River of the Anthropocene


Could the Mekong River define SE Asia’s future?


By Jonathan Zhao

With reporting and photographs by J. Carl Ganter


The Tonle Sap River is roughly 100 kilometers long, starting at the Tonle Sap Lake in northwestern Cambodia.

It is midday in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. The Mekong River, having mixed with the silty waters of the Tonle Sap, takes on the appearance of a muddy highway with a storm of activity. Fishermen are trawling and repairing their nets. Families are living in floating homes near the riverbank. Excavators pull sand out of the riverbed into waiting barges.

For the people of Phnom Penh and beyond, the Mekong has always given freely but now is reaching the limit of what it can provide.

In 802, King Jayavaraman II established the Khmer Empire, which would dominate Southeast Asia for over 600 years and whose culture is survived by present-day Cambodia. Jayavaraman II strategically built the capital city, Angkor, near the Tonle Sap Lake, where it could take advantage of large floodwater reserves to maintain bountiful rice harvests even during dry seasons.

Although the Khmer Empire is long gone, the use of the Mekong river system has only increased with population growth and the advancement of technology. In many areas around the world, but especially Cambodia, negligence and overextraction of resources are harming the waterways that people depend on.

The Anthropocenes Network, a collaboration of scientists, policymakers and artists, summed it up perfectly in the title of their keystone project: Rivers of the Anthropocene. As the greatest benefactors and highest authority over the world’s waters, humanity must acknowledge its responsibility to protect the natural environment, even if only for its own survival.

Ferries form an essential web across the Mekong River and its tributaries, transporting people, livestock, and goods.

The Mekong River begins in China, where it is called the Lancang River. Much of the water at the source comes from snowmelt on the Tibetan Plateau, which accounts for 16% of the river’s flow. The river then passes through Laos, and its hydrology begins to change as tributaries merge. By the time the Mekong reaches Phnom Penh, it has reached over 95% of its total flow. Finally, it empties into the South China Sea via southern Vietnam. The majority of the 65 million people living in the Lower Mekong River Basin depend on the river for its natural resources.

“[The Mekong] has every single anthropogenic impact that we know, and each of them plays a critical role in impacting the river,” said Edward Park, an assistant professor of physical geography at Nanyang Technological University who has studied tropical rivers extensively.

This river system is the basis of millions of livelihoods, enabling transportation, agriculture, fishing and electricity generation. It is precisely because of this reliance that the current relationship of abuse and exploitation is untenable, and the recent withdrawal of USAID puts the goal of good stewardship even further out of reach. Changing weather patterns, loss of biodiversity and pollution threaten to upset the region’s way of life. Yet not enough attention is given to the river’s care by the local government or population.

As we navigate the complexities of the Anthropocene, the Mekong River stands as a poignant reminder of our interconnected existence with the natural world. The challenges posed by human activity underline the urgent need for sustainable practices and collaborative governance to ensure that this vital resource is preserved for future generations. Protecting the Mekong is not just about safeguarding a river; it is about securing the livelihoods, cultures, and ecosystems that depend on its waters.