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Rivers, the home and source of life, nurturing the smallest plankton to the biggest
fish, to the land animal claiming to be the smartest, human. With advanced technology,
humans have always been taking advantages of the earth in many of the ways they could
ever think of, including controlling the river. Dams are seen to be beneficial in the eyes of
economists or politicians but never the environmentalists nor the indigenous people. The
Mekong River is about to face these invasion like other rivers. Its basin is the second most
diverse area on earth also it is considered the largest inland fishery. The debate went on
for years in the argument whether the dams should be built or not, considering the benefit
of getting electric power and the changes in ecosystem and peoples livelihood. There is
possibility that this problem will lead to the conflict among the ASEAN members in the
future.The countries in the upper basin, Laos and Thailand for example, tend to favour the
construction. But on the other hand, the lower basin countries, like Vietnam or Cambodia,
tend to oppose dam building as it affects the food security of people and obviously there is
not much water left for the lower basin countries to control. The solution of Mekong river is
to create the better cooperation among the countries(and the united perspective of the
With the significant benefits of Mekong river, the suitable water management and
the cooperation of these countries are needed. As the creation of the dams affects
countries in different ranges and aspects, there is possibility that this point can lead to the
conflict of interest. For example, if all of the proposed dams are constructed, Laos will
receive the most power benefit, 70%, following by Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam, who
receive only 5%. In the same time, food security is significantly affected in Cambodia and
Vietnam, Fish caught is predicted to be lost by 50% in both country. With the conversion to
amount of annual fishery and farming losses, Cambodia will lost $450 millions, and
Vietnam $760 millions. Even though there is MRC, Mekong River Commission, that has
been promoting the distribution of the river used, there is still conflict. As in 2010, Laos and
Thailand started the construction of Xayaburi Dam, ignoring the oppose of Cambodia and
Vietnam. There is possibility that the conflict will be intensify because each countries will
be affected differently. For example, Vietnam will be affected negatively on fisheries and
aquaculture, sediments and associated nutrient and etc, in return Vietnam will gain only
portion of economic benefits. In the same time Lao PDR will be affected very similar in the
negative way, loss of biodiversity, river bank garden, tourism asset, food security and etc
but the benefits that follow are beyond other countries, such as significant revenue,
increased irrigable area, longer term of power supply, etc. Thus, the cooperation among
the countries is needed to find the compromise and make an effective agreement on how
the river should be shared. And in order to encounter that agreement, it is essential for the
leaders or the decision makers to comprehend that the river doesnt belong to any single
country but all the people, as a bad decision can lead to the loss for the downstream
in terms of environment. Inferior only to the Amazon, Mekong basin is the second most
diverse area on earth. The river is the home to many species of large fish, also it is the
biggest inland fishery with 2 million metric tons of fish a year. According to the summary of
the final report prepared for the Mekong River commission, it is predicted that with the
proposed dams construction in Mekong River, calculated from the habitat loss only, 12-
27% of productivity of aquatic system will be lost. Also 35% of fish in Mekong, the species
that require the suitable long-distance migration condition, would decline dramatically as
some part of the river will become the reservoirs. This loss in biodiversity is irreversible
people, these issues will cause vast amount of losses for fishery and agricultural sector,
especially in the lower basin countries. The prediction shows that if all planned dams are
existed, total loss of fish would be 550,000 880,000 tonnes(compared to year 2000). And
the agricultural sector will be facing the overflowing and loss of agricultural land. It is
needed to be understand by all leaders that besides the economic and financial gain, the
loss in biodiversity and the effect on ecology system have to be considered as factors in
the decision as well. The acknowledging and understanding about the environmental
conditions are also essential to make the agreeable and eco-friendly decision. Not only the
ASEAN leader but also the citizens should be aware and concern of the effect of the
decision as well. Because the effects of the dams, positive and negative, will be remained
will all citizens. Therefore it will be easier to evaluate the outcome if the leaders and
citizens are aware and understand of the following environmental problem that it has
capacity to affect not only biodiversity, but also the economy, and food security.
According to the Asian Development Bank, the emission rate in South East Asia
region has been increased dramatically in 1990-1999 form 25%-40%. And if the policies
are regardless of the climate change, the rate of emission is predicted to be 50% by 2030.
As reported by the 3rd ASEAN energy outlook, in 2017, the GDP is predicted to grow by
5.7%. In correspond to this and GDP growth targets of the 10 ASEAN members, from
2007 to 2030, it is predicted that the consumption of energy will be increased by 4.4%(in
the Business-as-usual scenarios). It is also forecasted that the growth of hydro power will
be 7.1% over 2007 to 2030, but still the highest growth source is coal. It is genuine that
fossil fuels and coal contribute in climate change and the countries should aim to decrease
using these sources and looking for the renewable power. Hydropower is believed to be
one kind of clean energy. But actually dam also emits greenhouse gases from the rotting
organic matter and the construction process also it dry up the carbon sink area. Some
dams even emits gasses more that coal source, but some dams are cleaner as they are
believed to be. Moreover dams damaged the biodiversity of the river, and that should be
more concerned among the countries. Anyways the main source of energy comes from
coal. But the renewable energy has been starting to be the part of the sources. It is
needed that the leader has to be aware of the effects of each energy sources they decided
to use and the proportion of those sources in order to meet the energy demand., as it
affects not only economic, but livelihood and environment. And it will be beneficial for the
countries in the long term if the new clean energy is introduced, because demand of
people tends to be increasing according to the prediction, and the old sources of energy
may not be enough to meet those demands. Therefore it is logical to invest capital and
support the research in order to find the new or modified way of producing energy that is
friendly to the environment like the solar cell or the wind generator which will be more
The collaboration among the ASEAN members, the more awareness about the
importance of the environment, and the endeavour to meet the energy demand in the
same time as having least effects to the ecosystem are the way to make the best decision
out of Mekong River. The balancing of development and preservation of the environment
has always been the conflict, including in South East Asia region. The construction of the
dams significantly affect the food security, biodiversity, and agriculture, especially the
agreement among the countries that are sharing the river. Moreover, the factors that are
regarded in the decision-making process have to include the effect on the environment.
Even though it might not be as obvious or countable as the economic growth but the loss
in habitat of the living things, biodiversity and the changes in the ecosystem are almost
irreversible and should be considered as the global loss. In addition, the continual attempt
to find or modify renewable energy, as the demand for energy is increasing in ASEAN and
hydropower also has effects on the environment. It will be a long term benefit to be aware
of those effects and find the energy that least harm the nature.
It has never been easy to find the middle ground between the instantaneous
development and the more sustainable livelihood with the preserved environment. Anyway,
while considering the economic benefit and the demand of people, it is also essential to be
aware of effects following the decisions whether to construct dams or not. Because those
effects, in the long term, cost the earth and eventually affect the society regardless of the
country. Therefore, in Mekong River and all other rivers, dam construction has to be well
thought and planned considering the effects on environment too, in order to prevent it from
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WLE Greater Mekong. (n.d.). Mekong River Facts. Retrieved from https://wle-
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