Lao PDR - Nam Ou river - Boatman checks the best route up the rapids

Boatman So checks the best route up the rapids on the Nam Ou river during the dry season when the river level is low, Phongsaly province, Lao PDR. The Nam Ou river connects small riverside villages and provides the rural population with food for fishing. But this river and others like it, that are the lifeline of rural communities and local economies are being blocked, diverted and decimated by dams. The Lao government hopes to transform the country into ‘the battery of Southeast Asia’ by exporting the power to Thailand and Vietnam.

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Copyright: Tessa Bunney
Image Size: 4000x2999 / 2.9MB; Asia Bunney Lao Lao PDR Laos Tai Lue Tai Lue Nam Nam Ou Ou PDR Phongsali Phongsaly Southeast Southeast Asia Tessa countryside ethnic minorities minority remote river rural traditional local boatman dry season rapids riverside Chinese corporation Sinohydro electric electricity hydropower reservoir Mekong tributary dam construction rocks rocky boulders man job work occupation working tree trees forest natural environment landscape
Contained in galleries: Lao PDR - Nam Ou River, Tessa Bunney - All pics

Boatman So checks the best route up the rapids on the Nam Ou river during the dry season when the river level is low, Phongsaly province, Lao PDR. The Nam Ou river connects small riverside villages and provides the rural population with food for fishing. But this river and others like it, that are the lifeline of rural communities and local economies are being blocked, diverted and decimated by dams. The Lao government hopes to transform the country into ‘the battery of Southeast Asia’ by exporting the power to Thailand and Vietnam.