The Transformation of the Mekong

Transformation. A word that is usually associated with the development or changes occuring within a city, culture, individual, or country. Throughout my travels I have witnessed how landscapes can be transformed by large-scale agricultural development, mining, deforestation, or other natural processes. Yet I had not previously considered it possible to dramatically transform a major body of water. Growing up along the shores of Lake Michigan I have always held a spiritual reverence for water and assumed that the sheer resilience and power of water can overcome man-made influences. As was made evident during the first several weeks of our course along the upper Mekong River, China’s hydropower development and cascade of dams is resulting in irreparable transformations to the Mekong’s natural state.

The Tibetan Mekong, that we joyously bathed in hot springs along, is a turbulent river with roaring rapids that carries a significant amount of sediment. Leaving the spiritual oasis and purity of Tibet we proceeded to travel further south along the Mekong, where we encountered the first of several hydropower construction sites that comprise the upper cascade of dams. By the time we passed south of Dali, inbetween the massive XiaoWan and ManWan dams, the Mekong had been tamed. What was once an unrestrained rush of water, has been transformed into a lifeless reservoir. It is estimated that by the time 8 of the largest dams are completed along the cascade, not even the entirety of the 28 projects that are planned, the total surface area of water will be 7x larger than the pre-dam natural size of the river.

As we took a break from our travels to inspect the unfamiliar body of water below us, a local man appraoched Gong and myself to inquire as to whether we would like to take a boat ride to the ManWan dam, another 30km downstream. Declining his request, we instead inquired as to whether we could talk to him about the impact of the hydropower development on his community and personal livelihood. Under the scorching mid-day sun James, Gong, and myself sat down under the shade of a tattered tarupuline, along the banks of the reservoir formed by the ManWan dam.

After the usual practice of offering and exchanging cigarettes, the local started discussing how the hydropower development has served to increase his income. His livelihood consists of ferrying tourists to the dam site, transporting supplies downriver, engaging in some small-scale fishing, and tending to a farm with pigs and sheep. The entire village and his current farming residence is entirely new as a result of being displaced by the rising river reservoir levels. He explained how villagers were compensated for their land, but that much of what they had demanded for prior agricultural input compensation was not met. Controversy over resettlement compensation, in a country where more than 23 million people have been displaced by hydropower development over the last 5 decades, is commonplace. Hydropower displacement in China is equivalent to the population of Australia being forcibly relocated. Of those that are forced off their land, it is estimated that 8 million are still living in poverty.

As part of his answer to James’ question about the environmental changes that he has witnessed, the local resident discussed what the Mekong used to look like before the construction of the ManWan and XiaoWan dams. He recounted that the water level has risen 70-80 meters from its natural level. Glancing over the reservoir, the local noted that it used to take an hour to walk from our current location down to the river, a walk that would now take less than a minute. The local also remarked how that before the hydropower development the dam was too rapid to cross by boat and that very little fishing could be done because of the rapid currents. Gong, James, and myself were forced to take a break from our questioning after this last comment by the local. None of us said a word to each other, we didn’t need to, as our eyes were transfixed on the lifeless reservoir in an effort to comprehend the transformation that this body of water has undergone.

Our disbelief and efforts to envision the Mekong’s once natural state, was intermitently broken and then exemplified by the local claiming that the hydropower development has had a positive impact on the surrounding environment. He based this upon the fact that a nearby conservation area has been established and that now people are able to catch or farm a greater number of fish in the reservoir. It is true that fish extraction levels have increased, but this misses the larger story of ecological destruction. The number of species in the Mekong has declined from a peak of 139 to a current level of 80 species. In addition, local aquaculture in reservoirs has introduced non-native and invasive fish species to the Mekong River. 12 kinds of non-native species were found in the ManWan reservoir as a result of aquaculture activities.

What I was most impressed by was this local gentlemans ability to recite the Chinese Communist Party’s official response to the question of whether unchecked hydropower development along the upper Mekong is adversely impacting downstream countries. He repeated the party line that the Chinese can continue damming the Mekong without detrimental impact because the portion of the Mekong in China only contributes 16% of the overall average of the Mekong’s River Basin flow. While true, China refuses to acknowledge the that suspended sediment being confined to the reservoirs of the upper Mekong can lead to increaesd incidence of saltwater intrusion downstream in the Mekong delta because the upstream sediment is no longer reaching the delta area in Vietnam, affecting agriculture and rice fields. These delta lands, without sediment, will start to sink and eventually be swallowed up by rising sea levels. China also withholds the vast majority of the hydrological and reservoir water release data from downstream countries and the Mekong River Commission, the body in charge of managing the Mekong’s development.

Ducking under the tarpuline and back out into the intense mid-day sun, I walked away from the interview angry, frustrated, and utterly impressed with the Chinese Communist Parties effectiveness in spreading misleading propoganda. Was I angry with the local that we had just interviewed? Absolutely not. How could I fault this individual’s thought process if all he hears about are the positive aspects of China’s hydropower development. Without access to transparent and unbiased information, how would he know that the entire river is in the process of being hijacked, strangled, and made into a lifeless reservoir?

I do not blame the Chinese locals in this small village one bit, they are extremely resourceful individuals that are making the best of what they are given, they would be foolish to act in any other manner. Instead, I am angry at the self-serving transformation that the Chinese government has imposed upon the Mekong River and countless other natural areas. I am sickened by the real mystery, which is how the hell is China getting away with this? As someone that has spent an inordinate amount of time looking out of bus, train, or plane windows at Chinese environmental destruction and short-sighted economic growth strategies, none of these transformations should surprise me. By this point I should be immune to caring or getting upset by these issues. Though I have seen this story played out before, it has never been on this scale and with the potential to impact so many vulnerable and impoverished people downstream.

As we pulled away in our bus and I looked back over the reservoir, I came to realize that this is just another example of something that I like to term “International Collaboration with Chinese Characteristics”: one sided selfishness, environmental destruction, and an uncertain future for vulnerable populations that live along the Mekong in Laos, the Tonle Sap in Cambodia, and in the delta regions of Vietnam.

—