Screening of Documentary “Mekong”

Thu 29 Nov 2012, 9 – 11 am
University of Science – Vietnam National University
–
Fri 30 Nov 2012, 9 – 11 am
Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Hall C2

From Goethe Institut:

In the context of Science Film Festival 2012 Goethe-Institut in cooperation with IUCN and CPWF presents the screening of the film Mekong (52 Min) of director Douglas Varchol with discussion at the Hanoi University of Science and Technology and at the National University Hanoi.

The film deals with the Mekong Region, which is a massive ecosystem that is the lifeline for more than 60 million people across six countries: Cambodia, China, Laos, Burma/Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. For the people in the Lower Mekong Basin, it provides more fish to more people than any other river in the world. With an estimated commercial value exceeding US$2 billion per year, it is the world’s most valuable inland fishery.

At the same time, more than 140 dams are currently planned, under construction or commissioned for different rivers in the basin. If constructed, this will radically alter the basin’s hydrology, its ecology and, consequently, the lives of millions who depend upon it. The question is how can these seemingly opposite demands be met: sustainable development of a region and the rising demands for energy and economic growth?

Mekong is a one-hour documentary on the Mekong River, examining the issues of hydropower development and its impact on Mekong citizen’s lives.

The film was shot in four countries and four languages and features stories of Mekong Citizen’s up and down the river, from fishers on the Tonle Sap, activists still fighting at the Pak Mun dam in Thailand, to a vice minister from Laos convinced he can build the region’s most “river-transparent” dam.

Free entrance.