Stretching over 4,500 kilometers, the Mekong River is more than just a waterway – it’s the beating heart of Southeast Asia. For centuries, it has sustained millions of lives, nourished rice fields, and teemed with over 1,200 fish species – a natural safety net in times of drought and disaster.
But today, the Mekong is in trouble.
In the past decade alone, China has built 11 massive dams along the upper Mekong. Laos and Cambodia are following suit, banking on hydropower to sell electricity to regional giants like China, Thailand, and Vietnam. While the profits are tempting, the cost is staggering: ecosystems are collapsing, migratory fish routes are blocked, and once-thriving fisheries are vanishing.
Nowhere is the damage more visible than in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta – the region’s rice bowl and home to rare species like tigers, elephants, and monkeys. Dams upstream reduce freshwater flow, making the delta more vulnerable to salinization, land subsidence, and sea level rise. Severe droughts, made worse by climate change, are degrading rice yields and threatening food security across the region.
To make matters worse, illegal sand mining – driven by a booming construction industry and an international “sand mafia” – is stripping the riverbed of sediment. This accelerates erosion, deepens the river, and destabilizes the delta even further.
The Mekong is no longer just a river. It’s a contested front in a growing geopolitical and environmental crisis.
Mekong at the Si Phan Don in Laos.
Prek Thi, Roka Kpos district, Cambodia. On January 17 2023, Prek Thi was affected by a landslide, with six houses collapsing into a creek and another requiring relocation.
Woman washing her hair in front of the Don Sahong Dam. The Dam, operational since January 2020, is a hydroelectric facility on the Mekong River in Laos, located near the Laos-Cambodia border. It exports most of its electricity to Thailand and Cambodia, despite controversy over its environmental impact and potential threats to fish migration routes and endangered species such as the Irrawaddy dolphin.
Phnom Penh’s construction frenzy is fueling the need for sand dredging, the practice of sucking up debris from riverbeds.
Residents of New Kbal Romeas, near Stung Treng in Cambodia, were affected by the Lower Sesan II hydropower dam construction. Most were Bunong indigenous people, deeply connected to their land. Some relocated to this new settlement, while others resisted moving.
Monkey at a Mangrove Forest in the Mekong Delta. Mangrove deforestation is particularly devastating given the vital ecological role these forests play for surrounding communities.
Monks in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, reside at the confluence of two vital tributaries, the Tonle Sap River and the Bassac, where they merge with the Mekong.
Thanh Tam Church in Rach Vop, Vietnam. After a landslide took part of the church into the Mekong, it was rebuilt and protected against erosion using mainly coconut trees. The big statue shows Saint Joseph and is intended to protect the church from future landslides.
Children from the Vietnamese community at Chong Khneas, Tonlé Sap, Cambodia. As stateless people, the ethnic Vietnamese on Tonlé Sap do not have the same protection and privileges as the citizens of Cambodia. They are not allowed to purchase land, their access to education is limited, and they are subject to arbitrary taxes and abuse by the local government. This denial of privileges results in a large population of stateless Vietnamese huddling in communities along the Tonlé Sap lake in floating villages.
Local worker at a crocodile farm at Chong Khneas, Tonlé Sap. As fishing has decreased massively in the last few years, most locals are forced to earn a living through tourism or crocodile farming.
Shrimp farm in the Tra Vinh province in Vietnam. This is the most downstream part of the Mekong delta, where coastal salinity intrusion and the river’s freshwater produces perfect conditions for shrimp farming. Over the last decade, agricultural industrialists and small farmers converted much of the delta’s coastal zone into shrimp farms. Like rice, the delta’s shrimp is sold all over the world.
Salinity test southern Vietnam. The water in this part of the Mekong delta shows a salinity of over 15, which is even higher than the ocean‘s salinity. The increasing salinity in the Mekong Delta is currently being driven by the building of dams upstream and sand mining downstream.
Father and daughter in Phnom Pen, Cambodia. Many of the residents of this neighborhood, which was built on an old cementery, had to move here after their houses collapsed into the Mekong.
Sand farming boat in Phnom Penh.
Tourists at the Phong Dien floating market in Can Tho, Vietnam. It used to be a busy places for sellers but now it's only shadow of itself. Some days, there are more tourists than vendors to be found.
Fish farm in Con So Islet, Can Tho, Vietnam.
Fishermen at the Si Phan Don in Laos. Si Phan Don, meaning '4,000 islands,' is a riverine archipelago in the Mekong River, located in southern Laos, characterized by numerous islands, with historical and cultural ties to Cambodia and a growing tourism industry.
Woman bathing in a flooded area near her neigbourhood. In a recent flood, eight houses fell into the river.
Crocodile farm at Chong Khneas, Tonlé Sap.
Worker moving sand at the ING City project, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. At the nexus of the Mekong and Sap rivers, Phnom Penh is endowed with hectares of lakes and wetlands that work as natural drainage systems during the six months of the rainy season. The Cambodian government is embarking on a number of ambitious development projects, which, according to critics, come at the expense of the environment and people’s livelihoods.
Sand Mining device in Phnom Penh. Phnom Penh’s construction frenzy is fueling the need for sand dredging, the practice of sucking up debris from riverbeds. The sand is normally used to clear waterways and provide material for development projects.
Khampha Srisuphan, a tourist guide in front of the transboundary pool between Cambodia and Laos in Don Det, where the freshwater dolphins used to live. He used to offer tours to watch the endangered river dolphins, but they have been extinct in the region since early 2022.
Statue in Don Det, Laos. In 2022, the last Irrawaddy river dolphin became entangled in fishing gear and died, signifying the extinction of the species in Laos.
Construction workers in front of the Don Sahong Dam.
Metal worker in Can Tho, Vietnam. He is repairing an excavator arm used for moving sand out of the Mekong.
Tourist at Li Phi Somphamit waterfalls in Laos. These falls are known as the „spirit falls.“ Many Laotians believe the falls and rapids catch ghosts and spirits here.
Abandoned house at Hoa Ninh Village, Vinh Long province, in Vietnam. After a flood, eight of nine houses fell into the river. This is the last one remaining in the settlement.
Villagers of Hang Sahong hamlet in Laos. They had to be relocated due to the construction of the Don Sahong Dam on whose expansion most of the young men from the village work.
Fishermen in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Mekong's Fight for Survival ↓
Prek Thi, Roka Kpos district, Cambodia. On January 17 2023, Prek Thi was affected by a landslide, with six houses collapsing into a creek and another requiring relocation.
Woman washing her hair in front of the Don Sahong Dam. The Dam, operational since January 2020, is a hydroelectric facility on the Mekong River in Laos, located near the Laos-Cambodia border. It exports most of its electricity to Thailand and Cambodia, despite controversy over its environmental impact and potential threats to fish migration routes and endangered species such as the Irrawaddy dolphin.
Monkey at a Mangrove Forest in the Mekong Delta. Mangrove deforestation is particularly devastating given the vital ecological role these forests play for surrounding communities.
Residents of New Kbal Romeas, near Stung Treng in Cambodia, were affected by the Lower Sesan II hydropower dam construction. Most were Bunong indigenous people, deeply connected to their land. Some relocated to this new settlement, while others resisted moving.
Monks in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, reside at the confluence of two vital tributaries, the Tonle Sap River and the Bassac, where they merge with the Mekong.
Thanh Tam Church in Rach Vop, Vietnam. After a landslide took part of the church into the Mekong, it was rebuilt and protected against erosion using mainly coconut trees. The big statue shows Saint Joseph and is intended to protect the church from future landslides.
Children from the Vietnamese community at Chong Khneas, Tonlé Sap, Cambodia. As stateless people, the ethnic Vietnamese on Tonlé Sap do not have the same protection and privileges as the citizens of Cambodia. They are not allowed to purchase land, their access to education is limited, and they are subject to arbitrary taxes and abuse by the local government. This denial of privileges results in a large population of stateless Vietnamese huddling in communities along the Tonlé Sap lake in floating villages.
Shrimp farm in the Tra Vinh province in Vietnam. This is the most downstream part of the Mekong delta, where coastal salinity intrusion and the river’s freshwater produces perfect conditions for shrimp farming. Over the last decade, agricultural industrialists and small farmers converted much of the delta’s coastal zone into shrimp farms. Like rice, the delta’s shrimp is sold all over the world.
Salinity test southern Vietnam. The water in this part of the Mekong delta shows a salinity of over 15, which is even higher than the ocean‘s salinity. The increasing salinity in the Mekong Delta is currently being driven by the building of dams upstream and sand mining downstream.
Father and daughter in Phnom Pen, Cambodia. Many of the residents of this neighborhood, which was built on an old cementery, had to move here after their houses collapsed into the Mekong.
Tourists at the Phong Dien floating market in Can Tho, Vietnam. It used to be a busy places for sellers but now it's only shadow of itself. Some days, there are more tourists than vendors to be found.
Fish farm in Con So Islet, Can Tho, Vietnam.
Fishermen at the Si Phan Don in Laos. Si Phan Don, meaning '4,000 islands,' is a riverine archipelago in the Mekong River, located in southern Laos, characterized by numerous islands, with historical and cultural ties to Cambodia and a growing tourism industry.
Woman bathing in a flooded area near her neigbourhood. In a recent flood, eight houses fell into the river.
Crocodile farm at Chong Khneas, Tonlé Sap.
Worker moving sand at the ING City project, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. At the nexus of the Mekong and Sap rivers, Phnom Penh is endowed with hectares of lakes and wetlands that work as natural drainage systems during the six months of the rainy season. The Cambodian government is embarking on a number of ambitious development projects, which, according to critics, come at the expense of the environment and people’s livelihoods.
Sand Mining device in Phnom Penh. Phnom Penh’s construction frenzy is fueling the need for sand dredging, the practice of sucking up debris from riverbeds. The sand is normally used to clear waterways and provide material for development projects.
Khampha Srisuphan, a tourist guide in front of the transboundary pool between Cambodia and Laos in Don Det, where the freshwater dolphins used to live. He used to offer tours to watch the endangered river dolphins, but they have been extinct in the region since early 2022.
Statue in Don Det, Laos. In 2022, the last Irrawaddy river dolphin became entangled in fishing gear and died, signifying the extinction of the species in Laos.
Metal worker in Can Tho, Vietnam. He is repairing an excavator arm used for moving sand out of the Mekong.
Tourist at Li Phi Somphamit waterfalls in Laos. These falls are known as the „spirit falls.“ Many Laotians believe the falls and rapids catch ghosts and spirits here.
Abandoned house at Hoa Ninh Village, Vinh Long province, in Vietnam. After a flood, eight of nine houses fell into the river. This is the last one remaining in the settlement.
Villagers of Hang Sahong hamlet in Laos. They had to be relocated due to the construction of the Don Sahong Dam on whose expansion most of the young men from the village work.
Fishermen in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.