A River to Lakes in the Mekong Delta

Besides climate change, upstream dam building presents potentially large environmental problems. Studies indicate that if all planned mainstream Mekong dams are built, the lower Mekong will be converted into a series of reservoirs. In China, where the Mekong is known as the Lancang, this has already happened. Four dams have been built, turning the river into a succession of large lakes. If the Mekong dams are not engineered to deal with sediment flows, fish migration and coordination of water release, there is potential for strong impacts downstream.