The Greater Mekong region has exceptionally high biodiversity due to its diverse habitats and annual flood pulses. It is home to over 20,000 plant and 1,200 animal species, many of which are rare or threatened. However, human activities like dam construction and deforestation are threatening biodiversity by obstructing fish migrations and reducing habitats. This is problematic because the region's rich biodiversity underpins the livelihoods of over 55 million people and economies of countries through fishing and tourism. Regional cooperation is needed to balance conservation and development goals to sustainably manage the biodiversity that supports the environment, society and economy of the Mekong region.

1. Importance of Biodiversity in
The Greater Mekong
ESS Presentation by Nivedha N.
Year 12

2. Background Knowledge
• Rising in the Tibetan Plateau and disgorging into
the South China Sea
• “Ranked 12th longest of the World’s rivers, draining
795,000 km2 of six countries; China, Myanmar,
Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia and Vietnam”
• In terms of annual discharge it ranks eighth highest
in the world at some 475,000 million cubic meters
• Seasonal variations in water level and the range of
wetland habitats is the main source of productivity
in the ecosystem
• Vast Habitat Diversity: Savannas, dense
rainforests, slow moving rivers, torrents, Massifs,
Plateaus, Limestone Karsts, Lowlands, Fertile
Floodplains, Deltas, Dipterocarp, Mangroves,
Swamp, Grasslands
• Home to irreplaceable and threatened biodiversity
• Drives Economic Development

3. Biodiversity
• Biodiversity is "the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter
alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of
which they are a part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of
ecosystems” (Convention of Biodiversity)
• Annual flood pulses support the Biodiversity second to Amazon in numbers of fish,
mammals and birds
• Rare Species: Crested Gibbons, Tigers, Kekong Irrawaddy Dolphin, Elusive Saola
 Largest combined tiger habitat in the world -
540,000 km2 or roughly the size of France
 Recent estimates of the biota of the greater
Mekong region put the species count numbers
at 20,000 plant, 430 mammal, 1200 bird, 800
reptile and amphibian, and 850 fish species
 Since 1997, over 1,500 new species have been
described in jungles, rivers and even urban areas
of Mekong

4. Mekong Fish Migrations

5. Threat to Biodiversity
• Sensitive species are critically endangered
such as Irrawaddy Dolphin, Siamese
Crocodile, Giant Catfish, Giant ibis and Sarus
Crane
• Human activity such as Water Pollution,
Salinization, Irrigation, Overharvesting and
Dam construction are major threats
• Dams regulate flow obstructing majority of
migratory fish dependent on hydrological
cycle and flows
• 87% of Fish species are migratory
• Deforestation near drainage basins cause
sedimentation of lakes and rivers
• Conservation vs. Development
• Illicit Wildfire trade causing extinction
• Reducing Habitat Cover Protected Areas in Mekong

6. Impact of Upstream Developments on
Water Level

7. Impact of Hydrological Changes on
Flood Pulse

8. Link to Livelihood
• Mekong’s flood pulse source of
production
• Fish sustains majority of diet for
55 million natural resource-
dependent inhabitants in the
Lower Mekong Basin of Laos,
Thailand, Cambodia and Mekong
• Main Occupation; Fishing
• Rural livelihoods adapted to seasonal changes of flooding and
recession
• Food security
• High economic dependence on fisheries, exceeding 80% in rural
households
• Reduced Biodiversity will lead to decreased participation, loss of
livelihoods and unfavorable socio-economic conditions

9. Link to Economy of Nations
• Countries characterized majorly as poor and rural populations
• Excepting Thailand, nominal per capita income ranges from US$254
in Cambodia to US$354 in
• Vietnam. Around 40% of the population in Cambodia, Laos and
Vietnam live beneath the poverty line
• Furthermore, the population growth rate in the region is high - 2.5%
for Laos
• High population growth rate; 2.5% for Laos and Cambodia leading to
ever-increasing demand for food and jobs.
• Mekong Region is the main source of employment
• Wetland resources and biodiversity are national treasures to the
nations as they serve for
• Source of resources, occupations and economy
• Tourism
• Large monetary and social value of the region’s ecosystems and
habitats

10. Conclusion
• Need for Regional Co-operation to protect the National and
Ecological treasure
• Strategies towards Sustainable Development to eradicate
issue of Conservation vs. Development to appreciate both
viewpoints
• The Mekong Region sustains a rich biodiversity of aquatic food
webs, complex ecosystems, rare species, habitat biodiversity
and is the key to the environmental, social and economic
stability of the countries involved

11. MLA Bibliography
• "Discovering the Greater Mekong." WWF-Discovering the Greater
Mekong. WWF, n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2015.
<http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/greatermekong/
discovering_the_greater_mekong/>.
• "Biodiversity." Biodiversity. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2015.
<http://mekongriver.info/biodiversity>.
• "The Mekong." Mekong Wetlands Biodiversity Conservation. Mekong
Wetlands Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Use Programme,
IUCN, n.d. Web.
<http://www.mekongwetlands.org/Programme/mekong.htm>.
• Biodiversity and Fisheries in the Mekong River Basin. Phnom Penh,
Cambodia: Mekong River Commission, 2003. Biodiversity and Fisheries
in the Mekong River Basin. Web.
<http://www.mrcmekong.org/assets/Publications/report-management-
develop/Mek-Dev-No2-Mek-River-Biodiversityfiisheries-in.pdf>.