Drought in Mekong RiverDrought in Mekong River

(Ref.3)

Sirapong Suwanpanjasil (Thailand) 11M51488 Niwa Lab

Geo Environmental EngineeringMay 28, 2012

2Contents 2

• Introduction - Geography

Population- Population- Annual Flow

• Problem Statements• Problem Statements

• Impacts of Drought - Fishery

- Agriculture

- Drinking Water

- Transportation

• Solutions

• Conclusions

• References (Ref.3)

2

INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION

Introduction - Geography 3

The Mekong is a river in Southeast Asia. Itis the world's 12th-longest river. Its estimatedlength is 4 350 km and it drains an area oflength is 4,350 km, and it drains an area of795,000 km2, discharging 475 km3 of waterannually.

From the Tibetan Plateau this river runsthrough China's Yunnan province, Burma, Laos,Thailand and Vietnam. In 1995, Laos, Thailand,Cambodia and Vietnam established the MekongRiver Commission (MRC) to assist in themanagement and coordinated use of the Mekong's

N h i i k hresources. Now, the six countries work togetherwithin a cooperative framework.

The Mekong Basin can be divided into twogparts: the ‘Upper Mekong Basin’ in Tibet andChina and the ‘Lower Mekong Basin’ fromYunnan downstream from China to the SouthRef WikipediaChina Sea.

Ref.Wikipedia

(Ref.2)

Introduction - Population 4

The Mekong and its tributaries are vital to the 73 millionpeople living in the lower part of the catchment, who dependupon the river for water food and transportupon the river for water, food and transport.

Most of the population are engaged in agriculture andproduce rice. It is estimated that food demand from theMekong River basin will increase by 25-50% in the next 25years, with a corresponding increase in water demand.

(Ref 3)(Ref.3)

Rice and fish make up the main food of the Mekongpopulation, people of the Mekong consume between 28 and 67population, people of the Mekong consume between 28 and 67kg fish per capita annually.

The Mekong River is very rich in fish. The size of thei l d fi h i i l ith th t t l l t h ti t d tinland fisheries is large with the total annual catch estimated ataround 2 million tonne. (Ref.2)

Introduction - Annual Flow 5

The hydrological regime of theMekong River is controlled bylt ti t d dalternating wet and dry monsoon

(typhoon) seasons.

The annual flows in the Mekonge a ua ows t e e o gare relatively predictable, with the wetseason extending from June-July toNovember, and the dry season fromNovember, and the dry season fromDecember to May (MRC, 1997).

In general, the wet seasonaccounts for around 85-90% of the totalannual volume, with September beingthe peak flow month (contributing 20-30% of the annual flow).

Extensive areas of the Lower Mekong Basin are flooded each year. These floodsi i i i i h hi h i l l d i i f h l d d

(Ref.2)

are very important in maintaining the high agricultural productivity of these lands andthere are a key factor in the very high fish productivity in the Mekong.

2

PROBLEMOSTATEMENTSSTATEMENTS

Problem Statements 6

Severe threats to environmental resource of MekongRiver, as well as livelihood of the rural poor in the LowerMekong Basin.

The record low water level of the Mekong River andthe prolonged draught in the dry season of 2010 causingp g g y gwidespread impacts to local communities.

Problem Statements 7

It remained controversial whether such a devastating phenomenon was:• Seasonal fluctuation,

Why?• An effect of Climate Change,• Caused by the Large Dams altering the Mekong River

China’s construction of a series of 8 large hydropower waterfall dams

Why?(Ref.1)

- China s construction of a series of 8 large hydropower waterfall dams.- A joint proposal of Lao PDR, Cambodia and Thailand to build 11equally large hydropower dams in the Lower Mekong Basin.

Xiaowan Dam on the Mekong in Yunnan Dam Plan on the Mekong in Thailand

2

IMPACTS OFC S ODROUGHTDROUGHT

Impacts of Drought - Fishery 8

Impact on FisheryThe fish stock appeared to be noticeably decreased as comparedThe fish stock appeared to be noticeably decreased as compared

with what it used to be, especially in the dry seasons. It appeared to themthat mating, thus spawning, of fishes have not taken place during theseasons they used to do in the past.

“If more dams are built inMekong River in the future, fish won’tjust be decreasing; there will be nofish left at all”

... Buppa (2011)Fisher(Ref.1)

(Ref.3)

Impacts of Drought - Agriculture 9

Impact on Agriculture along the Mekong River BankThe abnormally sudden rise of Mekong water levels experiencedThe abnormally sudden rise of Mekong water levels, experienced

during the previous dry seasons, damaged their vegetable plots. Somefarmers need to pay more for pumping costs, longer pipes and moreenergy needed.

“Even vegetable planters have to be on thealert at all time, because they don’t know whenwater will rise or fall. In the past, all they need todo was preparing plots then planted vegetables.Now they began to worry that their plots might beflooded anytime”f y

... Kongpin (2010) The Mayor of Chiang Khan Municipality(Ref.1)

(Ref.3)

Impacts of Drought – Drinking Water 10

Impact on Domestic Water Use (for potable water supply)The drinkable water supply system worked well for the past 20 years, untilThe drinkable water supply system worked well for the past 20 years, until

2009. In 2010, the extreme drought year, Loei encountered raw water shortagefor the first time. The problem occurred so suddenly and that they solved theproblem by dredging the river bed in order to acquire additional water supplyproblem by dredging the river bed in order to acquire additional water supply.

“The trend of water shortage in dry seasons isgetting worse. The way we tackle the problem now isonly reducing, but not solving, the problem”only reducing, but not solving, the problem

... Srisawong (2011)Deputy Head for Disaster Prevention & Mitigation,

Chiang Khan District(Ref.1)

Impacts of Drought – Transportation 11

Impact on TransportationWater transportation has been used for transporting agricultural productsWater transportation has been used for transporting agricultural products

and construction materials. During the extreme drought years, boats and shipscould be operated only through the deep navigating channel of Mekong River andillegal trespassers can cross Mekong River anywhere thus it is very difficult toillegal trespassers can cross Mekong River anywhere, thus it is very difficult topatrol the border.

“Lots of rocks surfaced making shipnavigation difficult and dangerous In the pastnavigation difficult and dangerous. In the past,when water level lowered, ships managed tomove, Now large ships have to call to a halt”

… Jiarapong (2011) p g ( )Formerly engaged in truck delivery business

Mekong River(Ref.1)

2

SOLUTIONSSOLUTIONS

Solutions - Cooperation 12

CooperationIt is time six riparian nations seriously teamed up and beIt is time six riparian nations seriously teamed up and be

more cooperative. Mekong is the transboundary river which mustbe jointly managed by all stakeholder nations.j y g y

Solutions – Fishery Assistance 13

Fishery AssistanceAll involved parties including governments must make effortsAll involved parties, including governments, must make efforts

to maintain fishery sustainability. The assistance should includeimproving their basic education and establishing minimum incomescheme for fishers. A short and long-term plan must be developed toprotect and manage fishery resource and biodiversity.

(Ref.3)

Solutions – Information Management 13

Information ManagementAs of now even the most authoritative source of information stillAs of now, even the most authoritative source of information still

cannot precisely estimate water quantity used, because the estimationwas done with no relation to land use and occupation. There is thus anurgent need to establish a comprehensive database which compile alltypes of information engineering, environmental and socio-economic.

2

CONCLUSIONS

2Conclusions 14

1. The likely cause of drought isassumed to be a combination ofseasonal fluctuation, theupstream cascade dams, andli t hclimate change.

2. The drought significantlyi t i li lih dimpact community livelihood,by imposing impacts on fourkey issues fishery, agriculturekey issues fishery, agriculturealong Mekong River bank,domestic water use and

3. Different groups of people have different levels of capitals thus

transportation.

g p p p pdifferent adaptive capacities when exposed to drought.

References 15

1) http://www.lumes.lu.se/database/alumni/09.11/Thesis/Kongthong_Orasa_Thesis%202011.pdf

2) http://www.waterscience.com.au/pdf/Mekong_WQ_ERA_Report.pdf

3) http://www.livingriversiam.org/work/tb/presentation2.pdf

4) http://teakdoor.com/thailand-and-asia-news/61907-the-mekong-threaten-by-dams-development.html Thank You

For Your Attention

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