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Foreign Correspondent: Damming the free and mighty Mekong

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View of Mekong River from high mountains
Foreign Correspondent: Damming the free and mighty Mekong

SUBJECTS:  Geography

YEARS:  7–8, 9–10


The Mekong has been a rare thing: a largely untouched and free-flowing river.

Stretching for nearly 5,000 km from the mountains of Tibet to Vietnam's Mekong Delta, it has provided a way of life for millions of people and been an important trading route between south-western China and south-eastern Asia.

In this clip from 2010, find out about controversial development plans for the lower stretches of this mighty river.


Things to think about

  1. 1.Humans can change the natural flow of a river. Farmers, for example, often withdraw water for irrigation, and a dam placed across the river will create a large store of water. How do actions like these change a river's flow? Think about their possible benefits and consequences.
  2. 2.Take note of the map showing the countries through which the Mekong flows. Which of these countries have the river as a border? What does Professor Philip Hirsch of Sydney University say about the health of the Mekong River compared with the health of other river systems? Why might this be the case? How many dams were planned for the Mekong and its tributaries in Laos at the time this clip was first shown in 2010?
  3. 3.Laos has had a low population density (the number of its people per square km has been relatively small). The country has not been highly developed and the river has been largely untouched. Explain how these factors have influenced the health of the river as shown in the clip. Use these factors to compare the Mekong River to a large Australian river. What can you say about the Australian river's health and reasons for its condition.
  4. 4.Less than a quarter of all countries in the world are landlocked. What does 'landlocked' mean? Find Laos on a map and see if it fits this definition. How might this be a geographical disadvantage for a country? What might this mean for Laos's reliance on a river system such as the Mekong?



Date of broadcast: 5 Oct 2010


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