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Ecosystems in the Greater Mekong: Past trends, current status, future possibilities

The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS: Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and Yunnan and Guangxi in China) is undergoing unprecedented changes.

Many of these are positive, reflecting political stabilization and economic growth following decades of poverty and conflict. But the rate and type of development is also threatening critical natural resources, particularly native forests, the Mekong River and its tributaries, and many wild plant and animal species. The GMS faces a critical choice: it can either continue with unsustainable development and see many of its unique natural resources disappear forever or switch policies and choose a more sustainable path into the future. This report gives an overview of what is happening, and provides key recommendations for how natural resource management can be made more sustainable.

The core of the report is a series of maps, developed by WWF, describing the historical trends, current status and future projections of forests in the GMS excluding China. Future projections for the period 2009 to 2030 contrast two scenarios; an unsustainable growth scenario, which assumes deforestation rates between 2002 and 2009 continue, and a green economy scenario, which assumes a 50 per cent reduction in the annual deforestation rate relative to the unsustainable growth scenario, and no further losses in key biodiversity areas.

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Data Resource Preview - Ecosystems in the Greater Mekong Past trends, current status, possible futures

Additional Info

Field Value
Document type Issue and policy briefs
Language of document
  • English
Topics
  • Biodiversity
  • Deforestation drivers
  • Ecological services
  • Ecosystems
  • Forest cover
Geographic area (spatial range)
  • Cambodia
  • Lao People's Democratic Republic
  • Myanmar
  • Thailand
  • Viet Nam
Copyright Yes
Access and use constraints

You are free to: Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material

Under the following terms: Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes. No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.

Version / Edition 2013
License CC-BY-3.0-IGO
Contact

tel. +41 22 364 9111 Fax +41 22 364 0332. For contact details and further information, please visit our international website at www.panda.org

Author (corporate) WWF-Greater Mekong
Publication place Bangkok, Thailand
Publisher WWF-Greater Mekong
Publication date 2013
Pagination 76
Keywords Greater Mekong Subregion,green economy,conservation,freshwater ecosystems,forest ecosystems
Date uploaded February 17, 2018, 16:16 (UTC)
Date modified March 5, 2018, 07:39 (UTC)