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08 APRIL 2010 - NAKHON PHANOM, THAILAND: Women leave a fishing pond in Non Siivilai, Nakhon Phanom province, Thailand. The pond is controlled by a nearby Buddhist temple which allows people to pay a small fee and fish in the pond one day per year. It's a fund raiser for the temple. This year the pond was less than half its normal size and the fishing catch was much smaller than normal. According to people who live here, the Mekong River is at its lowest point in nearly 50 years. 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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ClimateChange091.jpg
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Jack Kurtz
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Isan Drought
08 APRIL 2010 - NAKHON PHANOM, THAILAND: Women leave a fishing pond in Non Siivilai, Nakhon Phanom province, Thailand. The pond is controlled by a nearby Buddhist temple which allows people to pay a small fee and fish in the pond one day per year. It's a fund raiser for the temple. This year the pond was less than half its normal size and the fishing catch was much smaller than normal. According to people who live here, the Mekong River is at its lowest point in nearly 50 years. 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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