Damming the Mekong in the Anthropocene: Solastalgia and Gender Vulnerability of Ecological Disruption in Northern Thailand

Abstract

This study examines the phenomenon of solastalgia experienced by Mekong women in Chiang Khong district, Chiang Rai province, whose livelihoods depend on seasonal algae foraging, which is now threatened by environmental changes along the river. Solastalgia refers to the emotional distress caused by the degradation of one’s home environment. In the Anthropocene, an era defined by human-induced planetary disruption, the damming of the Mekong ruptures the multispecies kinships that have long entwined both humans and more-than-humans. Drawing on Donna Haraway’s ecofeminist posthumanism, this research reveals how the disruptions to the river’s ecosystems also sever the symbiotic entanglements that local women have co-created with algae and the river’s broader, more-than-human ecosystems. This research employs a case study approach grounded in multispecies ethnography, drawing on semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and a literature review. By focusing on the cultural, emotional, and ecological dimensions of multispecies entanglements, the study provides an examination of the broader impacts of environmental disruption in the Mekong River in the Anthropocene. The findings, grounded in the lived experiences of 15 women intimately connected to algae foraging, demonstrate that solastalgia is more than emotions; it signifies the collapse of a shared multispecies world, where the degradation of the river threatens both the river’s sustainability and the resilience of the women whose livelihoods are deeply knotted with its ecosystem. Moreover, the study reframes gender vulnerability, moving from anthropocentrism perspectives to a relational, ecological understanding in the Anthropocene. The study advocates for a reimagined environmental governance that prioritizes multispecies justice and acknowledges the interdependent well-being of humans and non-human entities.