The Wonders of the Mekong Project has created an interactive tour of the Mekong Basin called a story map. Story maps are user-friendly web applications hosted by the company ESRI that can be used to share a wide range of subjects, combining maps with narrative text, images, and multimedia content. Our story map “Mekong Wonders” (https://arcg.is/0n8u4W)is a brief tour of the Mekong Basin highlighting its unique geography, threats to the ecosystem, and conservation efforts by the Wonders of the Mekong team. Wonders of the Mekong is a USAID-funded project working on increasing awareness of the Mekong River ecosystem.

The Mekong River in South East Asia, with its unique biodiversity and rare hydrological features, is one of the most important rivers in the world. The the river serves as habitat to many endangered and highly endemic aquatic species, forming the biggest inland fishery in the world. The story map contains photos of the Mekong’s incredible fish diversity and important fisheries. The river basin is also exceptional due to its cultural diversity and scenic beauty. Human communities residing in the river basin depend on the river for fishing, water for agricultural production, navigation, etc. Threats to the river system have raised global concern due to conditions of over exploitation of natural resources and an unprecedented increase in hydropower dams. The “Mekong Wonders” story map also highlights the unique contributions that the Wonders of the Mekong team has made to help conserve the diversity and function of the Mekong ecosystem. Viewers can simply scroll down the web link or jump into each of the sub-headings to access specific sections of  interest. Dive in to explore!