Abstract
The past decade has seen increased international recognition of the importance of the services provided by natural ecosystems. It is unclear however whether such international awareness will lead to improved environmental management in many regions. We explore this issue by examining the specific case of fish migration and dams on the Mekong river. We determine that dams on the Mekong mainstem and major tributaries will have a major impact on the basin’s fisheries and the people who depend upon them for food and income. We find no evidence that current moves towards dam construction will stop, and consider two scenarios for the future of the fisheries and other ecosystems of the basin. We conclude that major investment is required in innovative technology to reduce the loss of ecosystem services, and alternative livelihood strategies to cope with the losses that do occur.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Ahmed, M., N. Hap, V. Ly, and M. Tiongco. 1998. Socioeconomic assessment of freshwater capture fisheries in Cambodia: Report on a household survey. Phnom Penh: MRC.
Baran, E., and C. Myschowoda. 2008a. Dams and fisheries in the Mekong basin. Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management 12: 227–234.
Baran, E., and C. Myschowoda. 2008b. Have fish catches been declining in the Mekong river basin. In Modern Myths of the Mekong: A critical review of water and development concepts, principles and policies, ed. M. Kummu, M. Keskinen, and O. Varis, 55–64. Helsinki: Helsinki University of Technology.
Baran, E., N. van Zalinge, P.B. Ngor, I.G. Baird, and D. Coates. 2001. Fish resource and hydrobiological modelling approaches in the Mekong Basin. Penang: ICLARM.
Barlow, C., E. Baran, A. Halls, and M. Kshatriya. 2008. How much of the Mekong fish catch is at risk from mainstem dam development? Catch and Culture 14: 16–21.
Campbell, I.C. 2009. The Mekong. Biophysical environment of a transboundary river. New York: Elsevier.
Costanza, R., L. Graumlich, and W. Steffen. 2007a. Sustainability or collapse? An integrated history and future of people on earth. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Costanza, R., L. Graumlich, W. Steffen, C. Crumley, J. Dearing, K. Hibbard, R. Leemans, C. Redman, and D. Schimel. 2007b. Sustainability or collapse: What can we learn from integrating the history of humans and the rest of nature? Ambio 36: 522–527.
Dore, J. 2003. The governance of increasing Mekong regionalism. In Social challenges for the Mekong region, ed. M. Kaosaard, and J. Dore, 405–440. Bangkok: White Lotus.
Doyle, M.W., E.H. Stanley, J.M. Harbor, and G.S. Grant. 2003. Dam removal in the United States: Emerging needs for science and policy. Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union 84: 29–36.
Dugan, P. 2008. Mainstream dams as barriers to fish migration: International learning and implications for the Mekong. Catch and Culture 14: 9–15.
Friend, R., A. Arthur, and M. Keskinen. 2009. Songs of the doomed: The continuing neglect of capture fisheries in hydropower development in the Mekong. In Contested waterscapes in the Mekong region: Hydropower, livelihoods and governance, ed. F. Molle, T. Foran, and M. Käkönen. London: Earthscan.
Halls, A.S., and M. Kshatriya. 2009. Modeling the cumulative effects of mainstream hydropower dams on migratory fish populations in the lower Mekong basin. Final report to the Mekong River Commission Secretariat.
Hibbard, K.A., P. Crutzen, E.F. Lambin, D. Liverman, N.J. Mantua, J.R. McNeill, B. Messerli, and W. Steffen. 2007. The great acceleration. In Sustainability or collapse? An integrated history and future of people on earth, ed. R. Costanza, L.J. Graumlich, and W. Steffen, 341–378. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Homer-Dixon, T.F. 2001. Environment, scarcity and violence. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Hortle, K.G. 2007. Consumption and yield of fish and other aquatic animals from the lower Mekong Basin. MRC technical paper no. 16. MRC: Vientiane.
Hortle, K.G. 2009. Fisheries of the Mekong river basin. In The Mekong. Biophysical environment of a transboundary river, ed. I.C. Campbell. New York: Elsevier.
IHA (International Hydropower Association). 2003. The role of hydropower in sustainable development. Sutton: IHA.
International Rivers. 2009. Mekong Mainstream Dams: Threatening southeast Asia’s food security. Berkeley: International Rivers.
Kummu, M., and J. Sarkkula. 2008. Impact of the Mekong river flow alteration on the Tonle Sap flood pulse. Ambio 37: 185–192.
Lambin, E.F. 2005. Conditions for sustainability of human-environment systems: information, motivation, and capacity. Global Environment Change 15: 177–180.
Lebel, L., P. Garden, and M. Imamura. 2005. The politics of scale, position, and place in the governance of water resources in the Mekong region. Ecology and Society 10(2):18. http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol10/iss2/art18.
Li, S., and D. He. 2008. Water level response to hydropower development in the upper Mekong river. Ambio 37: 170–177.
McCully, P. 2001. Silenced rivers: The ecology and politics of large dams. London: Zed Books.
MEA (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment). 2005. Ecosystems and human well-being: Synthesis. Washington, DC: Island Press.
Molle, F. 2005. Irrigation and water policies in the Mekong region: Current discourses and practices. Colombo: IWMI.
Molle, F., T. Foran, and M. Käkönen. 2009. Contested waterscapes in the Mekong region: Hydropower, livelihoods and governance. London: Earthscan.
MRC (Mekong River Commission). 2008. Proposed and operational dams on the mainstream Mekong. http://www.mrcmekong.org/ish/map.htm.
Öjendal, J., V. Mathur, and M. Sithirith. 2002. Environmental governance in the Mekong: Hydropower site selection processes in the Se San and Sre Pok Basins. SEI/REPSI report series no. 4. Stockholm: Stockholm Environment Institute.
Osborne, M. 2006. The Mekong: Turbulent past, uncertain future. Sydney: Allen and Unwin.
Osborne, M. 2009. The Mekong: River under threat. Sydney: Lowy Institute.
Postel, S., and C. Carpenter. 1997. Freshwater ecosystem services. In Nature’s services: Societal dependence on natural ecosystems, ed. G.C. Daily. Washington, DC: Island Press.
Poulsen, A.F., P. Ouch, V. Sintavong, S. Ubolratana, and T.T. Nguyen. 2002. Fish migrations of the Lower Mekong River Basin: Implications for development, planning and environmental management. MRC technical paper no. 8. Phnom Penh: MRC.
Ratner, B.D. 2003. The politics of regional governance in the Mekong river basin. Global Change 15: 51–76.
Scudder, T. 2005. The future of large dams: Dealing with social environmental, institutional, and political costs. London: Earthscan.
UNEP, A. Snidvongs, and S.-K. Teng. 2006. Mekong River: GIWA regional assessment 55. Kalmar: University of Kalmar.
United Nations. 2008. Report of the special representative of the Secretary-General for human rights in Cambodia, Yash Ghai. United Nations General Assembly, Human Rights Council (29 February 2008). http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G08/115/04/PDF/G0811504.pdf?OpenElement.
WCD (World Commission on Dams). 2000. Dams and development: A new framework for decision-making. London: Earthscan.
World Bank. 2009. Directions in hydropower. Washington, DC: World Bank.
Acknowledgements
We thank E. Allison, N. Andrew, L, Baumgartner, M. Beveridge, A. Brooks, S. Hall, and B. Ratner for their comments on drafts of this paper.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This synopsis was not peer reviewed.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dugan, P.J., Barlow, C., Agostinho, A.A. et al. Fish Migration, Dams, and Loss of Ecosystem Services in the Mekong Basin. AMBIO 39, 344–348 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-010-0036-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-010-0036-1