Boat on the Mekong River
Khone Falls
River dolphin on the Mekong RiverA-WEAR-NESS Blog
I think it's safe to say that Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and I have very little in common. But, for a brief moment on March 29 when our paths crossed at the Phnom Penh Airport, we were on the same wavelength. I was coming from a trip up the Mekong to Khone Falls. Mr. Sen was going to Ventiane to determine the fate of Khone Falls. I had spent the previous week traveling up the Mekong River with aquatic ecologist Zeb Hogan who's on a mission to document the world's megafish. A megafish is any freshwater fish that grows to at least 6.5 feet in length or more then 220 pounds.
We were searching for giant fresh water stingray, and Zeb had heard rumors of a monster near Khone Falls. We spent the week talking to local fishermen and sitting around drinking lukewarm beer waiting for them to call with news of a ray. They didn't, which is not that surprising. Stingrays are very difficult to catch and are rare - technically, they are listed as vulnerable. The Mekong and the stretch just below Khone Falls in particular, is home to more megafish then any other river in the world. Along with stingray, the list includes the Mekong Giant Catfish (critically endangered) and Irrawaddy Dolphin (critically endangered). Life for these rare fish doesn't look to be getting any easier if Laos builds the Don Sahong Dam at Khone Falls, only two kilometers from the Cambodian border. That is bad news for fish living below the falls, and for Cambodians who get two thirds of their protein from fish caught in the Mekong and its tributaries, as well as relying on the river's annual floods to fertilize their fields with nutrient rich sediment. This, presumably, is why Hun Sen was on his way to Ventiane.
The Mekong River starts high in the Tibetan plateau, and makes its way through 6 countries, over a course of more then 3,000 miles. It is the 11th longest river in the world and approximately 90 million people rely on it. One of those is Sok Long, a fisherman we spoke with who lives with his family just north of Kratie not far from a dolphin pool. He is a reserved, serious man with a beautiful wife, a young daughter with wide toothy smile, and an even younger son who followed his daddy everywhere he went, and will no doubt be a fine fisherman himself when he gets older, assuming there are still fish in the river.
China has already built 6 dams on the upper Mekong, and it has resulted in depleted fish stocks and lower water levels below the dams. The Don Sahong Dam could prove particularly harmful to fish stocks in Cambodia because 87% of fish species in the Mekong, whose behavior is known, are migratory, according to The Worldfish Center. The Don Sahong Dam would prevent those fish from completing their lifecycles. The dam would almost certainly reduce water levels below it affecting Tonle Sap river and Lake, tributaries of the Mekong, which supports nearly half of Cambodia's 13 million citizens.
There is no doubt that Cambodia and its neighbors need affordable energy, but at what cost? The Don Sahong Dam is just one of many more dams planned for the lower Mekong. Another in the planning stage is the Sambor Dam to be built just above one of the last remaining Irrawaddy Dolphin pools, and Sok Long's home. The dolphins almost certainly would not survive the dam. As for Sok Long and his family, I wonder what will happen to them.
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Biography: Daniel Milder is a freelance writer and filmmaker based in Los Angeles. He most recently wrote about rat catchers in India and motorcycle doctors in Africa for GOOD Magazine. If you know of any people or organizations doing interesting work that are not getting enough attention, he’d like to hear about them.
We were searching for giant fresh water stingray, and Zeb had heard rumors of a monster near Khone Falls. We spent the week talking to local fishermen and sitting around drinking lukewarm beer waiting for them to call with news of a ray. They didn't, which is not that surprising. Stingrays are very difficult to catch and are rare - technically, they are listed as vulnerable. The Mekong and the stretch just below Khone Falls in particular, is home to more megafish then any other river in the world. Along with stingray, the list includes the Mekong Giant Catfish (critically endangered) and Irrawaddy Dolphin (critically endangered). Life for these rare fish doesn't look to be getting any easier if Laos builds the Don Sahong Dam at Khone Falls, only two kilometers from the Cambodian border. That is bad news for fish living below the falls, and for Cambodians who get two thirds of their protein from fish caught in the Mekong and its tributaries, as well as relying on the river's annual floods to fertilize their fields with nutrient rich sediment. This, presumably, is why Hun Sen was on his way to Ventiane.
The Mekong River starts high in the Tibetan plateau, and makes its way through 6 countries, over a course of more then 3,000 miles. It is the 11th longest river in the world and approximately 90 million people rely on it. One of those is Sok Long, a fisherman we spoke with who lives with his family just north of Kratie not far from a dolphin pool. He is a reserved, serious man with a beautiful wife, a young daughter with wide toothy smile, and an even younger son who followed his daddy everywhere he went, and will no doubt be a fine fisherman himself when he gets older, assuming there are still fish in the river.
China has already built 6 dams on the upper Mekong, and it has resulted in depleted fish stocks and lower water levels below the dams. The Don Sahong Dam could prove particularly harmful to fish stocks in Cambodia because 87% of fish species in the Mekong, whose behavior is known, are migratory, according to The Worldfish Center. The Don Sahong Dam would prevent those fish from completing their lifecycles. The dam would almost certainly reduce water levels below it affecting Tonle Sap river and Lake, tributaries of the Mekong, which supports nearly half of Cambodia's 13 million citizens.
There is no doubt that Cambodia and its neighbors need affordable energy, but at what cost? The Don Sahong Dam is just one of many more dams planned for the lower Mekong. Another in the planning stage is the Sambor Dam to be built just above one of the last remaining Irrawaddy Dolphin pools, and Sok Long's home. The dolphins almost certainly would not survive the dam. As for Sok Long and his family, I wonder what will happen to them.
-------
Biography: Daniel Milder is a freelance writer and filmmaker based in Los Angeles. He most recently wrote about rat catchers in India and motorcycle doctors in Africa for GOOD Magazine. If you know of any people or organizations doing interesting work that are not getting enough attention, he’d like to hear about them.
5 comments:
China communist will destroy the world if keep uncheck!
Free TIBET, TAIWAN and the rest of the state that invaded by the killer monster China!!!!!!!!!!!
it is a good idea to keep a check on unsustainable development, however, there must also be some sort of solution for meeting the electricity needs of the people of cambodia as well as the population and the economy are growing inevitably. things can't stay the same as demands and supplies are increasing. it's good to think about solution to these kind of problems or needs too, along with the well-being of the environment. this area, cambodia may need a lot of help/assistance from the well-developped countries out there. god bless cambodia.
khone falls actually belongs to cambodia. in khmer we called it labak khone. labak means the fall as in the mekong waterfalls.
There is no doubt that Cambodia and its neighbors need affordable energy, but at what cost?
Geographically, Cambodia situated on the lowest Mekong. The cost of having a dam on Mekong in Cambodia territory is much higher to pay than having no dam in term of sustainable economy development of the country, to consider about what happend to endangered spices are currently living in the river.
if China has already built 6 dams on the upper Mekong, then Laos and Vietnam had a few of them [the nations on the upper stream of Mekong absorbed much needed water from the river to feed their hungry energy needs and agricultures] and Cambodia will definitiely loose out the benefit from these hydro-power projects which did not contribute to Cambodia economy development.
Should Cambodia remained incovince about the idea of having hydro-power, in particular, on the Mekong then Cambodia will always facing the energy crisis, least mentioned about the economy development but urban and rural livihood and hope for elecrity supplies will never be met.
Of course, there are alternative energy - the renewable energy such as solar and wind turbine which are quite reliable but the cost of having such energy on the large scale to meet the demand of energy supply will be huge.
Cambodia can't rely on buying energy from its neigrbouring countries for ever, if one has to look at the drinking water agreement between the Singapore [who is relying on drinking water supply from its neighbour] and Malaysia. The solution for drinking water in Singapore was simply to build water desalination plants and water recycle plants.
yes, cambodia needs to look for energy resource to provide for its people just like any country on the planet is doing for their country. plus developments will need lots and lots of electricity to supplys it higher standard of living, of course. how could a country like cambodia grow without having sufficient electricity and energy to service its people? can't depend on foreign aid forever! cambodia must strife for self-sufficient if it were to compete and grow both economically and locally.
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