Mekong Eye - News, analysis and opinion focusing on the environment and sustainability of the Mekong region

21 March 2016 at 10:40  (Updated on 11 January 2024 at 0:30)
The Mekong Eye
More evidence now points to water scarcity as a major factor in the demise of this region’s famed ancient civilization of Angkor. During the 14th century their elaborate network of canals and irrigation infrastructure began running dry as technology and social structures could not fend off a changing climate. The ruins of the Angkor Empire once stretched over more than 1,000 square kilometers, making it the most extensive urban complex of the preindustrial world, It attracts millions of tourists each year who come to marvel at what was accomplished the preceding five centuries – and ponder what went wrong. These tourists might well be strolling within a crystal ball, as once back in the comforts of their Siem Reap hotels, they read headlines indicating that beyond those crumbling Angkor temples, history may be repeating itself up and down the Mekong Basin.
Water near Angkor Wat in Cambodia mirrors a temple from the Angkor era. Are we mirroring history? (Image: Pixabay)
As the UN promotes World Water Day this week, the past two months alone have seen a range of troubling events arising in the Mekong region:
As the Economist reported, threats to this Lower Mekong society of sixty million if current development trends continue are extensive. New narratives and prospects of sustainable dams increasingly filter into the Mekong discourse, but history tells the region to exercise caution. Many NGOs and donors were optimistic 15 years ago when the World Commission on Dams brought forward its recommendations, but both in the Mekong region and beyond, its impact has fallen short of expectation.
The renowned anthropologist, Marvin Harris pointed out in his famous work, Cannibals and Kings how societies run up against the “hydrologic trap”. As the mighty Khmer empire discovered, once a society commits to a particular technological and ecological strategy for solving problems, “it may not be possible to do anything about the consequences of an unintelligent choice for a long time to come.”
Lead image: Phou si, Mekong River near Luang Prabang Laos (Wikipedia)