Agriculture and fishing - Open Development Mekong

Mekong fish corridors mapped for the first time but funding cuts threaten research

The first-ever acoustic telemetry network in the Mekong River has tracked key migration corridors critical to the survival of fish in Cambodia and Laos. To conduct the study, researchers caught fish from a dozen species and implanted them with small electric transmitters before releasing them back into the river. A network of receivers allowed the […]

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Vietnam’s Mekong Delta benefits from UK-led £3.5m project on sustainable aquaculture

The University of Stirling in Scotland is leading a £3.5 million ($4.5m) project to support sustainable aquaculture in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta. The AquaSoS initiative aims to tackle key challenges like pollution, climate change, and disease through a new digital tool that uses satellite data, water sensors, and lab analysis to provide critical ecosystem insights. The […]

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Thailand turns to mangrove carbon credits despite scepticism

Watchara Kumpai, 68, spends most of his time in boots, stomping through coastal mangrove forests in southern Thailand. He used to work in the tin mining and logging industries that contributed to mangrove loss, until all concessions in mangrove areas were cancelled in 1991. Today, Watchara is dedicated to restoring and protecting these vital ecosystems in Ranong […]

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Cambodia’s China-backed canal on Mekong may threaten ‘fragile ecosystems’

A Chinese-backed canal in Cambodia is likely to put “fragile” ecosystems at risk, researchers in China and Britain have warned, calling for better mitigation efforts. The Funan Techo canal, a 180km (112-mile) project to link the Mekong River to the Gulf of Thailand, is a flagship project expected to reduce Cambodia’s transport dependence on Vietnam. However, according […]

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Where Have All the Mekong River’s Fish Gone?

The Mekong was once a river teeming with fish, providing food security for millions of poor farmers as well urban centers. These days, that river of abundance has disappeared, replaced by forlorn fishers who say they’re lucky if they can secure a catch at all, as more and more hydropower dams are being installed. A […]

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One-fifth of Mekong river fish species face extinction, report says

BANGKOK, March 4 (Reuters) – Unsustainable development threatens the health and diverse fish populations of the Mekong river, with one-fifth of fish species in Southeast Asia’s main artery facing extinction, a report by conservation groups said on Monday. The Mekong, stretching nearly 5,000 km (3,000 miles) from the Tibetan Plateau to the South China […]

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Regrow Selected as Independent Verifier for Mekong River Delta Emissions Reduction Initiative in Rice Production

‍Regrow Ag today shared details of its participation in the “Transforming Rice Value Chains for Climate Resilient and Sustainable Development in the Mekong Delta” project known as TRVC. Funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the project manager, the Netherlands Development Organization SNV, is collaborating with stakeholders in Vietnam to design the five-year […]

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Mekong Delta farmers implementing high technologies in crop planting

Farmer Tu Tan in Thoai Son District of An Giang Province joyfully sold his harvested rice at a price of VND8,800 (US$0.36) per kilo. Owning a large field of 35ha, this is the first time in his 40 years of growing rice that he has sold produce at such a high price. He happily informed […]

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Cambodian Leader U-Turns on Rare Dolphin Conservation Law

PHNOM PENH — Cambodian leader Hun Sen on Thursday cancelled a law he created just two months ago to protect critically endangered Mekong dolphins as the mammals continue to die from illegal fishing activities. The population of Irrawaddy dolphins in the river Mekong has dwindled from 200, when the first census was taken in 1997, to […]

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PM addresses Mekong Delta’s environment crisis

The Mekong Delta is seeing land subsidence faster than the sea level rise and is at risk of sinking, PM Pham Minh Chinh said as he visited the region on Saturday. The rate of land subsidence in the delta, the nation’s agriculture hub, is 3-4 times higher and 10 times higher in some places compared […]

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