Mekong River in the Economy
le:///.le/id=6571367.3900159 NOVEMBER REPORT 2 0 1 6 ©THOMAS CRISTOFOLETTI / WWF-UK In the Economy Mekong River © NICOLAS AXELROD /WWF-GREATER MEKONG Report prepared by Pegasys Consulting Hannah Baleta, Guy Pegram, Marc Goichot, Stuart Orr, Nura Suleiman, and the WWF-Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam teams. Copyright ©WWF-Greater Mekong, 2016 2 Foreword Water is liquid capital that flows through the economy as it does FOREWORD through our rivers and lakes. Regionally, the Mekong River underpins our agricultural g systems, our energy production, our manufacturing, our food security, our ecosystems and our wellbeing as humans. The Mekong River Basin is a vast landscape, deeply rooted, for thousands of years, in an often hidden water-based economy. From transportation and fish protein, to some of the most fertile crop growing regions on the planet, the Mekong’s economy has always been tied to the fortunes of the river. Indeed, one only need look at the vast irrigation systems of ancient cities like the magnificent Angkor Wat, to witness the fundamental role of water in shaping the ability of this entire region to prosper. In recent decades, the significant economic growth of the Lower Mekong Basin countries Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Viet Nam — has placed new strains on this river system. These pressures have the ability to impact the future wellbeing including catalysing or constraining the potential economic growth — if they are not managed in a systemic manner. Indeed, governments, companies and communities in the Mekong are not alone in this regard; the World Economic Forum has consistently ranked water crises in the top 3 global risks facing the economy over the coming 15 years.
[Show full text]