The Mekong River is one of the world’s great rivers. Covering a distance of nearly 5,000 km from its source on the Tibetan Plateau in China to the Mekong Delta, the river flows through six countries: China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.
The basin is home to one of the richest areas of biodiversity in the world, with more than 20,000 plant species and 850 fish species discovered to date. An estimated 80% of the nearly 65 million people living in the Lower Mekong River Basin depend on the river and its rich natural resources for their livelihoods, making sustainable development crucial for the environment and communities living in the basin.
The upper Mekong flows 1,215 miles (1,955 km) through a long, narrow valley comprising roughly one-fourth of the total area, cutting through the mountains and plateaus of southwestern China.
The lower Mekong, below the point where it forms the border between Myanmar and Laos, is a stream 1,485 miles (2,390 km) in length draining the Khorat Plateau of northeastern Thailand, the western slopes of the Annamese Cordillera in Laos and Vietnam, and most of Cambodia, before reaching the sea through the distributary channels of its delta in southern Vietnam.
Source: Mekong River Commission & Britannica
“River of Time”.
JON SWAIN
