A presentation on the Greater Mekong Biodiversity Threat

1. Importance of Biodiversity in
The Greater Mekong
ESS Presentation by Nivedha N.
Year 12

2. Background Knowledge
• Rising in the Tibetan Plateau and disgorging into
the South China Sea
• “Ranked 12th longest of the World’s rivers, draining
795,000 km2 of six countries; China, Myanmar,
Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia and Vietnam”
• In terms of annual discharge it ranks eighth highest
in the world at some 475,000 million cubic meters
• Seasonal variations in water level and the range of
wetland habitats is the main source of productivity
in the ecosystem
• Vast Habitat Diversity: Savannas, dense
rainforests, slow moving rivers, torrents, Massifs,
Plateaus, Limestone Karsts, Lowlands, Fertile
Floodplains, Deltas, Dipterocarp, Mangroves,
Swamp, Grasslands
• Home to irreplaceable and threatened biodiversity
• Drives Economic Development

3. Biodiversity
• Biodiversity is "the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter
alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of
which they are a part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of
ecosystems” (Convention of Biodiversity)
• Annual flood pulses support the Biodiversity second to Amazon in numbers of fish,
mammals and birds
• Rare Species: Crested Gibbons, Tigers, Kekong Irrawaddy Dolphin, Elusive Saola
 Largest combined tiger habitat in the world -
540,000 km2 or roughly the size of France
 Recent estimates of the biota of the greater
Mekong region put the species count numbers
at 20,000 plant, 430 mammal, 1200 bird, 800
reptile and amphibian, and 850 fish species
 Since 1997, over 1,500 new species have been
described in jungles, rivers and even urban areas
of Mekong

4. Mekong Fish Migrations

5. Threat to Biodiversity
• Sensitive species are critically endangered
such as Irrawaddy Dolphin, Siamese
Crocodile, Giant Catfish, Giant ibis and Sarus
Crane
• Human activity such as Water Pollution,
Salinization, Irrigation, Overharvesting and
Dam construction are major threats
• Dams regulate flow obstructing majority of
migratory fish dependent on hydrological
cycle and flows
• 87% of Fish species are migratory
• Deforestation near drainage basins cause
sedimentation of lakes and rivers
• Conservation vs. Development
• Illicit Wildfire trade causing extinction
• Reducing Habitat Cover Protected Areas in Mekong

6. Impact of Upstream Developments on
Water Level

7. Impact of Hydrological Changes on
Flood Pulse

8. Link to Livelihood
• Mekong’s flood pulse source of
production
• Fish sustains majority of diet for
55 million natural resource-
dependent inhabitants in the
Lower Mekong Basin of Laos,
Thailand, Cambodia and Mekong
• Main Occupation; Fishing
• Rural livelihoods adapted to seasonal changes of flooding and
recession
• Food security
• High economic dependence on fisheries, exceeding 80% in rural
households
• Reduced Biodiversity will lead to decreased participation, loss of
livelihoods and unfavorable socio-economic conditions

9. Link to Economy of Nations
• Countries characterized majorly as poor and rural populations
• Excepting Thailand, nominal per capita income ranges from US$254
in Cambodia to US$354 in
• Vietnam. Around 40% of the population in Cambodia, Laos and
Vietnam live beneath the poverty line
• Furthermore, the population growth rate in the region is high - 2.5%
for Laos
• High population growth rate; 2.5% for Laos and Cambodia leading to
ever-increasing demand for food and jobs.
• Mekong Region is the main source of employment
• Wetland resources and biodiversity are national treasures to the
nations as they serve for
• Source of resources, occupations and economy
• Tourism
• Large monetary and social value of the region’s ecosystems and
habitats

10. Conclusion
• Need for Regional Co-operation to protect the National and
Ecological treasure
• Strategies towards Sustainable Development to eradicate
issue of Conservation vs. Development to appreciate both
viewpoints
• The Mekong Region sustains a rich biodiversity of aquatic food
webs, complex ecosystems, rare species, habitat biodiversity
and is the key to the environmental, social and economic
stability of the countries involved

11. MLA Bibliography
• "Discovering the Greater Mekong." WWF-Discovering the Greater
Mekong. WWF, n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2015.
<http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/greatermekong/
discovering_the_greater_mekong/>.
• "Biodiversity." Biodiversity. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2015.
<http://mekongriver.info/biodiversity>.
• "The Mekong." Mekong Wetlands Biodiversity Conservation. Mekong
Wetlands Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Use Programme,
IUCN, n.d. Web.
<http://www.mekongwetlands.org/Programme/mekong.htm>.
• Biodiversity and Fisheries in the Mekong River Basin. Phnom Penh,
Cambodia: Mekong River Commission, 2003. Biodiversity and Fisheries
in the Mekong River Basin. Web.
<http://www.mrcmekong.org/assets/Publications/report-management-
develop/Mek-Dev-No2-Mek-River-Biodiversityfiisheries-in.pdf>.