A key decision in the upcoming Ottawa negotiations on the UN Global Plastics Treaty will be the choice of a strategy for ending plastic pollution. The Minderoo Monaco Commission argues that a mandatory cap on plastic production with targets, timetables …
Nearly 6 billion tons of plastic waste pollute the planet. While public policy and attention have focused on climate change, plastic waste pollutes rivers, contaminates the ocean, accumulates on beaches, and breaks down into microplastic and nanop …
Big-picture modeling for river basins is often difficult due to a lack of sufficient data on river discharge and infrastructure operations, but satellite data and sensitivity analysis can help address such gaps. Much like the Mekong Dam Monitor uses re …
Published February 5, 2024 / Held February 13, 2024
In recent years, water releases from upstream dams have tripled the amount of water in the Mekong during certain dry season months. Is this helpful or harmful? How will dam releases impact dry season flow along the course of the Mekong from Thailand to …
MDM data and solution-oriented analysis show how the complex interactions of dams and climate alter the Mekong’s flow and threaten the livelihoods of millions.
Event registration close one-hour prior to event time. The Philippines is among the world’s most vulnerable countries to climate change, with impacts already felt today through extreme weather events, rising concern about sea level rise, and threats to …
Published November 29, 2023 / Held December 12, 2023
Plastic pollution is a growing area of concern, particularly in developing countries where waste management systems have not kept pace with development. The Mekong River transports approximately 40 thousand tons of plastic into the ocean every year, af …
This conference summary report highlights opportunities for collaboration through the Mekong – U.S. Partnership related to transboundary water governance
In 2020, the Lower Mekong Initiative was upgraded and expanded to the Mekong-U.S. Partnership (MUSP). The MUSP Track 1.5 Policy Dialogue series is a flagship initiative of the Partnership and includes seven virtual and in-person dialogues from 2021 to …
Published September 21, 2023 / Held September 28, 2023
This dialogue summary report highlights opportunities for collaboration through the Mekong – U.S. Partnership related to non-traditional security issues of trafficking and cyber-enabled crime
In 2020, the Lower Mekong Initiative was upgraded and expanded to the Mekong-U.S. Partnership (MUSP). The MUSP Track 1.5 Policy Dialogue series is a flagship initiative of the Partnership and includes seven virtual and in-person dialogues from 2021 to …
The Mekong appears to be on the brink of yet another extreme low flow wet season as there are clear signs of drought throughout the basin. With El Niño soon to take hold, how will the rest of the 2023 wet season play out? And how will this impact …
Hydropower dams provide renewable energy, but they also have significant negative impacts on freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity. This has food security implications for tens of millions of people across the Mekong, which has the world’s largest fre …
A technical report using Mekong Dam Monitor observations and MRC data to show how 20 dams are changing the hydrological flow of the 3S Basin and the Mekong River at large.
This is the fourth in a monthly Mekong data seminar series featuring presentations of recent studies and papers by authors with an interactive discussion about the data and why it matters. The 3S Basin is one of the largest tributary basins of the Meko …
The Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD) is one of the most important deltas in the world for food security, supplying half of Vietnam’s rice production and most of its fruit and aquaculture production. It provides 18% of Vietnam’s GDP and livelihoods for aro …
Freshwater rivers, lakes, and wetlands form some of the world’s most critical and biodiverse ecosystems. However, that immense biodiversity is at risk: Nearly one-third of freshwater fish are threatened with extinction. Among those at-risk species are …
This online forum was co-hosted between the Southeast Asia Forum and the U.S. Philippines Society on March 15th, 2023 to provide an update on key developments in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). Governance and development sp …
Jakarta is one of the world’s largest and most congested cities, and is vulnerable to sea level rise and other impacts of climate change. President Jokowi has announced Indonesia’s plan to build a New Capital City, “Nusantara”, in East Kalimantan. This …
The world’s large rivers are facing reduced sediment loads due to anthropogenic activities such as hydropower development and sediment extraction. Globally, estimates of riverine sand extraction from large river systems are lacking, in part due to the …
In 2020, the Lower Mekong Initiative was upgraded and expanded to the Mekong-U.S. Partnership (MUSP). The MUSP Track 1.5 Policy Dialogue series is a flagship initiative of the Partnership and includes seven virtual and in-person dialogues from 2021 to …
This is the first in a monthly Mekong data seminar series featuring presentations of recent studies and papers by authors with an interactive discussion about the data and why it matters. The flooded forests upstream of Stung Treng and downstream from …
Published January 30, 2023 / Held February 8, 2023
The Mekong experienced its first normal wet season in four years in 2022, and the benefits of a normal wet season flow into the 2023 dry season. Yet upstream dams are already releasing water for hydropower production, which artificially raises the rive …
How the Mekong River guarantees the security and livelihoods of tens of millions of people in mainland Southeast Asia and why a smarter engagement strategy from the US can keep the Mekong region thriving.