CIAO DATE: 02/2009
October 2008
The Mekong plays an important role in the well-being of China, Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Thailand, and Viet Nam as it is the major river supporting agriculture and many other economic activities in the region. The Mekong is also a cause of concern for many people, due to the regular floods it brings to the region, which have a significant impact on the lives of many in the river basin. However, in recent times, the Mekong River basin has become increasingly vulnerable to drought. A notable example was the drought of 2004, which began a couple of years earlier and grew to serious proportions. Dealing with drought requires strategies different from those for dealing with floods and typhoons, which have plagued the Mekong region for years. Local communities, governments, and NGOs know how to deal with these age-old problems but drought, being a slow-onset disaster with crippling impacts, needs to be looked at from a different perspective.
Resource link: Drought Management Considerations for Climate Change Adaptation [PDF] - 1.2M