Aboard a strange foam watercraft , a 29-year old Frenchman has completed his 4,400 kilometer swim across the Mekong River aimed to raise awareness on the alarming conditions of the now murky, polluted river. An exploit no one has attempted in the past, Remi Camus started his journey on the China-Tibet border, floating his way from the mountains of Tibet to the Mekong delta and the ocean in southern Vietnam. He swims around nine hours per day covering about 50-60 km.

    With a handful of sponsors from his home country, a documentary and a book about his trip was among the other things Camus was completing alongside his journey. In the absence of any type of support crew, the entire trip is being recorded by a video camera affixed to his head. His extraordinary journey which started last October, the hospitality school graduate aims to share his experience upon his return. Moreover, he largely intends to bring about much-needed changes from concerned sectors and the general community who are all depending on this river for trade, transportation and daily consumption. Camus hopes that his effort will make an impact on the environment, especially for the younger generation.

    When asked, he expressed that he chose Mekong because of its geographical significance. The river flows from the China-Tibet border to the South China Sea in Vietnam, passing through Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar, with over 70 million people from these 6 countries living along the waterlines. Many of them lack access to clean water for daily consumption.

    At present there are plenty of factories along the Mekong River and none of them seem to be observing concern in protecting the environment, especially the very river they sit on. It appears that these factories are carelessly dumping their waste which contain very hazardous elements. In 2012, Vietnamese environmental authorities reported that the Tien River has been severely contaminated with pollutants like ammonium compounds and mercury exceeding normal levels by up to 1,000 times. Tien River is one of two tributaries of the Mekong River in Vietnam.

    He raised several other problems with the river which include damming and overfishing in China, and damming and dredging in Laos, which reduces currents. While Camus was in China, he observed two dams that were being constructed and were said to complete within a year.

  This isn’t the first time Camus made such a move to try to impact the environment. The solo adventurer first caught the attention of the world when he ran alone across the Australian continent in support of his charity organization, Expedition Terre Inconnue, whose motto is to bring clean and safe water to every person on Earth. For him, these efforts aren’t meant to put his name in the newspaper. He simply wants people to care about the environment, especially the rivers.