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Louise Utting and Rob Hughes have their sights set on some faraway horizons. Dedicated to increasing awareness of environmental and cultural issues, they have decided to embark on a challenging journey next year.

Ms. Utting, now in her third year of studies at Trent University, participated in the year abroad program in Thailand last year. She had many wonderful experiences in Thailand and, when she returned to Ontario for the summer, ended up working at the Merrywood Easter Seals Camp near Perth. She did a lot of paddling and outdoor education work, and also met Mr. Hughes at the camp, who was on staff for the summer.

"We both had lots and lots of paddling experience and came up with the idea of paddling the Mekong River - through Laos - as an awareness campaign," explains Ms. Utting.

The Mekong River runs 4,800 kilometers from its headwaters on the Tibetan Plateau through Yunnan Province of China, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. According to the International Rivers Network, over 60 million people depend on the Mekong and its tributaries for food, water, transport and many other aspects of their daily lives. Its annual flood-drought cycles are essential for the sustainable production of rice and vegetables on the floodplains and along the riverbanks during the dry season. Known as the mother of waters, the river supports one of the world's most diverse fisheries, second only to the Amazon. Over the past ten years, more than 100 large dams have been proposed for the Mekong basin by institutions like the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Mekong River Commission. Some of these projects have already been built. One of the greatest threats is China's plans to construct eight dams on the Upper Mekong / Lancang. Two of these dams have already been completed, and construction on the third project, Xiaowan, began in January 2002. These dams will have widespread impacts on the livelihoods of Mekong communities and on the natural ecology of the river system.

Ms. Utting and Mr. Hughes plan to paddle the Laos section of the Mekong, putting their canoe in January in the "Golden Triangle," where the Mekong exits China and comes into contact with the borders of Thailand, Burma and Laos. They will then head south and follow the river to the Cambodian border, stopping at villages along the way.

The goal of the trip is to produce educational tools (such as video segments and slides) of the region to help educate Canadian high school students about ecological issues upon the couple’s return. "We hope that having a personal view expressed in these materials will bring out the emotional side of the issues and help students understand the situation," says Ms. Utting.

Mr. Hughes agrees: "Everything in Laos is done by water and the infrastructure of roads is not developed very well. The damming of the Mekong, in many areas, is creating huge problems and we both believe that building awareness of the situation is really important."

Both Ms. Utting and Mr. Hughes feel that environmental concerns have a global application and that even though the controversial damming of the Mekong is happening far away from the borders of Canada, it is relevant to Canadian citizens. Understanding an environmental situation anywhere in the world, they believe, helps citizens to better grasp what is happening close to home.

A Laotian guide will be hired to accompany Ms. Utting and Mr. Hughes on their journey, and Ms. Utting will be spending next fall in Laos learning basic language skills. They hope to recruit two more paddlers to participate, as well.

"While I am in Laos in the fall I will be working for CUSO (formerly the Canadian University Service Overseas), researching the relationship of the water to people," says Ms. Utting, adding that they will be searching for project sponsors over the next several months. A Web site will soon be established to outline project objectives and partnership possibilities.

For more information about Ms. Utting and Mr. Hughes’s upcoming trek, please e-mail pfp@tropicalstorm.com.

Posted March 22, 2003