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The Mekong River is the longest river in southeast Asia and the twelfth longest in the world. 

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The Mekong River is the longest river in southeast Asia and the twelfth longest in the world. 

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The river runs for 4,350 kilometers, starting on the Tibetan Plateau and ending at the South China Sea. (Zalinge et. al, 2003)

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This short video explains the Mekong River, geographically and gives images to help visualize the basin.

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The Mekong River Explained in under 3 minutes

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Envisat of the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. 2007

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The river delta in Vietnam, draining into the South China Sea

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The river delta in Vietnam, draining into the South China Sea

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The drainage basin of the Mekong covers an area of 780,300 square kilometers. The river discharges at an average of 10,314 m^3/sec annually.

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The drainage basin of the Mekong covers an area of 780,300 square kilometers. The river discharges at an average of 10,314 m^3/sec annually.

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(Coleman, 2004)

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Average rainfall of the Mekong Basin is 1,226 mm per year. 

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Average rainfall of the Mekong Basin is 1,226 mm per year. 

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Projections expect annual rainfall to increase in response to rising temperatures of climate change. (Pravettoni, 2015)

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The Mekong River is shared by the six countries in travels through - Cambodia, China, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. Nearly 65 million people live in the Mekong Basin and up to 300 million people relay on its resources.  

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The Mekong River is shared by the six countries in travels through - Cambodia, China, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. Nearly 65 million people live in the Mekong Basin and up to 300 million people relay on its resources.  

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(Manohar et. al, 2023)

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646-pound catfish netted in northern Thailand in the Mekong River (Kritsanavarin, 2005)

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Fishing and agriculture provide food and industry to the region.

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Fishing and agriculture provide food and industry to the region.

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The Mekong River is known for its immensely diverse ecosystem. The river also is known for the giant fish species within it.

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In recent years, sediment levels have fallen. This image is before the sediment levels decreased showing how the river looked originally.

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This video is footage from a boat traveling along the Mekong River, showing the everyday lives of people who live, work, and rely on the water and food of the Mekong. (AR-point99, 2019)

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The water quality of the Mekong River is declining. 

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The water quality of the Mekong River is declining. 

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The Mekong is facing many increasingly threatening risks. Upstream dams, overfishing, deforestation of the banks, plastic pollution, and impacts of climate change are among these risks. The water quality of the river is poor. Plastics being tossed into the river as well as runoff from nearby agriculture has led to the decline. (Environment Programme, 2021)

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This video gives a brief explanation of how Chinese dams are affecting the Mekong River, causing drought to southern regions.

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Critics Point To China For Causing Environmental Disaster Along Mekong River

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Low water levels of the Mekong in Thailand. (Suwanrumpha, 2019)

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The Lower Mekong Basin is experiencing droughts at a higher rate than in previous years due to the increased amount of dams being built along the northern portion of the Mekong.

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My causal loop diagram describes how human activities are impacting the overall health of the Mekong River's water quality.

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Water levels of the Mekong in 2019 in Laos. (The Economist, 2019)

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Riverbank fallen in at sandmining operation. (Tuyen, 2022)

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Sand mining operations are also contributing to sediment degradation.

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Sand mining operations are also contributing to sediment degradation.

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To save the people who rely on the Mekong

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To save the people who rely on the Mekong

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To save the people that rely on the Mekong River as a source of life, maintaining water quality, food availability in the wildlife in the river, and lowering pollution levels will allow people to continue to live along the Mekong for years to come.

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Mangroves along the Mekong River in Vietnam. (Jirapong, 2020)

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Sediment transport in decline in the waters of the Mekong.

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Sediment transport in decline in the waters of the Mekong.

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Mangroves provide stability to the banks of the Mekong River. In recent years, due to land development, the mangroves are being removed rapidly. This is causing issues with river bank stability and ecosystem destruction.

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To serve all countries that rely on the Mekong, governments will need to think about the other countries their decisions affect. While having the position in the north of the river allows access to hydropower dams, making sure they aren't harming the countries on the south of the river is essential.

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To save the industries relying on the Mekong

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To save the industries relying on the Mekong

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In order to save the industries relying on the Mekong River, maintaining water quality and preventing drought will be necessary. Regulating sand mining, proper planning of dam placements among the whole river, and preventing pollution will all play a role in maintaining the river.

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Critics Point To China For Causing Envir. , NBC News, 2022, www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JJSImnF03o.

Coleman, James. "The Mekong Delta." The World Delta Database, 2004, www.geol.lsu.edu/WDD/ASIAN/Mekong/mekong.htm.

Environment Programme. "Plastic pollution threatens the Mekong, a wildlife wonderland." United Nations Environment Program, 25 Mar. 2021, www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/plastic-pollution-threatens-mekong-wildlife-wonderland.

Envisat image of the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. 2007, European Space Agency. www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Earth_from_Space_Vietnam_s_nine-tailed_dragon.

Life on the River - Mekong Delta. , Youtube, 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Tb3cg0-W14.

Kritsanavarin, Suthep. 2005, National Geographic. www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/giant-catfish-may-be-worlds-largest-freshwater-fish.

Manohar, Swetha, et al. "Riverine food environments and food secuirty: a case study of the Mekong River, Cambodia." Bull World Health Organization, vol. 2, no. 101, 1 Feb. 2023, pp. 140-48. Google Scholar, https://doi.org/10.2471/BLT.22.288830.

Mekong River Commision. 2019, The Economist. www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2019/08/07/why-are-water-levels-of-the-mekong-at-a-100-year-low.

Pravettoni, Riccardo. "Salween-Mekong basins climate indicators – Rainfall & Temperature." The Himalayan Climate and Water Atlas, 2015, www.grida.no/resources/6700.

Sillar, Shamus. 2017, Expat Living. expatliving.sg/long-weekend-luang-prabang-laos/#.

Stimson Center. "Average wet season precipitation in the Mekong Bas." Chart. OCHA Service, 14 Apr. 2020. Google Scholar, reliefweb.int/map/china/average-wet-season-precipitation-mekong-basin-2019-compared-2000-2018.

Suwanrumpha, Lillian. Record low levels on the Mekong River. 2019, Getty Images. www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/chinese-dams-mekong-drought.

The Mekong River Explained in under 3 mi. www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AyiJsftt-4.

Tuyen, Dinh. Local government workers use sandbags to fill in areas of subsidence along the Hau River in Chau Phu district, An Giang province, Vietnam. 2022, www.thethirdpole.net/en/livelihoods/in-vietnam-mekong-delta-sand-mining-means-lost-homes-and-fortunes/.

Zalinge, Nicolaas V., et al. "The Mekong River System." Second International Symposium on the Management of Large Rivers for Fisheries, 11 Feb. 2003, pp. 11-14. Google Scholar, https://doi.org/https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/67166565/The_Mekong_River_System20210505-25989-j6lbim.pdf?1620223043=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DThe_Mekong_River_System.pdf&Expires=168671.

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Flooding along the degraded banks of the Mekong

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Flooding along the degraded banks of the Mekong

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What can be done to prevent human activity from degrading the water quality of the Mekong River?

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What can be done to prevent human activity from degrading the water quality of the Mekong River?

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In order to prevent further damage to the water quality, ecosystems, riverbanks, and industries that rely on the Mekong River, collective action will need to be taken by the six governments surrounding the river.