Mekong River Strikes Another Record Low
In recent weeks, the Mekong River, one of the world’s longest and largest rivers, which has been under peril due to a confluence of development, demographic, and geopolitical pressures, has been at its lowest levels in a century. Dams upstream are holding back much needed water amid an ongoing drought. The development has highlighted the sobering state of the Mekong and the effects on the livelihoods of the people who depend on it.
Varying sources have gotten the blame for the stress on the Mekong. For some, it is dams, in particular Xayaburi in Laos – the first to block the mainstream of the Mekong River. Others such as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have lashed out at China, where up to seven dams now obstruct seasonal water flows.
“We have seen a spree in upstream dam building that concentrates control over downstream flows,” he said at a recent summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Bangkok.
Luke Hunt
