WWF's work in the Mekong
Fishing on the Mekong River in the fading evening light.
Conserving the Mekong from source to sea
WWF is the only environmental NGO working across the entire Mekong River Basin from its headwaters in China to the Mekong Delta in Vietnam.
Hydropower
Side by side with the Mekong River Commission, WWF is engaging with the hydropower industry, the governments of the Greater Mekong region and local stakeholders to:
• improve planning, design and operation for hydropower so that the benefits outweigh negative impacts
• help the hydropower industry to identify projects with the least impacts
• find which sites that could provide the best development opportunities at the least costs (social, environmental and economic).
Community fisheries and wetlands
What are community fisheries?
Community fisheries aim to develop community river management plans that conserve aquatic health and biodiversity while meeting market demand. These sustainably managed fisheries are generating greater income for fishermen and providing long-term food security for communities basin-wide. At the national level, Community Fisheries projects are helping integrate the knowledge and experience of rural communities into fisheries policy and management strategies.
- Learn more about Community fisheries in Laos and Cambodia
- Learn more about wetlands projects in Laos, Thailand and Vietnam
The Mekong Delta
The Mekong Delta Conservation Forum is a WWF initiative that aims to create an open platform where environmental specialists can share information and discuss Mekong issues.
The first forum was hosted in Can Tho City on World Environment Day, June 5th, 2009. The focus was on environmental and social issues in the Mekong Delta, including measures to improve people’s livelihoods and initiatives on natural resources conservation. Scientists presented the expected impacts of climate change, in addition to the expected impacts to the Delta from upstream development such as hydropower and mining. Learn more.
The Mekong Delta Biosphere Reserve was established by UNESCO-MAB and WWF to increase the resilience of the Mekong Delta to the impacts of climate change, and to create inland fish protected areas, which would be the future nutrition sources of the poor.
Map of the Mekong dams.
