Why is the Mekong River Basin important?
The Mekong River is one of the world’s great rivers. The Mekong River contributes significantly to this growth through the opportunities it provides, including hydropower production, agriculture, fisheries, and transport and trade. …
What is happening to the Mekong River?
A combination of drought and controversial upstream water politics is setting up Southeast Asia for potential disaster. Drought and upstream dams have shrunk the Mekong River to its lowest levels in a century and threaten fish spawning—bad signs for the region’s food supply.
What is the Mekong River basin?
The Upper Mekong River Basin comprises the Tibetan Plateau, the Three Rivers Area and Lancang Basin in China and Myanmar. The Lower Mekong River Basin is made up of the Northern Highlands, the Khorat Plateau, the Tonle Sap Basin and the Mekong Delta. It covers Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia and Viet Nam.
What are some of the problems associated with development along the Mekong River?
impacts, such as diminished river-bank agricultural and fishing opportunities. High exposure to severe storms, large populations living in low-lying areas, and relatively low adaptive capacity of institutions make Greater Mekong countries extremely vulnerable to climate change.
What is the importance of the Mekong River to Laos?
The Mekong River connects China, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam physically and economically. The river is a lifeline for the entire basin, sustaining economies and livelihoods across the entire region.
Why does the Mekong Basin matter to the US?
Mekong countries are key diplomatic, economic, and security partners for the United States. The US has allocated more than $2 billion in development assistance to bilateral and regional initiatives in the Mekong over the last decade. To date, the US government has provided more than $120 million for LMI programming.
Why did China build dams in Mekong River?
China has constructed 11 giant dams along the mountainous territory of the Upper Mekong to sustain its ever-increasing energy needs. The management of water flows has long been a concern for many living along the river.
Why is the Mekong River polluted?
The pollution is due in part to the expansion of rice fields from 3.2 million hectares in 1995 to 3.9 million hectares this year and the increased use of fertilizers and pesticides. Another reason is pond expansion to grow pangasius (basa and tra).
Where is the Mekong River basin?
The Mekong’s drainage basin covers 795,000 km² 23% is located in Thailand, 21% in China, 20% in Cambodia, 8% in Vietnam, and the remaining 3% is in Myanmar. From its source in China to the border with the Lao PDR, the river drops very rapidly – 4,500 meters.
How was the Mekong River formed?
Granite samples collected from the Mekong River Valley reveal that the river’s path was incised roughly 17 million years ago, most likely by increased erosion from monsoon precipitation.
What are the two main problems that the Mekong River is facing?
The Mekong River ecosystem is on the verge of irreversible collapse due to the accumulative effects of climate change and increased numbers of upstream dams as well as other human-made activities such as deforestation, sand mining, extensive irrigation for agriculture and wetland conversion.
What is the economic importance of the Mekong River?
The Mekong plays a crucial role in the economies of LMB countries. It supports one of the world’s largest inland fisheries, which has a total economic value estimated at US$17 billion – about three per cent of the region’s combined gross domestic product.
Where does the Mekong River start and finish?
The Mekong River is a river in the south-east of Asia. It flows through many countries: China, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia , and finally Vietnam. The Mekong begins in the Lasagongma Spring which is in the plateaus of Tibet , disputed part of China, and flows about 2,703 miles (4,350 km) south-east to the South China Sea.
What sea does the Mekong River flow into?
The Mekong River, one of the world’s major rivers, drains into the South China Sea . It is the 11th -longest river in the world, and the 12th-largest by volume (discharging 475 cubic kilometres (114 cu mi) of water annually). Its estimated length is 4,880 kilometres (3,030 mi), and it drains an area of 810,000 square kilometres (310,000 sq mi).
How many dams are on the Mekong River?
Multiple dams are an ominous threat to life on the Mekong River. A total of 11 dams are planned along the Mekong, storing up trouble for millions of people, the world’s largest inland fishery and critically endangered species.
What are the Mekong River’s benefits?
Besides tourism and giving pleasure to the tourists, Mekong River is beneficial to people living in Kandal province including every day uses, crop and farm watering and fishing.