Outline : The importance of Mekong river in Laos

Group 4
Group members:
1. Trần Thị Loan Anh - 20041391
2. Nguyễn Quỳnh Anh - 20041747
3. Lê Vi Dân - 21041397
4. Trần Bùi Vân Anh - 18040868
5. Phạm Khánh Linh - 19040915

I. Overview of Mekong river in Laos

1. Origin

- History :
+ The earliest recorded civilization on the Mekong is the 1st century
Indian-Khmer culture of Funan in the Delta area.

- Geographical border:
+ Country: Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia Laos Chinese
+ From Tibet to Vietnam
+ Higher Mekong river basin and Lower Mekong river basin are segregated by
the nation border of Laos PDR, China and Myanmar

2. Names

- Lancang Jiang, The Mae Nam Khing in Thailand, Myanmar and Laos, Tonle Than
(Great Waters) in Cambodia, Cuu Long (Nine Dragons) in Vietnam.

3. Length

- The Mekong is the longest river in Southeast Asia

- Mekong flows for 4,620 kilometers (2,870 miles), including 1898 km in Laos

4.Water flow

- Tributaries follow dendritic pattern

- Main catchment areas remain in the East of Laos, supplying to main river course in
drainage basin near Laos’ border
- Major tributary systems develop in the Lower Basin.
+ Tributaries that contribute to the major wet season flow, and
+ tributaries that drain low relief regions of lower rainfall.
- Left-bank tributaries in Vientiane – Nakhon Phanom and PakseStung Treng together
contribute more than 40% of the flow

5.Seasonal variations (climate)

- The Southwest Monsoon, which generates wet and dry seasons of more or less
equal length, dominates the climate of the Mekong Basin.
 - Tropical typhoons in the Pacific Ocean also make a significant contribution to rainfall
during the later parts of the wet season (August to early October).

II.The importance and practice of the Mekong river to Laos PDR Economy
a.Primary sector
a1.Agriculture
- Poor households depend on home-grown rice production for 94 percent of their rice
consumption, and even those in
- Urban centers grow 50 percent of the rice they consume.

Practice: Sand mining leads to river slump and delta sinking, subsequently adding salt
intrusion and decline in freshwater reservoirs used in agriculture.

a2.Fisheries
- More than 70 percent of rural households depend on fishing to varying degrees for
subsistence and additional cash income.
- 40 percent of households get some income from fish.

Practice: hydropower and dams construction pose threats on livelihoods and food security,
reduce fish quality and quantity

a3.Mining
- Mining exports, the biggest contributors to Laos’ gross domestic product (GDP),
accounts for nearly 1/3 its GDP (2016).

Practice: the Delta is sinking and shrinking, putting its productivity at risk.

b.Transport and trade

- Major trade route between western China and Southeast Asia, through water-borne
trade through inland waterways
- Volumes of trade being shipped decrease by more than 50%, due low water season
(June–January)
Practice: Mining and hydropower degenerate navigation and transport

c.Energy
- Hydropower is a major revenue generator for Laos
- 90 percent of the hydropower production will be exported to Thailand and Viet Nam.

Practice: With environmental impacts and irreversible results in Fisheries and environmental
impacts
III. The important of Mekong River with Laos’ custom and tradition
a. Religion
- The dominant religion is Theravada Buddhism
→ animistic
→ The Mekong River is an important cultural and spiritual symbol for the Lao people
b. Belief :
 - Many folktales are related to the Mekong River: It is believed that strong spirits live in
rivers and at other special places
- Naga: a deity taking the form of a snake
- The fight between the two Nagas which ends with one Naga receiving a giant fish as
a reward → the river has a “life” and “mind”

c. Festivals

- In April, the Lao New Year, people celebrate along the riverbanks by building sand
towers in the shape of Buddhist stupas
- Boat Racing Festival is celebrated on the 15th day of each lunar month, usually in
October.
- Lai rue fai (decorating the boats with lanterns) to worship the Buddha.
d. Residential architecture
- Traditional Lao houses are made of wood or bamboo and are built on stilts above the
ground. People live on the first floor; Under the house: animals, craft equipment
- Lao Loum houses are built on wooden piles

→ avoiding the high water rise in the rainy season of the Mekong River

e. Norms in riparian areas

- People who come to fish in the waterfalls have to cross with cables
- People depend much on fisheries and agriculture to earn livelihoods

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