Greater Mekong

Imagine a place where tigers still roam wild and new species are discovered every week - this is the Greater Mekong.


The Greater Mekong spans Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and the southern province of Yunnan in China, and contains some of the most biologically diverse habitats on our planet.

Since 1997, over 1500 new species have been described by science in the jungles, rivers and even urban areas of the Greater Mekong. This is in addition to a number of rare species including crested gibbon, tigers, Mekong Irrawaddy dolphin and the elusive Saola, which has been described as the most remarkable large mammal discovery of the last 70 years.

In the field in Cambodia

From the English countryside to Cambodia's Eastern Plains, Mark Wright blogs about his new life ...
Formerly WWF-UK’s conservation science advisor, Mark is now working with WWF in Cambodia, leading a 70-strong team protecting one of the largest forest blocks in South-east Asia. Follow Mark's blog....

Asia's land of diversity

Around 350 wild tigers roam the region today. While this is about a 70 percent decline in tiger numbers in a little over a decade, with strong and immediate conservation efforts there is still time to save this iconic species.
The Greater Mekong contains the largest combined tiger habitat in the world. Forest landscapes spanning 540,000km2, or roughly the size of France, are priority areas for current tiger conservation efforts.

At the heart of the region, is the Mekong River. Winding 4, 800 kms through the region's six countries it is second only to the Amazon River in terms of fish biodiversity. It is estimated 1100 species of fish swim the waters of this might river, including some of the world's largest freshwater species:

  • the Giant freshwater stingray (Himantura chaophraya) weighing up to 600kgs is the world's largest freshwater fish
  • Mekong giant catfish (Pangasianodon gigas) weighing up to 350kg ranks as third largest freshwater fish on the planet
Few places on Earth show such a strong link between human and ecosystem connectivity, as the Mekong. The Mekong River basin accounts for up to 25% of the global freshwater catch, making it the world's largest inland fishery. It is a vital source of food security and livelihoods for over 60 million people living in the Greater Mekong.

Protecting the Greater Mekong

The unprecedented social and economic development of the Greater Mekong makes conservation work here especially urgent and significant.
WWF’s work spans many issues including species conservation, sustainable forestry and non-timber-forest product management, climate change adaptation, and the sustainable use of freshwater resources, including hydropower development.

WWF supports a ten-year delay in the approval of lower Mekong river mainstream dams to ensure a comprehensive understanding of all the impacts of their construction and operation. Immediate electricity demands can be met by fast tracking the most sustainable hydropower sites on the lower Mekong’s tributaries, and WWF is developing tools to help assess which tributaries can be developed for hydropower without compromising the ecological integrity of the lower Mekong basin.

On climate change, WWF is devising ways to enhance the region’s resilience to the current and forecast impacts of climate change. Asia’s first regional climate change agreement that incorporates climate change adaptation into existing development plans is being promoted as on such solution.

With offices in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, WWF Greater Mekong is working with government, industry and NGO partners to secure a future where people's daily actions support biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of natural resources, upon which the quality of life for the people of the Greater Mekong region depend.

Facts & Figures

    • Over 1,000 new species discovered between 1997 and 2007
    • The world's largest inland fishery, providing livelihoods for 60 million people
    • More than 300 million people from nearly 100 distinct ethnic groups live within the Greater Mekong region.
    • Forest cover in the Greater Mekong has fallen from over 55% in the early 1970's to 34% today.

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