Land Use and Water Quality Along a Mekong Tributary in Northern Lao P.D.R. |
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Authors: | Olivier Ribolzi Juliette Cuny Phonexay Sengsoulichanh Claire Mousquès Bounsamai Soulileuth Alain Pierret Sylvain Huon Oloth Sengtaheuanghoung |
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Institution: | 1.Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, UPS (OMP)—CNRS—UMR 5563 LMTG,Université de Toulouse,Toulouse,France;2.International Water Management Institute, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute,Vientiane,Lao P.D.R.;3.UMR 7618 BIOEMCO,Université Pierre and Marie Curie,Paris Cedex 05,France;4.Agricultural Land Research Centre,National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute Nongviengkham,Vientiane,Lao P.D.R. |
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Abstract: | Improving access to clean water has the potential to make a major contribution toward poverty reduction in rural communities
of Lao P.D.R. This study focuses on stream water quality along a Mekong basin tributary, the Houay Xon that flows within a
mountainous, mosaic land-use catchment of northern Lao P.D.R. To compare direct water quality measurements to the perception
of water quality within the riparian population, our survey included interviews of villagers. Water quality was found to vary
greatly depending on the location along the stream. Overall, it reflected the balance between the stream self-cleaning potential
and human pressure on the riparian zone: (i) high bacteria and suspended load levels occurred where livestock are left to
free-range within the riparian zone; (ii) very low oxygen content and high bacteriological contamination prevailed downstream
from villages; (iii) high concentrations of bacteria were consistently observed along urbanized banks; (iv) low oxygen content
were associated with the discharge of organic-rich wastewater from a small industrial plant; (v) very high suspended load
and bacteria levels occurred during flood events due to soil erosion from steep cultivated hill slopes. Besides these human
induced pollutions we also noted spontaneous enrichments in metals in wetland areas fed by dysoxic groundwater. These biophysical
measurements were in agreement with the opinions expressed by the majority of the interviewees who reported poor and decreasing
water quality in the Houay Xon catchment. Based on our survey, we propose recommendations to improve or maintain stream water
quality in the uplands of northern Lao P.D.R. |
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