Contents

Acknowledgements

Summary

1. Introduction
2. Flood benefits
   2.1 Introduction and historical context
   2.2 Flood benefits - agriculture
   2.3 Flood benefits - the Mekong fishery
   2.4 Flood benefits - the creation and maintenance of natural wetlands
   
3. Flood costs
   3.1 Introduction
   3.2 Flood damage assessment in the Lower Mekong region
   3.3 The regional history and pattern of flood damage
   3.4 The composition of flood losses
   
4. Comparing the costs and benefits of the annual flood
   4.1 General observations
   4.2 Incremental figures
   
5. The 2008 flood season
   5.1 General observations
   5.2 Meteorological conditions
   5.3 Temporal aspects of the 2008 Mekong flood season
   5.4 Water levels
   5.5 Flood discharges and flood volumes
   5.6 Aspects of probability and risk
   5.7 Conditions on the Cambodian floodplain and in the Delta
   
6. Summary of the 2008 country reports
   6.1 Cambodia
   6.2 Lao PDR
   6.3 Thailand
   6.4 Viet Nam
   
7. Summary Conclusions and Recommendations
   
8. References

Appendix 1. Mekong mainstream: summary hydrological statistics for the 2008 flood season

Appendix 2. Cambodia. 2008 flood damages compared to those of recent years

Appendix 3. Lao PDR: August 2008 flood damages

Appendix 4. Thailand: 2008 flood damages compared to those of recent years

Appendix 5. Viet Nam: 2008 flood damages compared to those of recent years

Appendix 6. Photograph archive of the September 1966 flood in Vientiane