The Mekong River is half dead

"If the Mekong was a human, it would be half dead, because everything has changed completely," said Niwat Roykaew, winner of the Goldman Environmental Prize.

Niwat has been leading the river conservation movement for over 20 years.

"It's huge, the change in water level, the disappearance of sediment and the increasing level of waste.

These are things that have an impact on the river.

Niwat founded the Chiang Kong Conservation Group in 1999, with the aim of protecting local water resources and strengthening people networks in the river basin.

A cross-border issue

Dams on the Mekong River are disrupting the lives of people in northeast Thailand

A Chinese dam on the Mekong River

When it comes to water, however, every country in the world is connected.

Niwat is aware that water issues are transnational.

Thus, in order to solve a problem effectively, all stakeholders must be involved.

This includes communities and governments that are linked to the river.

"The Mekong is an international river, we can't just talk about Thailand.

Mr Niwat spoke about the dams built upstream, which had an impact on Thai communities downstream.

He said there was an urgent need to review all mega-projects that could have a negative impact on the Mekong, including dams.

There are 12 dams in the upper Mekong, two more in the lower Mekong and more to come.

"The environment and nature cannot be subject to a struggle for resources as in the past.

It can only be collaboration," said Mr Niwat.

Marc Yaggi, CEO of the Waterkeeper Alliance, the global network that connects communities around the world for water conservation, shares his concern when dealing with issues that involve several countries.

"Countries need to recognise that the future, the health of their people, their economies and their livelihoods are really going to depend on how they treat their common resources.

If these resources disappear, there is no future.

"I think at the end of the day, it's about recognising that water is the most important natural resource.

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Niwat has seen the Mekong change over time, and not for the better.

While climate change plays a role in this development, he believes that upstream dams are an even more important factor.

He sees them as accelerators of change.

He says he examined the Salween River, which is also fed by Himalayan runoff.

When the Mekong began to dry up, the Salween was still rich, but not dry and free flowing.

For him, this is enough evidence to say that dams have a more important role to play in these changes than climate change.

An urgent review that includes more local studies

The Mekong

"There must be open discussions about the river we share," said a concerned Niwat.

He thinks that if there is no more study and review, there will only be more construction, which will have an even more serious impact and it may be too late to solve anything.

Wisdom and local studies should be included.

These community studies are usually carried out with the aim of learning more about nature and finding the best ways to co-exist.

Niwat thinks that this is totally different from a study, such as an environmental impact assessment, which is carried out with the intention of building anyway.

"So far, the Mekong lacks a participatory process.

Development decision-making is in the hands of governments and investors.

There is a lot of new construction, but the main stakeholders, the local people, have not been involved in decisions about the future of the Mekong," says Niwat.

How can we be sure that the authorities in the different countries hear these concerns and suggestions?

Marc Yaggi replied that this is the challenge and this is what Waterkeeper has tried to do, by supporting local communities and amplifying their voices.

It is essential that all stakeholders are included in the decision-making process.

In the end, nature does not choose who will be affected, everyone will be affected.