Tibetan protester in Dharamsala, India. Ten major river systems are sourced within Tibet, including the Yangtse and Yellow Rivers, the Mekong, the Salween, the Brahmaputra, Karnali and Indus rivers. Except for the Salween, all have been heavily dammed by Chinese megadam builders.
Mekong Apocalypse
Michael Buckley | Tibet, Yunnan, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam
Photographer: Michael Buckley
Exhibit Title: Mekong Apocalypse
Location: Tibet, Yunnan, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam
The mighty Mekong River, sourced in Tibet and flowing through six nations downstream is now under supreme threat of ecosystem collapse. Why? The river is under siege from a slew of factors, such as extensive sand-dredging, groundwater extraction, and saltwater intrusion. But by far the biggest threat is the building of Chinese megadams in Yunnan Province. There are a dozen of these monstrous dams. And further downstream in Laos and Cambodia, more dams built by Chinese state-run dam builders. All this is leading to a huge blockage of nutrient-rich sediment to Cambodia and Vietnam, and a precipitous drop in the fish catch in both nations due to the blocking of fish migration routes leading to their spawning grounds.
The author has made a 55-minute docu-drama about the dire situation on the Mekong.. Details about this docu-drama and links to view it can be seen via: www.ThunderHorseMedia.com/Mekong
Photo of Xiaowan Dam in Yunnan by Marcus Rhinelander
Food & Water Security
on the Mekong in Cambodia & Vietnam
At the wrong end of the Mekong river lie the nations of Cambodia and Vietnam. Cambodia is heavily dependent on fishing, deriving some 70 percent of its protein intake from fishing, mainly from Lake Tonle Sap, which is connected to the Mekong and acts as an overflow, reversing course twice a year. But over the past decades, as more and more Chinese megadams have popped up, the fish catch has declined drastically in Cambodia. Fishermen who used to catch 20kg of fish in a day are now lucky to net even 2kg of fish, which is barely enough to feed their own families. And the larger fish are disappearing at a rapid rate because megadams have blocked their migration routes to their spawing grounds upstream. The Mekong Giant Catfish is virtually extinct now. Aquaculture (fish farming) at Lake Tonle Sap presents an alternative source for fishing, but such fish have none of the nutrients of wild-caught fish, and may be rife with disease.
Vietnam's Mekong Delta is the rice-basket of the nation, providing the major share of rice and also fruit and other crops. But the Delta is no longer fertile ground. The Delta has been starved of nutrient-rich sediment, which is blocked upstream by Chinese megadams. And then there are a host of other issues: the over-use of groundwater to irrigate crops means the Delta is slowly sinking, and that leads to greater saltwater intrusion from the sea. Saltwater is the death knell for most crops. Even mangroves can only take so much saltwater. Extensive sand-dredging in the Mekong Delta means much more trouble. The sand is used for construction purposes. Basically, the Mekong Delta is falling apart, with some housing collapsing into branches of the Mekong as the river scours the banks looking for sand and sediment to maintain its flow. Vietnam prided itself once on being an exporter of rice. Now it is importing rice to feed its people. There are some 20 million people living in the Mekong Delta, who will be turned into refugees in the coming years.
Make Comment/View Comments
