The Mighty Mekong: Heart of Southeast Asia

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The Mighty Mekong Heart of Southeast Asia

• By Bianca Sander

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Lasagongma Spring near Mt. Guozongmucha, Tibetan
Plateau
Yunnan Province
Myanmar/Laos border
Laos
Thailand/Laos border
Cambodia
Vietnam
South China Sea
www.aquaticcommunity.com
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Economic Value

• Commercially worth 2billion
• 80 of the animal protein for the 60 million
  people living in the basin (World Wildlife
  Foundation 2011).
• The Mekong River is capable of producing
  2,500,000 million tons of fish a year (Hogan
  2011).

Floating fish farm on the Mekong River, Vietnam
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People living in the floating villages on the
Mekong River rely on the fish supply for survival
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• Biodiversity of the Mekong River Watershed
• Vegetation
• Land Animals
• Aquatic Animals

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Lotus Field, Cambodia
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Carnivorous Pitcher Plant (www.wwf.panda.org)
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Coconuts, Vietnam
Jack Fruit rarefruit.org
Rambutan rambutan.com
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Globalopportunity.se
Mangostan, Thailand
Boat full of pineapple, Thailand
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Young Elephant, Thailand
Elephant Reserve, Thailand
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Rhesus Macaque, Cambodia
Monitor lizard, Thailand
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Water fowl, Vietnam
Stork Gardens, Vietnam
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At least 1,300 species of freshwater fish (World
Wildlife Foundation 2011)
The 'sucker' fish (Oreoglanis) (www.wwf.panda.org)
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Mekong river of Thailand by British fisherman Ian
Welch. Its massive body was 7ft long and 7ft
wide, with a tail measuring 10ft. After DNA was
taken for testing this pregnant female was
released back into the wild.
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Mekong Giant Catfish Pangasianodon
gigas/paucidens

• Worlds largest scale-less freshwater fish
• 95 population drop over the last
  century (National Geographic, 2011)
• Endemic from the delta all the way to the Yunnan
  Province.
• Are now reported only in the main Mekong, no
  longer found in smaller tributaries or Tonle Sap

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National Geographic 2011
Extremely overfished and are now protected by
legislation in the Golden Triangle region.
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Irrawaddy dolphinOrcaella brevirostris

• Critically vulnerable
• Lives in brackish coastal waters
• Mekong freshwater sub-population estimated at 127
  individuals in 2005 may now be as few as 86
  individuals (Beasley 2011).
• listed as critically endangered in the wild
• Worldwide population 7,000

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Feeds on fish, eggs, cephalopods, and
crustaceans
www.angkorcambodiaguide.com
Irrawaddy dolphins can be found in conservation
aquariums, where they can reproduce in a safe
environment while learning tricks with other
dolphins
Teakdoor.com
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Mekong in danger damming

• Drastically affect quality and quantity of fish
  available for consumption.
• Many fish, such as the Mekong Giant Catfish,
  travels upstream to spawn.
• Lower water levels downstream reduces fish
  habitat
• Reduced sedimentation puts the delta at further
  risk of eroding into the sea
• Lower water levels are unfavorable to floating
  communities and markets

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Existing Manwan Dachaoshan Jinghong Xiaowan
(2010) Under Constructi0n Nuozhadu Planned Gon
gguoqiao Ganlaba Mengsong Pak Beng Luang
Prabang Xayabouri Pak Lay Sanakham Pak
Chom Ban Koum Lat Sua Don Sahong Stung
Treng Sambor
www.savethemekong.org 2009
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Museumstuff.com
Dachaoshan Dam
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Xiaowan Dam
Chinadaily.com.cn
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Lu, X.X. and R.Y. Siew, 2005 Water discharge and
sediment flux changes in the Lower Mekong River

• Infilling of the Manwan reservoir in 1992 has
  disrupted water discharge and sediment
  transportation.
• Extremely low water levels in the Mekong may be a
  result of cascade damming in China.
• Discharge and sediment flux was analyzed at
  various gauging stations along the Mekong River
  downstream of the Manwan Dam.

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Trend shows the variation in downstream sediment
concentration from before to after the Manwan dam
was constructed. Sites closer to the dam shower
higher before-after variability than sites
further downstream.
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Lu and Siew 2005 Results

• General decrease in sediment discharge
• Lower average water levels
• Increased daily water fluctuation for sites
  downstream of Manwan Dam in China.
• These changes are relatively minimal at this time
  and only significantly affect sites nearer to the
  dam.
• They may become detrimental to the Mekong
  ecosystem as time passes and more dams are built
  along the Mekong in China and Thailand.

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Thank You! Any Questions?
Mekong River sunset, Louang Prabang,
Laos www.everywheremag.com