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In the Mekong Delta: Erosion, Pollution, and Millions of Shrimp

By Nantiya Tangwisutijit

“Wrong way!” Stephen, our driver, shouted at Pablo through the rolled-up window of his 4×4. We had jumped out of the car to take a ferry across the Mekong to the toothbrush-shaped island of Phu Thanh, and apparently Stephen was unimpressed with our door-closing technique. Heedless of the swarms of motorcycles flowing around the vehicle, he engaged the handbrake and got out himself to demonstrate the proper method.

Opening the door and quickly slamming it with exaggerated force, he pointed accusingly at Pablo. “Wrong way.”

Once more he pulled the door open, smiling as he gently closed it with a barely audible click. “Right way.”

Despite Community Protest Marble Production Continues

By Nantiya Tangwisutijit

“We just want to stop the project” said U Zaya Kyaw, a member of Taungote community network. A Vietname based company named Myanmar SIMCO Song Da Limited Joint Stock Company (MYSICO) get the license for 25 years of Marble Tile production in Nay Pu Taung (Nay Py Mountain), which is situated in Taungote Townshiop, Rakhine, Myanmar. “According to the contract, they will employ 240 local workers, but they only hire 10 local people so far (with contract). The whole project operation is not transparent and accountable. It will spoil our environment and we don’t have much benefit from it.” U Zaya Kyaw continued. “The investment is 18.17 mn, but they didn’t say anything about EIA or SIA to us.” U Soe Win, another member of the community network said.

Mekong Dams Could Halve Fish Stocks: Study

By Paritta Wangkiat

Fish stocks in the Mekong River in Cambodia and the Vietnamese Delta could be halved if 11 planned hydropower dams go ahead, according to the preliminary results of an extensive study funded by the Vietnamese government.

Presented at a regional conference on water, food and energy in the Mekong River Basin, the study’s results are an in-depth look into what environmental groups and fisheries experts have been warning for years: that damming the Mekong extensively will have drastic impacts on one of the world’s most important aquatic ecosystems.

Mekong Delta heads for troubled waters

By Nantiya Tangwisutijit

Lush greenery in the lower Mekong region sprawls as far as the eye can see, an illustration of just how fertile the delta is. The endless green fields scored by the river’s nine tributaries, which the Vietnamese call “Nine Dragons”, explain why this area is one of the world’s major food baskets.

It houses the richest inland fishery and accounts for more than a fifth of the world’s rice exports, although looks can be deceptive. Encroaching sea water from the south, a proliferation of hydro dams in the north and large-scale sand mining are endangering the delta, officials warn.

Delta through the lenses of foreign correspondents

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In mid August, many correspondents from Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, China, and Britain came to Mekong River Delta. They wanted to witness the impacts of climate change, sea level rise and certainly mainstream dams upstream Mekong River, affecting the granary, fish, and shrimp of the world.

Gradual loss of the Southeast Asian Rice Field

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Hundreds of kilometers of riverbank and shoreline in the Mekong River Delta are being eroded dramatically with hundreds and even thousands of hectars of land swept away annually. The place widely known as the field of Southeast Asia, annually produces 24-25 millions tonnes of rice (6-8 million tonnes of rice export) and 1.2 million tonnes of catfish, and 500,000 tonnes of shrimp, mostly for export. That field is being lost.