Vietnam's Mekong delta is one of the world's most productive agricultural regions, is the backbone of the country's booming agricultural export industry, and was once a bountiful source of much of the nation's freshwater fish. Yet rapid population growth, the introduction of modern fishing equipment, the widespread use of agrochemicals, and largely unregulated domestic pollution has greatly impacted the Mekong's ability to support the millions of people who live along its banks.
A River's Tail is a year-long collaborative documentary project combining photography, videography, and text, to create a visual narrative of the Mekong river from its terminus in southern Vietnam to its source in the Tibetan plateau. Told through a series of localized micro stories, A River's Tail uses multimedia to weave together a complex portrait of the Mekong in a time of turbulent change as the forces of urbanization, industrialization, and commoditization strain the river's resources to the breaking point.
Produced in partnership with Lien Aid (http://www.lienaid.org), a Singapore based organization focusing on water issues throughout Asia, these images represent a visual summary of nearly a dozen multimedia stories from the Mekong in Vietnam. Imagery from phase two of the A River's Tail project in Cambodia will be coming to Photojournale in the coming months, and the full collection of articles can be found at http://www.ariverstail.com.
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