How did the Mekong river get polluted?
The pollution is due in part to the expansion of rice fields from 3.2 million hectares in 1995 to 3.9 million hectares this year and the increased use of fertilizers and pesticides. Another reason is pond expansion to grow pangasius (basa and tra).
What is the problem with the Mekong River?
Population growth, poor land-use planning and economic policies that encourage the unsustainable use of natural resources are among the factors increasing deforestation and biodiversity loss across the Greater Mekong region.
Why is the Mekong River at Risk?
Two main risks include the obstruction of the estimated 600 migratory fish species that swim to their spawning ground and the trapping of sediment by dams upstream that prohibits the replenishment of the delta’s nutrients.
How do human activities affect the Mekong River?
Recent studies have shown that the dam construction projects along the Upper Mekong in China in particular have had a major impact on both water and sediment fluxes throughout the Mekong basin. … Other human activities in the delta might also contribute to the sinking and shrinking of the Mekong’s delta.
Why are water levels of the Mekong at a 100 year low?
A combination of drought and controversial upstream water politics is setting up Southeast Asia for potential disaster. Drought and upstream dams have shrunk the Mekong River to its lowest levels in a century and threaten fish spawning—bad signs for the region’s food supply.
Why is the Mekong River so brown?
The fast-flowing river is a source of fish and helps transport sediments across the region, improving soil fertility for farmers. The sediments also give the river its signature muddy brown appearance.
Can a river dry up?
Some of the developing world’s largest rivers are drying up because of climate change, threatening water supplies in some of the most populous places on Earth, say scientists. … Flow has increased in some developing world rivers.
What do you know about the Mekong River?
The Mekong River is the longest river in Southeast Asia. The river has a length of approximately 4,900 km, flowing from its source on the Tibetan Plateau in China through Myanmar, Lao PDR, Thailand, Cambodia and Viet Nam via a large delta into the sea.