BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE
Across the Mekong River Basin, water quality is becoming a more urgent and public-facing concern because pressures on rivers are increasing at the same time. Rapid urban growth, water infrastructure development, expanding tourism hubs, and intensifying agriculture all raise the risk of wastewater, nutrients, and solid waste entering waterways. The MRC already runs routine water quality monitoring through Member Countries’ designated laboratories and reports on results annually, which shows the system is in place and generates credible data for learning and action.
Another clear trend is that pollution is not just chemical or wastewater related. Plastic is now treated as a serious water quality issue in the Lower Mekong. At the same time, water quality risks are closely connected with wider river changes. The MRC’s annual reporting has flagged major basin trends such as changing flow patterns, including higher dry-season flows and lower wet-season flows compared with past conditions. While flow is not the same as water quality, it strongly affects it. Changes in flow can influence dilution, sediment transport, and how pollution moves and concentrates in certain stretches of the river. This is one reason why water quality learning needs to be practical and linked to real locations, not only classroom theory.
Globally, water governance is shifting toward citizen science and youth participation, with UN and UNESCO reporting that well-managed community sampling and observation can strengthen water knowledge and SDG 6 reporting. Therefore, the MRC Youth Water Quality Workshop will connect observation, sampling, lab results, and practical discussion that helps translate monitoring into public understanding. It will then build a new generation that can communicate water quality issues in a factual and responsible way.
- Build practical understanding of Mekong water quality among youth in four Mekong countries
- Demonstrate how MRC water data connects to real community situations
- Encourage data-driven and realistic thinking about water quality solutions
- Showcase youth learning and field work experience during Mekong Day (4 April)
20 students (5 each) from the four Mekong universities.
- Understand Mekong water quality issues
- Conduct real sampling at the confluence between Nam Khan river and the Mekong mainstream in Luang Prabang
- Lab experience and interpret results in Vientiane with MRC experts
- Discuss observations and develop practical ideas based on findings
- Learn sampling ethics and methods and report them on iReport in the MRC’s One Mekong App
- Share reflections and innovative solutions during Mekong Day
- Return air tickets
- Accommodation throughout the official workshop period
- Local transportation, including field visits and travel from Luang Prabang to Vientiane
- Meals during official programme days
- Access to laboratory facilities and testing materials
- Field sampling equipment and necessary safety gear
- Workshop materials and learning resources
- Technical guidance from MRC and LNMC experts
- Participation in Mekong Day activities
- Certificate of participation upon completion
Any questions, please contact:
- Dararat Weerapong (Mam), Stakeholder Engagement Specialist, dararat.w@mrcmekong.org
- Chandaly Mao (Daly), Communications Officer, chandaly@mrcmekong.org
- Rafael Silan (Ted), Communications and Event Consultant rafael@mrcmekong.org
- Phan Nhat Tra My (Joy), Junior Riparian Professional, phan@mrcmekong.org
For the programme agenda, please refer to this: Mekong Youth Water Quality Workshop_Info
