This presentation is created to be used in an on-line teaching course of Southeast Asian Studies. This course is offered only to a group of wonderful students of Lodi High School, Wisconsin, USA.

1. MEKONG RIVER
THE LIFE-GIVING RIVER
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=Mekong+River
+fisherman&um=1&hl=th&client=safari&sa=N&rls=en&biw=1020&bih=635&tbm=isch&tbnid=dmA2_xSjN7FijM:&imgrefurl=http://www.britannica.com/
bps/media-view/92881/1/0/0&docid=oAm2SyrwTYRwNM&imgurl=http://media-3.web.britannica.com/eb-media//
21/93121-050-878F4D70.jpg&w=1600&h=1097&ei=6_m_TvHJMonLrQfv9IW_AQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=710&vpy=306&dur=2164&hovh=186&hovw=271&
tx=174&ty=97&sig=106310772108964024319&page=1&tbnh=135&tbnw=153&start=0&ndsp=13&ved=1t:429,r:8,s:0

2. What do you know about the
Mekong River?
✤ Group Work
✤ Make a list of facts and information
you think you know about the
Mekong River
✤ No TALKING

3. Facts:The Mekong
✤ The longest river of SEA
✤ 4,900 kilometers / 3,000 miles
✤ From Yunnan to South China Sea
✤ China, Myanmar, Laos,
Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam
✤ 44% of its course is in China.

4. The Mekong River
http://www.yunnanadventure.com/UploadFiles/Yunnan-Tour-Photos/TPRT005/Lancang-River-Grand-Canyon1.jpg

5. The Mekong River

6. The Mekong River

7. The Mekong River

8. The Mekong River

9. The Mekong River

10. The Life-Giving River
2 %
16 %
35 %
18 %
18 %
11 %
✤ 60 million people
✤ Lower Mekong Basin - Laos,
Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam
✤ Connected to river’s natural cycles
✤ 80% of protein needs
✤ Diverse, productive inland fisheries
✤ 2.6 million tons a year
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTEASTASIAPACIFIC/Resources/
226262-1151703454492/Mekong_MWRAS_hydromap.gif

11. What makes the Mekong
special?
✤ Rise and fall of water levels during
wet/dry seasons
✤ Flood carries fertile silt.
✤ Horticulture, agriculture in Mekong
Delta
✤ Productive rice farming in Thailand,
Vietnam

12. What makes the Mekong
special?
✤ Rise and fall of water levels during
wet/dry seasons
✤ Flood carries fertile silt.
✤ Horticulture, agriculture in Mekong
Delta
✤ Productive rice farming in Thailand,
Vietnam

13. What makes the Mekong
special?
✤ Rise and fall of water levels during
wet/dry seasons
✤ Flood carries fertile silt.
✤ Horticulture, agriculture in Mekong
Delta
✤ Productive rice farming in Thailand,
Vietnam

14. Tonle Sap
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5039980
✤ The largest freshwater lake in SEA
✤ A combined lake and river system
✤ UNESCO biosphere, 1997
✤ Its flow changes directions.
✤ Lake expands and shrinks with
seasons.

15. Tonle Sap
✤ Natural flood during rainy season
✤ The river rises enough to reverse its
course.
✤ Water flows backward into the lake.
✤ Lake’s size shrinks from 2,500 sq.km
to 16,000 sq.km.
✤ Enormous wetland area

16. Tonle Sap
✤ Natural flood during rainy season
✤ The river rises enough to reverse its
course.
✤ Water flows backward into the lake.
✤ Lake’s size shrinks from 2,500 sq.km
to 16,000 sq.km.
✤ Enormous wetland area

17. Tonle SapWetland
http://www.srisiamholidays.com/images/stories/Cambodia/Maps/cambodia%20wetland.gif
✤ Wetland- area that soil is
saturated with water
permanently or seasonally
✤ Support diversity of plants and
animals
✤ Breeding ground for fish &
aquatic animals

18. Tonle SapWetland
http://www.srisiamholidays.com/images/stories/Cambodia/Maps/cambodia%20wetland.gif
✤ Wetland- area that soil is
saturated with water
permanently or seasonally
✤ Support diversity of plants and
animals
✤ Breeding ground for fish &
aquatic animals

19. Tonle Sap ✤ Large flood plain
✤ Rich biodiversity
✤ Fertile sediment
✤ Most productive inland fisheries
✤ 230,000 tons of fish yearly
✤ 3 million people
✤ 60% protein for Cambodian
✤ The flow reverses at the end of
rainy season.
✤ 300-500 species support the locals

20. Video Clip
✤ What is water festival like?
✤ How do the local people fish?
✤ In what ways are the Mekong River
and the Tonle Sap important to the
Cambodians?
✤ What kinds of fish are found in the
Mekong region and the Tonle Sap?
✤ What kinds of animals are found?
“Where there is water,
there is fish”
Sunset at the Tonle Sap

21. Mekong River Commission (MRC)
http://worldinsidepictures.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/914.jpghttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD206UnYmB4&feature=player_embedded
Where there is water, there is fish.Video Clip
http://worldinsidepictures.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/914.jpg

22. http://www.mrcmekong.org/about-the-mrc/
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=Mekong+River
+fisherman&um=1&hl=th&client=safari&sa=N&rls=en&biw=1020&bih=635&tbm=isch&tbnid=dmA2_xSjN7FijM:&imgrefurl=http://
www.britannica.com/bps/media-view/92881/1/0/0&docid=oAm2SyrwTYRwNM&imgurl=http://media-3.web.britannica.com/eb-
media//
21/93121-050-878F4D70.jpg&w=1600&h=1097&ei=6_m_TvHJMonLrQfv9IW_AQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=710&vpy=306&dur=2164&hovh=
http://maps.grida.no/go/graphic/the-mekong-river-survival-for-millions
http://tonlesap.net/
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5039980
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTEASTASIAPACIFIC/Resources/226262-1151703454492/Mekong_MWRAS_hydromap.gif
http://www.cambodiancommunityday.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=63&Itemid=80
http://www.reuters.com/resources/r/?m=02&d=20070307&t=2&i=444980&w=460&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=444980
http://thailand.prd.go.th/thailand_illustrated/content.php?s_id=287
http://www.laos-guide-999.com/vientiane-boat-racing-festival.html
http://www.parish-without-borders.net/cditt/cambodia/culture/waterfest2.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:TonleSapMap.png
http://www.srisiamholidays.com/images/stories/Cambodia/Maps/cambodia%20wetland.gif
http://images.smh.com.au/2010/06/25/1644221/Mekong-Fishing-net-420x0.jpg
References