Ecofish Research is actively advancing sustainable hydropower in Asia based on our expertise and insight in hydropower development.
Dr. Xuezhong Yu, Senior Hydro-environmental Scientist at Ecofish, attended the 2015 Greater Forum in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, from 21-23 Oct 2015. Dr. Yu chaired the session “Conserving Fish in Hydropower Development,” which focussed on current practices and future requirements of fish conservation in hydropower development. This session discussed whether fish mitigation/compensation measures (fish passage, hatchery, and habitat compensation) can really mitigate/compensate the fish community effects due to hydropower development and how to improve the efficiency of these measures by technical and management efforts. Three presenters from Cambodia, China, and Canada introduced practices in these regions respectively. The attendees discussed critical components for fish conservation in hydropower development with regard to technical and regulatory efforts in the Mekong River Basin. Dr. Yu also participated in the session “Upper Basin Perspectives & Transboundary Management” as a panellist. He shared the insight on how to promote communication on hydropower development by applying sustainable hydropower principles.
The Forum is the largest event in the Mekong Region to address the confluence of water, food and energy. Hydropower is the favoured energy option for the Mekong’s countries, but sustainable resource use and management is a significant challenge for hydropower development in this region. With extensive experience and ongoing projects, Ecofish is helping Mekong clients address challenges in developing sustainable hydropower.