The Mekong: Biophysical Environment of an International River Basin

The Mekong is the most controversial river in Southeast Asia, and increasingly the focus of international attention. It flows through 6 counties, China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Viet Nam. The 4 downstream countries have formed the Mekong River Commission to promote sustainable development of the river and many of their people depend on it for their subsistence ? it has possible the largest freshwater fishery in the world, and the Mekong waters support rice agriculture in the delta in Viet Nam (which produces about 40% of that country's food) as well as in Cambodia, Laos and Thailand.

China is now building the first large mainstream dam on the river, and has proposals for several more. These dams are likely to affect the downstream countries. Several of the downstream countries also have plans for large scale hydropower and irrigation development which could also impact the river.

This book will provide a solid overview of the biophysical environment of the Mekong together with a discussion of the possible impacts, biophysical, economic and social, of some possible development scenarios. It is intended to provide a technical basis which can inform the growing political and conservation debate about the future of the Mekong River, and those who depend on it. It is aimed at river ecologists, geographers, environmentalists and development specialists both in the basin and (especially) outside for whom access to this material is most difficult.

This book will be the first comprehensive treatment of the Mekong system.

The first comprehensive overview of all aspects of the Mekong River systemDeals with a regionally critical ecosystem and one under threatThe Mekong supports the world's largest freshwater fishery and provides water underpinning a major regional rice paddy systemPresents the authoritative findings of the Mekong River Commission's research for a wider audience for the first time outside of limited distribution reports

1. Introduction – I. C. Campbell 2. The Geology of the Lower Mekong River – Paul A. Carling 3. Geology of Landforms of the Mekong Basin – Avijit Gupta 4. The Hydrology of the Mekong River – Peter T. Adamson, Ian D. Rutherfurd, Murray C. Peel, Iwona A. Conlan 5. Geomorphology and Sedimentology of the Lower Mekong River - Paul A. Carling 6. The Sediment Load of the Mekong River - Des E. Walling 7. Vegetation in the Mekong Basin – Philip W. Rundel 8. Fish Diversity in the Mekong River Basin – John Valbo-Jorgensen, David Coates, Kent Hortle 9. Fisheries of the Mekong River Basin – Kent G. Hortle 10. Tonle Sap Lake, the Heart of the Lower Mekong – I. C. Campbell, S. Say, J. Beardall 11. Mekong Schistosomiasis: Where Did It Come from and Where Is It Going? 12. Water Quality of the Lower Mekong River – Edwin D. Ongley 13. The Development and Application of Biomonitoring in the Lower Mekong River System – I. C. Campbell, Bruce C. Chessman, Vincent H. Resh 14. Watercourse Environmental Change in Upper Mekong – Daming He, Ying Lu, Zhiguo Li, Shaojuan Li 15. Conserving Dolphins in the Mekong River: The Complex Challenge of Competing Interests – Isabel Beasley, Helene Marsh, Thomas A. Jefferson, Peter Arnold 16. Development Scenarios and Mekong River Flows – I. C. Campbell 17. The Challenges for Mekong River Management – I. C. Campbell