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09 APRIL 2010 - NAKHON, PHANOM, THAILAND: A man walks along the riverbank at the confluence of the Mekong River (LEFT) and one of its Thai tributaries, the Songkram River (RIGHT). Normally the water level comes up the bottom left corner of the photo but this year is 30 feet below that level. The region is in the midst of a record setting drought and the Mekong River is at its lowest point in nearly 50 years, setting up an environmental disaster the region has never seen before. Many of the people who live along the river farm and fish. They claim their crops yields are greatly reduced and that many days they return from fishing with empty nets. The river is so shallow now that fisherman who used to go out in boats now work from the banks and sandbars on foot or wade into the river. In addition to low river levels the Isan region of Thailand is also in the midst of a record drought and heat wave. Farmers have been encouraged to switch from rice to less water intensive crops and to expect lower yields. Farmers here rely more on rain fall than irrigation to water their crops. PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ

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Jack Kurtz
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Isan Drought
09 APRIL 2010 - NAKHON, PHANOM, THAILAND: A man walks along the riverbank at the confluence of the Mekong River (LEFT) and one of its Thai tributaries, the Songkram River (RIGHT). Normally the water level comes up the bottom left corner of the photo but this year is 30 feet below that level. The region is in the midst of a record setting drought and the Mekong River is at its lowest point in nearly 50 years, setting up an environmental disaster the region has never seen before. Many of the people who live along the river farm and fish. They claim their crops yields are greatly reduced and that many days they return from fishing with empty nets. The river is so shallow now that fisherman who used to go out in boats now work from the banks and sandbars on foot or wade into the river. In addition to low river levels the Isan region of Thailand is also in the midst of a record drought and heat wave. Farmers have been encouraged to switch from rice to less water intensive crops and to expect lower yields. Farmers here rely more on rain fall than irrigation to water their crops. PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
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