World Wildlife Fund - Annual Report 2007 - (Page 43)

A River Dammed Lifeline of Southeast Asia, the Mekong stands threatened by the rapid development in the countries that call it their own. The Mekong River rises in the Tibetan Plateau and flows 3,000 miles southeast through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Three of these countries – China, Thailand and Vietnam – are beginning to wield considerable market power in Asia and globally. Their rapid economic growth means increasing demand for energy generation. Currently, this demand is largely dependent on natural gas and coal, heavy producers of greenhouse gases. In the face of this, WWF believes that the low-emission technology of hydropower can offset some of the man-made carbon dioxide pollution contributing to climate change. And indeed, 41 percent of the Mekong river basin is currently earmarked for hydropower development; 261 dams are planned. “Climate change experts are predicting five meters of sea level rise in the next 30 to 50 years. In the Mekong, that means that the Delta area – the rice bowl – will be gone. When rice production disappears, the people will move into areas that are currently environmentally intact. Our strategy for the region has to focus both on the present and on a future that is going to be dramatically different.” But hydropower and other technologies like it – wind, solar, bio-energy – must be developed within constraints that support environmental and social sustainability. For example: Dams can destroy the ecology of rivers by changing how water flows downstream; they block the movement of wildlife, nutrients and sediments; and they have enormous social impacts, with 40-80 million people in the region displaced so far. The Mekong countries are planning their hydropower development without taking into consideration how the dams in one country might affect river flows Dekila Chungyalpa in another. “For example, as Laos makes their plans, they are not taking into WWF Priority Leader, Mekong account the fact that China is planning 20 major dams,” says WWF’s Dekila Chungyalpa, priority leader for the Mekong. “If the upriver countries plan their dams looking only at their local portion of this great river, there simply won’t be enough river left to flow down into Cambodia and Vietnam. The challenge for us is getting all the Mekong countries to jointly assess the region’s energy needs, plan the dams accordingly, and then use standard environmental and social guidelines.” To help this happen, we are working with the governments of the Mekong region, the Mekong River Commission and the Asian Development Bank. We are analyzing regional energy demands, evaluating the potential for hydropower, and establishing environmental criteria for its development. Together, we are building solutions that will balance conservation of the basin’s wildlife – such as the world’s largest freshwater fish, the Mekong giant catfish – with continued economic development for the basin’s 80 million people. ■ ■ This floating market is at Phung Help, in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. The needs of sellers and buyers hang in the balance as long as the river is at risk of poorly planned hydropower development. worldwildlife.org 43 http://worldwildlife.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of World Wildlife Fund - Annual Report 2007

WWF - Annual Report 2007 Contents The Landscapes of People's Lives The President’s Report Africa, Land of the Soul Building Prosperity from Africa’s Natural Wealth A Namibian Odyssey Natural Capital: Putting a Price on Nature Investing in Fish and Fishermen Wildlife in the Balance Africans on the Move WWF Results Across the Globe A Different Kind of Fieldwork A River Dammed Pooling Efforts in the World’s Aquarium More Than Just the Daily Catch All Along the Equator A Partnership for Freshwater Funding and Financial Overview Statement of Activities Ways to Give Staff National Council Board of Directors

World Wildlife Fund - Annual Report 2007

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