The Mekong River Basin is home to mutually interdependent ecological, cultural, and linguistic diversities. With significant environmental degradation resulting from rapid development, deforestation, pollution, and climate change, communities are variously forced to adapt livelihoods and as a consequence, vast local knowledges, intergenerational lifeways, and ways of relating to the river are changing as well.
Our engaged learning programs in Southeast Asia provide dedicated students with opportunities to learn about the challenges faced by Mekong communities and the strategies they draw upon to understand, negotiate, and contest these changes. MCW students work in support of ongoing research and community-led projects to gain a deeper understanding of environmental and cultural issues and to build international solidarities in service of freshwater justice.
If you are interested in learning more about environmental justice issues in Southeast Asia and contributing to research efforts to address them, a research-oriented study abroad program may be the right choice for you.