Mekong Riverbed

The “hot” season in Thailand starts around end of March and can often stretch well into June, with temperatures often climbing well past 40 degrees centigrade it can be a challenging time for those who live off the land. I have in these past few years stumbled upon certain things that made me take a step back and think deeply. A waterfall with no water, and an exposed riverbed being two occurrences. Back in 2023, I did not know the reasoning behind this. Now I do, for better or worse. Whilst it cannot be understated that we have seen record high temperatures in recent years, a more drastic change to the ecosystem is a network of hydroelectricity dams built by the Chinese upriver. These dams will open during monsoon and release a torrent of water with little or no warning to those downriver, deadly and devastating. During the dry months, leave the Mekong perilously low and tributaries dry.

As I stood and viewed the riverbed, around one hour from Nong Khai and 30 minutes from Vientiane on the Laotian side, I was struck by the duality of the situation. Of how close our countries were, now in the dry season I could easily swim the couple hundred meters (at the narrow) to the other shore. I have been told nearer to Vientiane in Mueang Si Chiang Mai the river gets low enough to wade across. Yet what shocked me most was imagining the sheer volume of water needed to fill thousands of miles of river, a river that last year bursts its banks. How one can call ownership over nature, is beyond my comprehension as a human. To value electricity over water, the source of life is as heinous a crime as I can imagine. I yet again find myself lucky not to be the fishermen at the banks, their meal reliant on if they can catch what little still resides in the water. I fear greatly for the world if water is becoming monopolised.