Celebrated for its natural beauty and its abundance of wildlife, the Mekong river runs thousands of miles through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Its basin is home to more than 70 million people and has for centuries been one of the world's richest agricultural areas and a biodynamic wonder. Today, however, it is undergoing profound changes. Development policies, led by a rising China in particular, aim to interconnect the region and urbanize the inhabitants. And a series of dams will harness the river's energy, while also stymieing its natural cycles and cutting off food supplies for swathes of the population.In Last Days of the Mighty Mekong, Brian Eyler travels from the river's headwaters in China to its delta in southern Vietnam to explore its modern evolution. Along the way he meets the region's diverse peoples, from villagers to community leaders, politicians to policy makers. Through conversations with them he reveals the urgent struggle to save the Mekong and its unique ecosystem.

Exposes the catastrophic environmental degradation occurring at the hands of escalating China-US rivalry.

Introduction1. Yubeng: The Last Shangri-la2. Damming the Upper Mekong3. The Erhai Valley4. The Akha as Modern Zomians5. The Golden Triangle in Transition6. Laos as a Contested Space7. Damming the Lower Mekong8. Phnom Penh and Boeung Kak Lake9. The Tonle Sap10. Whither the Mekong Delta