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Discussion
of Case Study Themes
At
a Glance
The Mekong River flows through China, Cambodia, and
Laos, and its delta lies in southern Vietnam. Agriculture
is the primary activity in Laos and Vietnam. Subsistence
farming is commonly practiced in Laos while contract
farming is practiced in Vietnam. Both countries have
entered a new era of seeking foreign markets and investment,
but Vietnam is further along the path to becoming a
newly industrializing economy. Water plays a key role
in the economic development of each country.
Case
Study 1 -- Laos: Isolated Heart
Isolation
Characterizes Laos
The mountain ranges that surround Laos to the north,
east, and west as well as the country's landlocked
nature and its limited access across the Mekong River
have served to physically isolate Laos from other
countries. The combination of Laos' physical characteristics
and a long period of civil war and political strife
both within the country and among many of its neighbors
has caused the economy to stagnate in the decades
following World War II. New government policies aimed
at creating an open market system and a push toward
improved transportation links with other countries
(e.g., the Friendship Bridge that crosses the Mekong
River at Vientiane) are expected to help revive the
Laotian economy. However, Laos' isolation has also
served to protect its indigenous cultures, natural
resources and ecosystems.
The
Mekong River Protects and Powers the Country
The Mekong River is one of the geographical keys to
Laos. The river helps define the country's borders,
provides soil and water for wet-field rice production,
and is a major transportation route for Laotian people
and products. The river not only insulates the country
from the outside world, but also acts as a barrier
to progress by limiting access to Laos because of
the lack of bridges. In addition, catastrophic floods
regularly occur over the river's wide flood plain.
In
the video program, the hydroelectric plant executive,
Somphavan Inthavong, claims that the Mekong may be
the link that will tie Laos to the outside world.
Power production on the river far exceeds domestic
consumption, creating a surplus for neighboring markets.
Inthavong has selected sixty promising dam sites and
expects the country to substantially increase its
social welfare through economic development of the
Mekong's hydropower. However, the case study also
explores the ramifications of dam construction and
hydropower production on both the people who live
in sites targeted for dams, and the ecosystems that
will be forever altered.
The
Realities of Poverty in a Rural Country
Laos is one of the poorest countries in the world.
There is little industrial activity within Laos, and
that activity is confined to a few cities such as
Vientiane. Most Laotians live in rural, agricultural
villages and work as farmers. Besides religion, there
are few opportunities for education, and few Laotians
are literate.
Health
care is also affected. There are few hospitals in
the countryside, and low immunization coverage means
that Laos suffers from one of the highest infant mortality
rates in the world.
Creating
a Country Linked to the World
The Laotian government is pursuing a course that will
help link the country to the world. Plans are being
formulated to build roads through the mountains in
the east and north, providing links to cities in Vietnam
and China. Even as Laos becomes connected to the global
economy, though, it will need to overcome the challenges
associated with industrialization and economic development.
Case
Study 2 -- Vietnam: Fertile Dreams
Water:
Lifeblood of Rice Production
The Mekong River provides Vietnamese farmers with
many of the necessities for wet-field rice farming.
The river's delta has been formed by the huge quantities
of sediment carried by the river. As the river slows
and reaches the South China Sea, the sediment is dropped,
leaving rich, fertile soil. The frequent flooding
of the rice fields renews the soil and allows for
numerous harvests each year. It is the water itself,
though that is crucial to wet-field rice farming.
Ensuring that the appropriate amount of water reaches
fields at the right time is vital to production of
this aquatic plant.
Farming Reforms Launched in Vietnam
Vietnam has moved away from the collective farming
arrangements set up after the U.S.-Vietnam War. The
new contract system allows farmers to lease land for
twenty-year intervals and to keep any profits resulting
from their efforts. Community cooperation remains
pivotal during the labor-intensive planting and harvest
times.
Government
organizations such as the Bank of Agriculture help
provide independent farmers with enough funds to plant
their crops. The government also provides capital
to build milling facilities and to improve transportation
systems that move the grain to market.
Bringing
the Rice to Market
The numerous natural channels and artificial canals
of the Mekong Delta, along with roads built by the
French and later the Americans, provide farmers with
inexpensive transport routes to the major rice markets
of southern Vietnam. The Mekong River also grants
ocean-going vessels access to port facilities, where
rice can be loaded for destinations around the world.
Water
Resource Management Key to Production
Crucial to the three harvests produced by many of
the Mekong Delta's rice fields is the appropriate
use of river water. Because the timing, quantity,
and quality of water application are vital to the
growth of rice crops, farmers, with government support,
have created water cooperatives that share pumping
and piping facilities and improve irrigation methods.
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