Greater Mekong Stories

  • Protecting, restoring, and coexisting with Asia’s magnificent elephants

    Whether starting from a place of profound love for these magnificent animals, or one born of a need to defend homes and damaged livelihoods, many people play unique and necessary roles in building a future in which elephants can thrive in healthy habitats alongside communities.

    A lone elephant looks at the camera from tall grass in front of forest
  • 380 new species discovered in the Greater Mekong in 2021 and 2022

    May 22, 2023

    A color-changing lizard, a thick-thumbed bat, a venomous snake named after a Chinese mythological goddess, an orchid that looks like a Muppet, and a tree frog with skin that resembles thick moss are just five of the 380 new species described by scientists in the Greater Mekong region of Southeast Asia in 2021 and 2022, according to a new WWF report.

    A lizard with a turquoise head and orange tail climbs down a tree trunk
  • Rare video of tigress and three cubs in Thailand

    March 03, 2023

    Incredible footage of a tigress and her three cubs was recorded in western Thailand last year. With only 148-189 wild tigers in all of Thailand, a tiger sighting is rare and even rarer to see a tigress with three well-developed cubs.

    A mother tiger leads her three cubs through forest in Thailand
  • Scientists discover 224 new species in the Greater Mekong

    February 03, 2022

    A new WWF report reveals 224 plant and vertebrate animal species were discovered in the Greater Mekong region (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam) in 2020.

    Closeup of a gray frog looking into the camera and sitting on a brown leaf
  • Resilient rivers

    WWF Magazine: Summer 2021
    In Cambodia, WWF sets its sights on keeping the lower Mekong River flowing free
    Mangrove roots on riverbank
  • The snaring crisis in Southeast Asia

    July 01, 2020

    Illegal snaring is a rampant threat to wildlife and people in the forests of Southeast Asia. Snares are used to capture animals for the illegal wildlife trade. WWF-supported ranger patrols are working to address this crisis by removing snares. 

    Confiscated snares and traps in Cambodia.
  • Critically endangered Irrawaddy dolphins and the world’s most productive freshwater fishery saved from destructive dam

    March 30, 2020

    In a significant step forward for nature and communities that depend on the mighty Mekong River, the Cambodian government has abandoned plans to build the Sambor hydropower dam and has put a 10-year moratorium on any new dams on the Mekong mainstem.

    Aerial river Cambodia (Kampuchea)
  • A dam threatens wildlife life in the Lower Mekong Delta

    WWF Magazine: Winter 2019
    WWF is advocating that energy investors replace plans for hydropower dams in Cambodia with large-scale solar farms, which are more environmentally friendly and quicker to build.
    Irrawaddy river dolphin in Cambodia
  • Seven unsung ecosystems we need to survive

    They may not be household names, but these ecosystems are vital to the health of our planet. They support an incredible range of plants and animals, as well as millions of people and their communities, and play a critical role in fighting climate change.

    zebra mirror Greg Armfield WW1113071
  • crocodile lizard
  • Supporting communities and forests in Laos

    June 20, 2017

    The village of Sobphouan, with help from WWF, is a leading example of successful efforts in Laos to replace traditional agriculture and farming—drivers of widespread deforestation—with sustainable rattan production. 

    Aerial view of Rattan plantations
  • Wild pandas get a boost

    WWF Magazine: Spring 2017
    Wild panda numbers are finally rebounding after years of decline. In September, the International Union for Conservation of Nature announced that pandas have been upgraded from “endangered” to “vulnerable.”
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  • How Camera Traps Help Panda Conservation

    August 25, 2016

    Camera traps in China have captured images and video footage of giant pandas that are often difficult to see in the wild. The photographs and video are some of the most amazing images ever of pandas and other species in their remote habitat, which were caught on film as part of long-term wildlife monitoring projects set up in panda nature reserves by the Chinese government and WWF.

    Panda photographed by a camera trap
  • The Mekong

    WWF Magazine: Spring 2015
    The Mekong River
  • Greater Mekong
  • Funding Conservation at a Global Scale

    WWF Magazine: Summer 2014
    The Global Environment Facility: Big solutions for a small planet
    ship lights over water
  • Myanmar

    WWF Magazine: Spring 2014
    Driving Change in Asia: Newly Open, Myanmar Is a Treasure Trove of Natural Assets, Cultural Diversity and Enthusiasm for the Future.
    DRIVING CHANGE IN ASIA: NEWLY OPEN, MYANMAR IS A TREASURE TROVE OF NATURAL ASSETS, CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND ENTHUSIASM FOR THE FUTURE.