Editing Mekong (section)

==Environmental issues==
Drought linked to a changing climate and dozens of hydroelectric dams are damaging the Mekong ecosystem.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sasipornkarn |first1=Emmy |title=A dam-building race threatens the Mekong River |url=https://www.dw.com/en/a-dam-building-race-threatens-the-mekong-river/a-50049206 |access-date=18 August 2019 |work=Deutsche Welle |date=16 August 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Sripiachai |first1=Pattanapong |title=Mekong River falls to critical level, sand dunes emerge |url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1782349/mekong-river-falls-to-critical-level-sand-dunes-emerge |access-date=26 November 2019 |work=Bangkok Post |date=29 October 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Beech |first=Hannah |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/13/world/asia/china-mekong-drought.html |title=China Limited the Mekong's Flow. Other Countries Suffered a Drought. |date=13 April 2020 |work=The New York Times |access-date=14 April 2020 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> When drought ends and the inevitable floods begin, the effects of Mekong dams on flood pulse dynamics over the entire Lower Mekong are poorly understood.<ref name="Pokhrel-2018">{{cite journal |last1=Pokhrel |first1=Yadu|display-authors=etal |title=Potential Disruption of Flood Dynamics in the Lower Mekong River Basin Due to Upstream Flow Regulation |journal=Scientific Reports |date=10 December 2018 |volume=8 |issue=17767 |page=17767 |doi=10.1038/s41598-018-35823-4 |pmid=30532063 |pmc=6288158 |bibcode=2018NatSR...817767P|doi-access=free}}</ref>

Sewage treatment is rudimentary in towns and urban areas throughout much of the Mekong's length, such as [[Vientiane]] in [[Water supply and sanitation in Laos|Laos]]. Water [[pollution]] impacts the river's ecological integrity as a result.{{Citation needed|date=February 2020}}

Much of the 8.3 billion [[tonne]]s of plastic present on earth<ref>{{cite news |last1=Franzen |first1=Harald |title=There are 8.3 billion tons of plastic in the world |url=http://www.dw.com/en/there-are-83-billion-tons-of-plastic-in-the-world/a-39765670 |access-date=17 April 2018 |work=Deutsche Welle |date=20 July 2017}}</ref> makes its way to the oceans. Ninety percent of plastic in the oceans is flushed there by just 10 rivers. The Mekong is one of them.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Franzen |first1=Harald |title=Almost all plastic in the ocean comes from just 10 rivers |url=http://www.dw.com/en/almost-all-plastic-in-the-ocean-comes-from-just-10-rivers/a-41581484 |access-date=17 April 2018 |work=Deutsche Welle |date=30 November 2017}}</ref>

A growing number of academics, NGOs, and scientists have urged the international community and the Mekong River Commission to reduce the use of hydropower, giving concerns of long-term sustainability. Some of them have urged an immediate moratorium on new construction of hydropower projects and a shift to solar and other forms of renewable energy, which are becoming more competitive and faster to install.<ref name=Yale-TF>{{cite web |last1=Fawthrop |first1=Tom |title=Dams and Climate Change Kill the Mekong |website=YaleGlobal Online |publisher=Yale University |date=28 November 2019 |url=https://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/dams-and-climate-change-kill-mekong |access-date=26 November 2019}}</ref>

[[Sand mining]] of the Mekong River in the countries Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam has led to various environmental impacts on both areas local and downstream to these operations due to the disturbance of the river's natural flow. These impacts include river embankment instability, reduced supply of vital floodwater and sediments to floodplains, increased salinity levels and both the disturbance and displacement of various species.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Park |first1=Edward |title=Sand mining in the Mekong Delta: Extent and compounded impacts |journal=Science of the Total Environment |date=May 2024 |volume=924 |pages=171620 |doi=10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171620 |pmid=38467261 |doi-access=free }}</ref>