As it passes through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, the Mekong River bursts with color and life.
Boasting one of the world’s most diverse and productive inland fisheries the Mekong supplies communities within the basin with up to 80% of their animal protein needs.
It also provides fresh water, fertile silt, transportation, recreation, cultural identities and a way of life. Yet this beautiful, dynamic, and thriving river system – the lifeblood of the region – is increasingly threatened by climate change and ill-conceived development schemes.
Chinese dam construction on the Upper Mekong is having devastating impacts on downstream communities, and dozens of dams are either planned, under construction or built within the Lower Mekong basin. This rapid expansion of hydropower threatens all countries who share the Lower Mekong Basin, with downstream Cambodia and Vietnam at greatest risk.
But there is hope. The Mekong River is still a thriving ecosystem, and it’s not too late to protect it. We support local communities and in particular the women whose campaigns contributed to the Cambodian government’s announcement that it will suspend plans to construct two Mekong mainstream dams for at least ten years, as well as the cancellation of plans to blast rapids in Northern Thailand and Laos.
Our Work in the Mekong Basin
Continuing down the current path would mean death by a thousand cuts to the river’s rich fisheries and ecology and the 65 million people in the Lower Mekong Basin who depend upon them. International Rivers is working with partners in the region and internationally to challenge destructive development, maintain the richly biodiverse ecosystems of the Lower Mekong Basin, and advocate for a just energy transition that respects the rights of communities across the region.
Riverbank gardens along the Mekong close to the Pak Beng Dam | Photo by International Rivers 
A woman collects weeds from the Nam Ou River in Laos| Photo by International Rivers
Related Resources
- Expert Commentary on the ‘Review of Design Changes Made for the Xayaburi Hydropower Project’ (2019) (also available in Thai)
- Swindling the Mekong: Run-of-River Hydro (2017) (Also available in Thai, Khmer or Vietnamese.
- Tragic Trade-Offs: The MRC Council Study and the Impacts of Hydropower Development on the Mekong (2019) (Also available in Thai, Lao, Khmer and Vietnamese)
- A Dangerous Trajectory for the Mekong River (2017)
- Giving local rivers a voice (2021) a feature International Rivers, Pai Deetes
- The Mekong doesn’t need more destructive dams (2020)
Latest Updates
- Mekong environmental leader Niwat Roykaew wins prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize
By Pai Deetes, Regional Campaigns and Communications Director, Southeast Asia Program Today, Niwat Roykaew of Chiang Khong Conservation Group is a recipient of the Goldman Environmental Prize, for a momentous… - International Hydropower Association’s Greenwashing of Nam Theun 2 Dam’s Impacts on Indigenous Peoples
by Bruce Shoemaker and Ian G. Baird A newly released article by the International Hydropower Association (IHA), titled “Laos: Hydropower built in consultation with Indigenous communities” by Eduard Wojczynski, holds… - Our World Heritage is deeply tied to rivers and they need protection from dams
by Gary Lee, Southeast Asia Program Director for International Rivers, Sarinee Achavanuntakul, Head of Research for Fair Finance Thailand, and Eugene Simonov, Co-founder, Coordinator and Conservation Science Expert for Rivers without… - STATEMENT | The Mekong needs just energy transitions, not more destructive dams
By: Save the Mekong Coalition On 11 May, the Mekong River Commission (MRC) announced that the proposed Sanakham hydropower project in Laos will undergo the MRC’s Prior Consultation process.[1] Sanakham is…