Trading-off fish biodiversity, food security, and hydropower in the Mekong River Basin

The Mekong River Basin, site of the biggest inland fishery in the world, is undergoing massive hydropower development. Planned dams will block critical fish migration routes between the river's downstream floodplains and upstream tributaries. Here we estimate fish biomass and biodiversity losses in...

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Autores principales: Ziv, G., Baran, Eric, Nam, S., Rodríguez Iturbe I., Levin S.A.
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: National Academy of Sciences 2012
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/34685
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author Ziv, G.
Baran, Eric
Nam, S.
Rodríguez Iturbe I.
Levin S.A.
author_browse Baran, Eric
Levin S.A.
Nam, S.
Rodríguez Iturbe I.
Ziv, G.
author_facet Ziv, G.
Baran, Eric
Nam, S.
Rodríguez Iturbe I.
Levin S.A.
author_sort Ziv, G.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description The Mekong River Basin, site of the biggest inland fishery in the world, is undergoing massive hydropower development. Planned dams will block critical fish migration routes between the river's downstream floodplains and upstream tributaries. Here we estimate fish biomass and biodiversity losses in numerous damming scenarios using a simple ecological model of fish migration. Our framework allows detailing trade-offs between dam locations, power production, and impacts on fish resources. We find that the completion of 78 dams on tributaries, which have not previously been subject to strategic analysis, would have catastrophic impacts on fish productivity and biodiversity. Our results argue for reassessment of several dams planned, and call for a new regional agreement on tributary development of the Mekong River Basin.
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spelling CGSpace346852024-08-27T10:36:47Z Trading-off fish biodiversity, food security, and hydropower in the Mekong River Basin Ziv, G. Baran, Eric Nam, S. Rodríguez Iturbe I. Levin S.A. The Mekong River Basin, site of the biggest inland fishery in the world, is undergoing massive hydropower development. Planned dams will block critical fish migration routes between the river's downstream floodplains and upstream tributaries. Here we estimate fish biomass and biodiversity losses in numerous damming scenarios using a simple ecological model of fish migration. Our framework allows detailing trade-offs between dam locations, power production, and impacts on fish resources. We find that the completion of 78 dams on tributaries, which have not previously been subject to strategic analysis, would have catastrophic impacts on fish productivity and biodiversity. Our results argue for reassessment of several dams planned, and call for a new regional agreement on tributary development of the Mekong River Basin. 2012-04-10 2013-12-19T04:26:03Z 2014-02-02T16:39:50Z 2013-12-19T04:26:03Z 2014-02-02T16:39:50Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/34685 en Open Access National Academy of Sciences Ziv G, Baran E, Nam S, Rodriguez-Iturbe I, Levin S.A. (2012) Trading-off fish biodiversity, food security, and hydropower in the Mekong River Basin. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 109(15):5609?5614.
spellingShingle Ziv, G.
Baran, Eric
Nam, S.
Rodríguez Iturbe I.
Levin S.A.
Trading-off fish biodiversity, food security, and hydropower in the Mekong River Basin
title Trading-off fish biodiversity, food security, and hydropower in the Mekong River Basin
title_full Trading-off fish biodiversity, food security, and hydropower in the Mekong River Basin
title_fullStr Trading-off fish biodiversity, food security, and hydropower in the Mekong River Basin
title_full_unstemmed Trading-off fish biodiversity, food security, and hydropower in the Mekong River Basin
title_short Trading-off fish biodiversity, food security, and hydropower in the Mekong River Basin
title_sort trading off fish biodiversity food security and hydropower in the mekong river basin
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/34685
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AT nams tradingofffishbiodiversityfoodsecurityandhydropowerinthemekongriverbasin
AT rodrigueziturbei tradingofffishbiodiversityfoodsecurityandhydropowerinthemekongriverbasin
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