Environment and natural resources

Water governance

Because of the transborder nature of water ecosystems, a regional approach to water governance and the management of water resources is fundamental to both sustainable development and the assurance of water rights. Hydrobasins in the Lower Mekong. View the full map in Map Explorer.This need ...

Ground water

When water seeps into the earth after a rain or flood it fills the spaces between the rocks and soil particles providing moisture for plants and percolating into larger spaces called aquifers.  Groundwater naturally flows to the surface again as springs and wetlands. ...

The Mekong

The Mekong River, and its associated basin, are the mainstay of the region’s rice and fish economy, as well as providing water for domestic, municipal and industrial use. Approximately 4350 km in length and originating high in the Tibetan plateau, it passes through six countries: ...

Rivers and lakes

Introduction Rivers and lakes are two types of surface water. In Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam (or the Lower Mekong Countries), the majority of surface water is organized into large river systems that network into streams, lakes, ponds and wetlands, and flow into deltas. It ...

Environment and natural resources
Mountains around Chiang Mai, Thailand. Photograph by zoutedrop, Flickr. Licensed under CC BY-NCl 2.0.

The region has been heavily reliant on the readily available supplies of forest timber, non-timber forest products and minerals to boost their economies. Various organizations and government agencies are responsible for over-seeing this usage and management, and how they respond to current environmental concerns. ...

Watersheds
Flooded forest, Cambodia

Watersheds are impacted by many factors, through interaction with both natural elements and human activity in the area. The trees and plants in forests not only tap into the water within the soil, but they also affect the quality and composition of the soil itself, ...

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