Word: mekong
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...bear crops, which has resulted in more than $3.5 billion in agricultural losses. Across the parched terrain, the government has been rationing drinking water, digging emergency wells and shooting clouds with silver iodide in an effort to stimulate rainfall. And the drought's effects on the Mekong River - at its most depleted in 50 years - have awakened tensions with China's neighbors, who wonder if the shortage has been worsened by the country's management of its water supply and network of hydroelectric dams. (See pictures of China's drought...
...region most affected - and the one that affects the most - is the Mekong River Delta in the south. Water levels in the nation's rice bowl have fallen to their lowest points in nearly 20 years, threatening the livelihoods of tens of millions of people who depend on the river basin for farming, fishing and transportation. The biggest problem, however, is not the water. It's the salt. During the dry season, when channels and tributaries run dry, seawater can creep more than 18 miles (30 km) inland. Vietnam has installed a series of sluice gates to hold back high...
...Because of the hydropower projects on its side of the border, China frequently gets the blame for water shortages downstream. Indeed, Vietnam's neighbor has been on an aggressive campaign to damn the Mekong River, which begins on the Tibetan plateau and travels through five other countries before it empties into the South China Sea. According to the Mekong River Commission, a regional advisory agency, China has built or is planning to build eight dams along the Mekong. But while dams raise huge concerns about interfering with sediment flow and fish migration, they can also have a positive impact, says...
...each other or fight each other to the death," explains one of Yap's employees, who pairs each dragonfish with a stingray, which hovers over the tank's bottom and stays out of his aggressive neighbor's way. (See pictures of new species found in the Mekong Delta...
...Phan Don is best reached from Pakse, a midsize city that serves as a transport hub for southern Laos. From Pakse, you can make the 90-minute journey by minibus to the Mekong where longtails wait to ferry passengers across to Don Det and other islands. As for the timing of your visit, well, now would be good. All the disquieting signs of backpacker tourism are appearing - the Internet cafés, cheap pizza parlors and beach bars blasting reggae. There are rumors, too, of 24-hour electricity: great for business, not so good for lovers of sublime escapes. Just...