‘How you can help’

All of us have the capacity to help affect positive change in the world. We suggest 4 main channels through which you can contribute towards ensuring the enormous issues facing the Mekong peoples and environments as a result of the dams are acknowledged and acted upon.

• . Lobby your foreign secretary to acknowledge the Mekong Mega dam issues and to take action: Write a letter to your foreign secretary. Ask whether their department acknowledges the warnings from the international scientific community which point out that the mega dams threaten the food security of millions of the regions most vulnerable subsistence peoples. Ask whether your foreign secretary is prepared to ignore the fact that until now, the dam builders have flatly refused to allocate funds towards compensating the subsistence people down stream of the dams despite the fact that their finite survival resources are being compromised. Ask whether your government supports grass roots initiatives aimed at ensuring that the Mekong subsistence peoples and their environments are able to cope with the effects of the regions most environmentally destructive mega project. Ask whether your foreign affairs department has raised any concerns about the Mekong cascade with counterparts in the Mekong region.

• Help fund the Mekong Descent Foundations Initiatives. The Mekong Descent foundation has launched a range of Initiatives and has several new projects pending aimed at creating greater awareness, concern, cooperation and action for the social and environmental issues surrounding the Mekong Cascade of dams. Your financial support will help ensure that this important work continues and that more people get behind efforts to ensure a sustainable future for the Mekong subsistence people and their environments.

• Take the initiative: Host an awareness building fund raiser to support the work of the Mekong Descent Foundation or other organizations dedicated towards environmental and social advocacy and sustainable development. The Mekong Descent foundation is able to provide you with permission to publicly screen the exciting and informative awareness building documentary film Exploring the Mother of Waters, will help ensure that this important work continues and that more people get behind efforts to ensure a sustainable future for the Mekong subsistence people and their environments.

• Contact the media: Contact your national or local media representatives and request that they expose what is arguably the single most significant environmental and human rights issue facing mainland South East Asia. After all, how many other projects simultaneously affect the survival resources of millions of people from six nations and the natural environments spanning from the glaciers of Tibet to the tropical South China Sea? How many dam projects that will generate over a hundred billion dollars worth of revenue will simultaneously refuse to allocate a single dollar towards compensating the vulnerable people and environments that are negatively affected down stream? The Mekong cascade is a social and environmental issue well worth writing about. Please feel free to direct media representatives to the Mekong Descent foundation for questions and comment.