years.'
