The Lower Mekong Basin: Rice Production, Climate Change, ENSO, and Mekong Dams
The Mekong River Basin is divided into two parts: the Upper Mekong Basin located in China and Myanmar, and the Lower Mekong Basin (LMB) in Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. These four countries that have parts of their territories in the LMB are refer
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The Lower Mekong Basin: Rice Production, Climate Change, ENSO, and Mekong Dams
Abstract The Mekong River Basin is divided into two parts: the Upper Mekong Basin located in China and Myanmar, and the Lower Mekong Basin (LMB) in Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. These four countries that have parts of their territories in the LMB are referred as the Lower Mekong Countries (LMCs) to be distinguished from the Mainland Southeast Asia (MSEA) countries. Rice production in the LMB depends on seasonal climatic conditions and fresh water resources which are provided by the Mekong River and the monsoon rains that occur generally from May to September or early October. Since 2000, the LMB agricultural land and paddy rice production have been affected by unusually intense floods, severe droughts, sea level rise, deep saline intrusion, and the construction of Chinese mainstream dams. The chapter has five sections. The first section introduces the Mekong River from its source in China to the Delta in Vietnam. The second section describes the LMB, its topography, population, and economy. The third section focuses on the LMB agricultural land, paddy land and farming, and paddy production. The fourth section assesses the impacts of climate change, and El Nino and La Nina on the LMB rice production. The last section examines the effects of Chinese dams on the Mekong flows and sediments deposits in downstream countries. Keywords Mekong River • Lancang Jiang • LMB setting • Topography • Population • Economy • Agricultural land • Paddy land and farming • Paddy production • IPPC Fourth Assessment Report • Climate change • El Nino and La Nina • Floods • Droughts • Khorat paddy production • Mekong Delta paddy production • China mainstream dams • Nuozhadu dam • Xiaowan dam • Sediments deposits
For centuries, the Mekong seasonal flood has been part of the livelihoods and cultures of the people in the Lower Mekong Basin. Farmers in the region have adjusted their activities and their crop calendars to the seasonal floods which are considered beneficial because they bring nutrient sediments for growing crops and
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2018 T.L. Cosslett, P.D. Cosslett, Sustainable Development of Rice and Water Resources in Mainland Southeast Asia and Mekong River Basin, DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-5613-0_5
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5 The Lower Mekong Basin: Rice Production, Climate Change, ENSO, and Mekong Dams
water for irrigating rice paddy fields. Extreme floods and droughts were the exceptions. During an exceptionally dry season, the Mekong River water resources were vital for rice production. Since the new millennium, the Lower Mekong Basin has experienced unusually intense and frequent floods (2000, 2001, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2013), severe droughts (2004–2005, 2009–2010, 2015–2016), sea level rise, deep saline intrusion into rivers, and changes in water runoff that have interfered with the normal climatic conditions for rice cultivation. Many academic and technical research studies suggest that these events are attributable to the effects o
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