Agriculture

A growing threat

The commercialization of agriculture and a transition away from subsistence farming is decreasing the sustainability of land use practices and making agriculture one of the most significant threats to the conservation of biodiversity across the Greater Mekong.

The list of direct environmental impacts stemming from agricultural activity includes:

• Deforestation and forest conversion
• Soil erosion and increased flooding
• Soil salinization (especially in the Mekong Delta)
• Water pollution and sedimentation (due to runoff)
• Excessive diversion of water for irrigated agriculture
• Loss of terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity

The large ecological footprint of agriculture
In addition, since agriculture is often linked to the construction of infrastructure projects like roads, bridges, and dams, it leads to significant secondary impacts on the environment through forest degradation, habitat fragmentation, increased poaching, and migration.



Driven by economic pressure
Agriculture is an important sector in the Mekong countries, both for domestic consumption and export and will continue to provide a major source of livelihoods for these countries in coming years.

Countries differ widely in terms of their level of agricultural development and the overall economic importance of agriculture, though this is changing. Small-scale and subsistence production remain key components of rural livelihoods in Cambodia and Lao PDR, while Thailand and Vietnam are major agricultural exporters into global markets, but also have more diversified economies.

Nearly 80% of the region’s population lives in rural areas where subsistence agriculture, fisheries, and forest extraction are the main economic activities. Agriculture accounts for 78 percent of total employment in Lao PDR, 75 percent in Cambodia, 69 percent in Vietnam, and even half in Thailand. Rice remains a critical crop for food security throughout the GMP.