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	<channel>
		<title>Conservation news</title>
		<atom:link href="https://news.mongabay.com/feed/?location=mekong-basin&#038;type=post" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/mekong-basin/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Wed, 19 Aug 2026 20:31:50 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<url>https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png</url>
	<title>Mekong Basin environmental news</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/mekong-basin/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>Cambodia’s banned sand trade with Singapore appears to be back</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/cambodias-banned-sand-trade-with-singapore-appears-to-be-back/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/cambodias-banned-sand-trade-with-singapore-appears-to-be-back/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Aug 2026 22:18:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Andy Ball]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/11152720/Mekong-Sand-Mining_Credit-Andy-Ball_00002-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=325924</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Mekong Basin, Singapore, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Business, Coastal Ecosystems, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporations, Environment, Environmental Law, extractives, Fisheries, Fishing, Governance, Illegal Mining, International Trade, Law, Mining, Natural Resources, Oceans, Rivers, and Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Authorities in Cambodia&#8217;s Koh Kong province say they&#8217;ve approved a sand mining operation exporting to Singapore, despite an export ban imposed by national authorities a decade ago after large-scale dredging was found to be damaging riverine and coastal ecosystems. The dredging is occurring in an area of the Trapeang Rung River that falls within the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Authorities in Cambodia&#8217;s Koh Kong province say they&#8217;ve approved a sand mining operation exporting to Singapore, despite an export ban imposed by national authorities a decade ago after large-scale dredging was found to be damaging riverine and coastal ecosystems. The dredging is occurring in an area of the Trapeang Rung River that falls within the boundaries of Tatai Wildlife Sanctuary and Botum Sakor National Park. Khlem Yonviseth, director of the Koh Kong provincial mining department, told Mongabay that the 2017 sand export ban had been lifted, and that his office had given a permit to the dredging operation and approved the exports. Yonviseth did not respond to a request to provide documentation of the ban being lifted. Mongabay was unable to locate any official announcement regarding the ban, and the relevant national agencies did not respond to requests for comment. Yonsiveth’s comments come after activist group Mother Nature Cambodia exposed the dredging operation in a video published July 14. In a subsequent video, published Aug. 8, the group tracked multiple cargo ships heading from Koh Kong Krao, Cambodia’s largest island, to Singapore’s Tuas Port. “How many more tons of Cambodian sand will be lost?” asks Lisa Mean, an activist with Mother Nature Cambodia, in the latest video. Analysis by Mongabay confirms that four of the ships identified by the group traveled to the Tuas Port, where a state-backed land reclamation project is currently underway. Mongabay has also found that the company Yonviseth said had been given a dredging license, Catalyst&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/cambodias-banned-sand-trade-with-singapore-appears-to-be-back/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/cambodias-banned-sand-trade-with-singapore-appears-to-be-back/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325924</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Thai MP calls for new committee to scrutinize AI data centers’ environmental impact</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/thai-mp-calls-for-new-committee-to-scrutinize-ai-data-centers-environmental-impact/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/thai-mp-calls-for-new-committee-to-scrutinize-ai-data-centers-environmental-impact/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Jul 2026 02:48:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerald Flynn]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/10061600/20251222__DATA-CENTER_THAILAND_ANDY-BALL-RESIZED-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324542</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Global, Mekong Basin, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Artificial Intelligence, Development, Ecosystems, Energy, Environment, Fish, Fossil Fuels, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Governance, Health, Natural Resources, Pollution, Renewable Energy, Saltwater Fish, Software, Technology, Water, Water Pollution, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BANGKOK — An opposition member of Thailand’s parliament has called for the creation of a parliamentary committee on the regulation of data centers. The call comes amid a raft of new project approvals linked to the sector, which requires large amounts of water and electricity. “I believe Thailand needs to rethink its overall approach to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BANGKOK — An opposition member of Thailand’s parliament has called for the creation of a parliamentary committee on the regulation of data centers. The call comes amid a raft of new project approvals linked to the sector, which requires large amounts of water and electricity. “I believe Thailand needs to rethink its overall approach to data center development,” Sahassawat Kumkong, a member of the reformist People’s Party, told Mongabay in an interview. “The objective should not simply be to attract investment as quickly as possible. We also need to ensure that development is environmentally sustainable, that local communities are protected, and that the economic benefits are shared more fairly.” Sahassawat represents Constituency 7 in Chonburi, a coastal province in eastern Thailand where at least 13 data centers are in the construction or planning phases, with four more already operational, according to public records, news coverage and, in some cases, on-the-ground reporting by Mongabay. Part of his responsibility in this role, he said, was to safeguard the interests of his constituents, who largely depend on natural resources that data centers may put under strain. The MP said he intends to do this by forming a parliamentary committee to scrutinize the government’s approval and regulation of data centers. This will involve a comprehensive review of Thailand’s current policy framework, including long-term planning for water and energy resources, stronger environmental safeguards, greater transparency, meaningful public participation and mechanisms to ensure that communities sharing the costs of these projects also share in their benefits,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/thai-mp-calls-for-new-committee-to-scrutinize-ai-data-centers-environmental-impact/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/thai-mp-calls-for-new-committee-to-scrutinize-ai-data-centers-environmental-impact/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324542</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Dangerous arsenic levels detected in Thailand’s Mekong mainstream for first time</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/dangerous-arsenic-levels-detected-in-thailands-mekong-mainstream-for-first-time/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/dangerous-arsenic-levels-detected-in-thailands-mekong-mainstream-for-first-time/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 May 2026 02:47:35 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerald Flynn]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/06/09223648/Fishers-Mekong-near-Chiang-Khong-3_stefan-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=318973</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, China, Laos, Mekong Basin, Myanmar, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Animals, Dolphins, Drinking Water, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Energy Transition, extractives, Farming, Fish, Fisheries, Freshwater, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Hydroelectric Power, Illegal Mining, Indigenous Peoples, Mining, Pollution, Rivers, Science, Tropics, Water, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BANGKOK — Thai authorities have found what they described as dangerous levels of arsenic contamination in sediment from the Mekong River and three of its tributaries in the northern provinces of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. Heavy metal pollution has been reported from key tributaries of the Mekong for more than a year now, but [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BANGKOK — Thai authorities have found what they described as dangerous levels of arsenic contamination in sediment from the Mekong River and three of its tributaries in the northern provinces of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. Heavy metal pollution has been reported from key tributaries of the Mekong for more than a year now, but the tests conducted in March by Thailand’s Pollution Control Department mark the first time that arsenic contamination has been detected on the mainstream of the Mekong, a vital transboundary river that supports thousands of plant and wildlife species and the livelihoods of millions of people. The test results published in mid-April show that sediment taken from three separate monitoring stations along the Mekong mainstream contained arsenic concentrations of between 73 and 296 milligrams per kilogram of sediment. According to the Pollution Control Department, concentrations of less than 10 mg/kg are considered broadly safe for aquatic life; levels higher than 33 mg/kg are deemed dangerous. Arsenic levels in sediment taken from various points along the Kok, Sai and Ruak rivers, key tributaries of the Mekong, all ranged from below the 33 mg/kg safe limit up to 57 mg/kg, the Pollution Control Department said via its official Facebook page, noting the contamination appears to be spreading through the river system. Thailand&#8217;s Pollution Control Department posted results of the sediment tests to their official Facebook page on April 10, 2026. Image sourced from the Pollution Control Department&#8217;s Facebook. Heavy metal pollution in the Mekong Basin has been widely&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/dangerous-arsenic-levels-detected-in-thailands-mekong-mainstream-for-first-time/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/dangerous-arsenic-levels-detected-in-thailands-mekong-mainstream-for-first-time/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-318973</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>The world’s great deltas are sinking — and with them, a global food system</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/the-worlds-great-deltas-are-sinking-and-with-them-a-global-food-system/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/the-worlds-great-deltas-are-sinking-and-with-them-a-global-food-system/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 May 2026 19:54:03 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Petro Kotzé]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/06160303/2-with-people-in-water-BANNER-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=318789</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Global, Indonesia, Mekong Basin, Southeast Asia, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate, Climate Change, Climate Justice, Conservation, Dams, Environment, Extreme Weather, Flooding, Food, food security, Global Environmental Crisis, Impact Of Climate Change, Mining, Oceans, Planetary Health, Rivers, Sea Levels, Sedimentation, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“I would like for me and my children to live here forever,” said Lâm Thu Sang, a resident of Vietnam’s Cần Thơ, a city of more than 2 million people located near the mouth of the Mekong River on one of the world’s largest river deltas. But that may not be possible. In the past, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“I would like for me and my children to live here forever,” said Lâm Thu Sang, a resident of Vietnam’s Cần Thơ, a city of more than 2 million people located near the mouth of the Mekong River on one of the world’s largest river deltas. But that may not be possible. In the past, about 160 million metric tons of sediment was annually funneled down the 4,300-kilometer (nearly 2,700-mile) Mekong River to form and nourish the vast delta where the river meets the sea. By 2024, that deposition rate had fallen by 70% per year — starving the delta of much of its source material. The Mekong flows through six Asian nations, draining a roughly 800,000-square-kilometer (309,000-square-mile) basin, until finally releasing its combined sediments into the 40,000-km2 (15,400-mi2) Mekong Delta — a complex ecological system of low-lying fertile lands and a web of waterways the size of the Netherlands, stretching from Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to the South China Sea in Vietnam. Unfortunately, the future of Lâm Thu Sang’s community and this great delta are seriously in doubt, with the delta doubly threatened by land subsidence and sea level rise. Mekong Delta residents say life there is changing. For one, annual floods have become longer and more severe. Image courtesy of Anh Duong Community Development and Support Center. Sang, who helps run the Anh Duong Community Development and Support Center, an NGO focused on eradicating poverty in remote areas of Cần Thơ, said that people know their delta home is&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/the-worlds-great-deltas-are-sinking-and-with-them-a-global-food-system/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/the-worlds-great-deltas-are-sinking-and-with-them-a-global-food-system/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-318789</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Cambodia tested waters amid pollution claims; months later, still no public results</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/cambodia-tested-waters-amid-pollution-claims-months-later-still-no-public-results/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/cambodia-tested-waters-amid-pollution-claims-months-later-still-no-public-results/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 May 2026 03:45:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Andy BallGerald FlynnPhoung Vantha]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/04025851/November-2025_Mongabay_Virachey-Mining-12-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=318641</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Mekong Basin, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Chemicals, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Ecosystems, extractives, Fish, Fisheries, Freshwater, Gold Mining, Governance, Illegal Mining, Indigenous Peoples, Mining, Public Health, Rivers, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Authorities from Cambodia’s Ministry of Environment were dispatched to Mondul Yorn, a small village in the remote northeastern province of Ratanakiri, on Feb. 13 to conduct water and sediment testing on the O’Ta Bouk River following community complaints of health problems linked to declining water quality. Then, from Feb. 17-20, the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Authorities from Cambodia’s Ministry of Environment were dispatched to Mondul Yorn, a small village in the remote northeastern province of Ratanakiri, on Feb. 13 to conduct water and sediment testing on the O’Ta Bouk River following community complaints of health problems linked to declining water quality. Then, from Feb. 17-20, the Inland Fisheries Research and Development Institute (IFReDI), a government agency that sits under the Fisheries Administration, sent two teams to catch 34 species of fish from the Sesan River and the O’Ta Bouk, a tributary that flows into the Sesan, itself a key tributary of the Mekong River. The O’Ta Bouk flows south through a gold mining operation in Ta Veng district before it reaches Mondul Yorn, where Indigenous Brao communities have reported experiencing skin rashes and itching sensations after coming into contact with the river’s water since gold mining began in mid-2023. To date, no results of water, sediment or fish sampling have been made public, despite experts urging more comprehensive testing and communities languishing in uncertainty over the safety of the river. IFReDI officials taking samples on the Sesan River in February 2026. Photo sourced from IFReDI&#8217;s Facebook. A park in peril Villagers living along the O’Ta Bouk report the river had turned brown and murky starting roughly in mid-2023; the mud on its banks, sticky. Many of the Brao farmers and fishers have avoided entering the water, drinking it or bathing in it or fishing in the river. These problems persisted when&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/cambodia-tested-waters-amid-pollution-claims-months-later-still-no-public-results/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/cambodia-tested-waters-amid-pollution-claims-months-later-still-no-public-results/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-318641</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Migratory freshwater fish are in trouble: Will we act in time to save them?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/migratory-freshwater-fish-are-in-trouble-will-we-act-in-time-to-save-them/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/migratory-freshwater-fish-are-in-trouble-will-we-act-in-time-to-save-them/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 May 2026 13:41:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Stefan Lovgren]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/01124053/24-BANNER-IMAGE-IMG_9540-dorado-parana-river-argentina-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=318549</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Brazil, Global, Latin America, Mekong Basin, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Fish, Fishing, Food, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Global Environmental Crisis, Migration, Planetary Boundaries, Planetary Health, Rivers, Tropics, Wildlife, and Wildlife Corridors]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[SALOBRA, Brazil — Life revolves around water in this quiet fishing village in Brazil’s southern Pantanal, the world’s largest wetland. Here, a clear tributary meets the broader Miranda River, part of a vast floodplain where multiple streams spill across the landscape and wildlife thrives. Jaguars prowl riverbanks, giant otters patrol the channels, parrots fill the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[SALOBRA, Brazil — Life revolves around water in this quiet fishing village in Brazil’s southern Pantanal, the world’s largest wetland. Here, a clear tributary meets the broader Miranda River, part of a vast floodplain where multiple streams spill across the landscape and wildlife thrives. Jaguars prowl riverbanks, giant otters patrol the channels, parrots fill the skies, and beneath the rippling surface, fish of every size and shape swim through a shifting watery mosaic, tying a vast aquatic ecosystem together. For 72-year-old retired fisherman Alberto Oriozola, the Miranda River was once both livelihood and lifegiving. He recalls, as a young man, looking down from a hilltop and seeing the river bottom appear to move with swimming pintado — the spotted surubim catfish (Pseudoplatystoma corruscans), their jaguar-like markings visible in the clear water. “You could choose the size you wanted to catch,” he remembers. Fish 3 meters (10 feet) long were part of the catch. Now, the largest surubim are maybe half that length, and far less common. Maycon Lopes da Silva (left) and Alberto Oriozola (right), two generations of fishers from Salobra, Brazil, reflect on declining catches along the Miranda River. Image by Stefan Lovgren. These days, Oriozola’s grandson-in-law, Maycon Lopes da Silva, 26, works the same waters but in a different way. He guides sport fishers who come in search of surubim (in Portuguese, or sorubim in Spanish), along with other large species, and he shares the river with his more than 18,000 followers on Instagram. Bare-chested and quick to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/migratory-freshwater-fish-are-in-trouble-will-we-act-in-time-to-save-them/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/migratory-freshwater-fish-are-in-trouble-will-we-act-in-time-to-save-them/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-318549</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Saline intrusion in Mekong Delta leaves farmers and scientists at odds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/saline-intrusion-in-mekong-delta-leaves-farmers-and-scientists-at-odds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/saline-intrusion-in-mekong-delta-leaves-farmers-and-scientists-at-odds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Apr 2026 22:49:50 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Minh L Tran]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/29170339/Khanh-Chi-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=318406</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Mekong Basin, Southeast Asia, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Climate Change, Climate Justice, Environment, Environmental Law, Freshwater, Global Environmental Crisis, Impact Of Climate Change, Research, Rivers, Sea Levels, Water, Water Pollution, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Vinh Long, VIETNAM — Khanh Chi tends a small apricot blossom orchard in Nhuan Phu Tan, a commune in southern Vietnam’s Vinh Long province by the Co Chien River, one of the Mekong River’s final distributaries before reaching the ocean. Her orchard is 55 kilometers (34 miles) inland. According to the provincial hydrometeorological observatory, Chi’s [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Vinh Long, VIETNAM — Khanh Chi tends a small apricot blossom orchard in Nhuan Phu Tan, a commune in southern Vietnam’s Vinh Long province by the Co Chien River, one of the Mekong River’s final distributaries before reaching the ocean. Her orchard is 55 kilometers (34 miles) inland. According to the provincial hydrometeorological observatory, Chi’s commune is the furthest point along the Co Chien River where, this year, salinity levels hit 4 parts per thousand (ppt) — the threshold at which rice farming is damaged. As saltwater pushes deeper and less predictably into the delta in recent decades, Vietnam has responded with canals, dikes and sluice gates to keep it out. For farmers, such projects offer the most explicit and immediate relief. Scientists say that might be a problem. Instead of engineering its way out of the salinity crisis, scientists argue, the region must adapt to it. “I buy freshwater, bring it back by truck, and just spray it like a mist,” Chi says, describing how she waters the apricot during dry season, when the river is saline. She used to grow fruit seedlings, durian and jackfruit but made the switch to ornamental plants as they are more resilient to saltwater. A few years ago, Chi dug a small pond in her orchard to store water when it rains or the river runs fresh. She uses it sparingly, enough to stretch through a few worst days of an intrusion. “The bigger the orchard, the larger the lake,” she says. “My&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/saline-intrusion-in-mekong-delta-leaves-farmers-and-scientists-at-odds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/saline-intrusion-in-mekong-delta-leaves-farmers-and-scientists-at-odds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-318406</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>A nature-based solution to save the Mekong Delta’s water future (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/a-nature-based-solution-to-save-the-mekong-deltas-water-future-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/a-nature-based-solution-to-save-the-mekong-deltas-water-future-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Mar 2026 10:01:30 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Pham Phan Long]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/26082735/52314040736_af2758dde2_3k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=316323</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Mekong Basin, Southeast Asia, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate, Climate Change, Commentary, Community Development, Conservation, Drinking Water, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Freshwater, Global Environmental Crisis, Nature-based climate solutions, Rivers, Solutions, Water, Water Scarcity, and Wind Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Mekong Delta of Vietnam ranks among the world’s three most climate-vulnerable regions. Known as Southeast Asia’s “rice basket,” the region is home to 18 million people, produces half of Vietnam’s rice and 65% of its aquaculture, but faces escalating threats from rising sea levels, water pollution, groundwater depletion, saltwater intrusion and land subsidence. With [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Mekong Delta of Vietnam ranks among the world’s three most climate-vulnerable regions. Known as Southeast Asia’s “rice basket,” the region is home to 18 million people, produces half of Vietnam’s rice and 65% of its aquaculture, but faces escalating threats from rising sea levels, water pollution, groundwater depletion, saltwater intrusion and land subsidence. With only 20% of wastewater treated and more than 60% of rural residents lacking safe water and sanitation, the region’s environmental and economic stability hangs in the balance. A new proposal, the Nature-Based Mekong Delta Water Replenishment System (MD-GWRS), offers a sustainable, cost-effective solution to restore water security, leveraging the delta’s natural features and proven global technologies. The proposed MD-GWRS will increase Mekong groundwater yield by 1.5 million cubic meters per day to 4 million m3/day (53 million to 141 million cubic feet per day) at a cost of $317 million per year, with a potential benefit of $450 million per year from higher agriculture yield and aquaculture production. A region under threat The Mekong Delta’s challenges are stark. Surface water, often a mix of stormwater and untreated wastewater, is heavily contaminated. Groundwater is increasingly saline due to saltwater intrusion, affecting 1.7 million hectares (4.2 million acres), while overextraction has led to depletion and land subsidence at alarming rates (1.1-5.7 centimeters per year, or 0.4-2.2 inches, in Can Tho). Sea-level rise (2.2-13.5 millimeters per year, or 0.09-0.5 in), frequent droughts, and reduced dry-season river flows exacerbate the crisis, threatening the livelihoods of millions and the region’s&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/a-nature-based-solution-to-save-the-mekong-deltas-water-future-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/a-nature-based-solution-to-save-the-mekong-deltas-water-future-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-316323</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>325 Long-neglected migratory freshwater fish species need protection now: Report</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/325-long-neglected-migratory-freshwater-fish-species-need-protection-now-report/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/325-long-neglected-migratory-freshwater-fish-species-need-protection-now-report/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Mar 2026 14:36:28 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Stefan Lovgren]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/25142004/0-BANNER-IMAGE-PHOTO-2026-03-24-11-41-16-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=316282</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Global, and Mekong Basin]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Fish, Fishing, food security, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Migration, Rivers, Tropics, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[CAMPO GRANDE, Brazil — In the wide, sandy stretches of Brazil’s Araguaia River, the piraíba, South America’s largest catfish, is a cornerstone of local fisheries. Fishers often recognize individual fish by markings and scars, catching the same fish in the same places over time, leading many to believe the species did not move very far. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[CAMPO GRANDE, Brazil — In the wide, sandy stretches of Brazil’s Araguaia River, the piraíba, South America’s largest catfish, is a cornerstone of local fisheries. Fishers often recognize individual fish by markings and scars, catching the same fish in the same places over time, leading many to believe the species did not move very far. But new work by researcher Lisiane Hahn reveals something surprising: The piraíba travels hundreds, if not thousands, of kilometers to spawn. Using radio telemetry, Hahn and her colleagues implanted transmitters in nearly 100 catfish, some nearly 2 meters (6.5 feet) long, and tracked their movements via a network of receivers. The data provide the clearest evidence yet that piraíba (Brachyplatystoma filamentosum), which can reach 200 kilograms (more than 440 pounds), undertake extensive, long-distance migrations. “As a researcher, it’s emotional to discover this in such an iconic species,” said Hahn, who leads Projeto Peixara at the Federal University of Mato Grosso in Brazil. “You imagine the largest catfish in South America moving across entire river systems.” Researcher Lisiane Hahn and her team implant radio transmitters in a piraíba on Brazil’s Araguaia River as part of a project tracking the long-distance movements of giant catfish. Image courtesy of Lisiane Hahn. The finding underscores a broader reality: Some of the most important wildlife migrations in South America — and around the world — have remained largely out of view. In the Amazon and other rivers in South America, giant catfish move underwater between nations along routes that connect&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/325-long-neglected-migratory-freshwater-fish-species-need-protection-now-report/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/325-long-neglected-migratory-freshwater-fish-species-need-protection-now-report/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-316282</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>The promise and perils of the 1995 Mekong River Agreement (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/the-promise-and-perils-of-the-1995-mekong-river-agreement-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/the-promise-and-perils-of-the-1995-mekong-river-agreement-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Mar 2026 09:52:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Pham Phan Long]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/03/30141735/communities-tonle-sap-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315485</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, China, Laos, Mekong Basin, Southeast Asia, Thailand, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Commentary, Conservation, Dams, Energy, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Fish, Freshwater, Governance, Hydroelectric Power, Law, Politics, and Rivers]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The 1995 Mekong Agreement was meant to be a cornerstone of cooperation for Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam — promising equitable use, no significant harm, and joint management of the river. The Mekong River Commission was its steward, tasked with data sharing, project consultations, and protecting the basin’s health. Three decades on, the MRC’s 30-year [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The 1995 Mekong Agreement was meant to be a cornerstone of cooperation for Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam — promising equitable use, no significant harm, and joint management of the river. The Mekong River Commission was its steward, tasked with data sharing, project consultations, and protecting the basin’s health. Three decades on, the MRC’s 30-year milestone in November 2025 painted a picture of “shared prosperity.” Officials highlighted flood warnings, environmental studies, and even China’s data-sharing nods. Despite the MRC’s claim that “working together is the only way forward” with “new solutions” to keep the Mekong a “river of life, not conflict,” this optimistic rhetoric has echoed for 30 years. In reality, the river faces “a death by a thousand cuts” — cumulative degradation from dams, sediment loss, sand mining, altered flows, and Lake Tonle Sap’s natural regulating role severely undermined — all of which the MRC’s 30-year approach has failed to stop. The 1995 Mekong Agreement and the disasters of dam-building spree Before 1995, the lower Mekong mainstream had zero large dams. The 1995 Agreement altered that. Laos built Xayaburi, operational since 2019, and Don Sahong, running since 2020. Those two alone sparked outrage from Cambodia and Vietnam over blocked fish routes and lost sediment. The PNPCA process, for prior notification and consultation, was supposed to lead to agreement. Instead, Laos treated objections as background noise and pushed ahead. Vietnam’s own tributary dams number 81; Laos, 75. Together, the basin’s total planned hydropower capacity is 23 gigawatts, drawing $50 billion&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/the-promise-and-perils-of-the-1995-mekong-river-agreement-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/the-promise-and-perils-of-the-1995-mekong-river-agreement-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-315485</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Cambodian market survey a snapshot of a resilient — but stressed — Mekong</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/cambodian-market-survey-a-snapshot-of-a-resilient-but-stressed-mekong/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/cambodian-market-survey-a-snapshot-of-a-resilient-but-stressed-mekong/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Mar 2026 01:59:10 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Stefan Lovgren]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/09230405/DSC00753-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315459</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Mekong Basin, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Aquaculture, Biodiversity, Conservation, Dams, Endangered Species, Environment, Fish, Freshwater Fish, Green, Rivers, Tropics, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[STUNG TRENG, Cambodia — Sunrise is still a long way off when the first fishing boats slip into the landing site at this provincial town along the Mekong River in northern Cambodia. The night’s catch is hauled ashore and moved in tubs and woven baskets to a nearby side street off the town’s main boulevard. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[STUNG TRENG, Cambodia — Sunrise is still a long way off when the first fishing boats slip into the landing site at this provincial town along the Mekong River in northern Cambodia. The night’s catch is hauled ashore and moved in tubs and woven baskets to a nearby side street off the town’s main boulevard. By daylight, vendors have arranged the fish across tarps and reed mats laid directly on the street. Snakeheads, catfish, barbs and loaches lie in dense, gleaming rows as the market swells into a blur of motion and sound. Motorcycles crowd the edges while buyers weave through narrow passageways. Vendors weigh, sort and pack fish for kitchens, restaurants and traders heading off to Phnom Penh. On this morning in early February, a team of Cambodian and international researchers also converged on the fish markets here and in Kratie, a town about 140 kilometers (87 miles) downstream, to begin a two-week survey documenting the aquatic wealth of the world’s most productive river system. More than 2 million tons of fish are harvested from the Mekong each year. Biologist and survey member Sudeep Chandra observes Chitala ornata for sale at the Stung Treng market. Image © Chhut Chheana/Wonders of the Mekong. The survey builds on a rare historical benchmark. In 1994, the late ichthyologist Tyson Roberts conducted a detailed inventory of fish species appearing in the main Stung Treng market. Three decades later, researchers are replicating that work, returning in the same seasons, to enable a direct comparison&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/cambodian-market-survey-a-snapshot-of-a-resilient-but-stressed-mekong/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-315459</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Farmers fear displacement, drought, flooding tied to Cambodia’s Funan Techo Canal</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/farmers-fear-displacement-drought-flooding-tied-to-cambodias-funan-techo-canal/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/farmers-fear-displacement-drought-flooding-tied-to-cambodias-funan-techo-canal/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Feb 2026 06:33:31 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerald FlynnPhoung Vantha]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/02/12060609/FTC-pt-2-banner-img-v1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=314184</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Mekong Basin, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Canals, Conservation, Drought, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Farming, Fish, Fishing, Flooding, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Governance, Infrastructure, Land Conflict, Land Grabbing, Land Rights, Land Use Change, Rivers, Traditional People, Tropics, Water, Water Scarcity, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This is the second of two stories about the potential impact of Cambodia’s planned Funan Techo Canal. Read part one, about consequences for coastal communities and wildlife, here. TAKEO, Cambodia — Thet Chanton finally finished construction on his new home along the banks of the Prek Bassac (Bassac creek) in Prey Sambor village, a small farming [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[This is the second of two stories about the potential impact of Cambodia’s planned Funan Techo Canal. Read part one, about consequences for coastal communities and wildlife, here. TAKEO, Cambodia — Thet Chanton finally finished construction on his new home along the banks of the Prek Bassac (Bassac creek) in Prey Sambor village, a small farming community in Cambodia’s southern province of Takeo. That was in June 2024. Just five months later, when Mongabay first interviewed Chanton in November 2024, he said local authorities had already told him his house would need to be demolished. “We had a meeting with the village chief, but there were commune, district and provincial authorities there too,” Chanton said. “They told us that Prek Bassac will be studied to become part of the Funan Techo Canal.” The canal is a controversial new waterway the Cambodian government is planning to link the Mekong River to the Gulf of Thailand. It will cut a 180-kilometer (112-mile) trench through farms, wetlands and homes in Kandal, Takeo, Kampot and Kep provinces as it goes. Chanton’s household is one of 400 the government estimates will lose their houses to the mega-project’s construction. The same estimates suggest that, in total, 2,305 households consisting of 11,525 people will be directly impacted in some way by the Funan Techo Canal. “We spent about $20,000 to build this house, but we did that with a $10,000 microfinance loan,” said Chanton, who owned a small rice farm around his newly built home when Mongabay met&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/farmers-fear-displacement-drought-flooding-tied-to-cambodias-funan-techo-canal/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/farmers-fear-displacement-drought-flooding-tied-to-cambodias-funan-techo-canal/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-314184</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Earth’s freshwater fish face harsh new climate challenges, researchers warn</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/earths-freshwater-fish-face-harsh-new-climate-challenges-researchers-warn/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/earths-freshwater-fish-face-harsh-new-climate-challenges-researchers-warn/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Dec 2025 17:08:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Stefan Lovgren]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/17154917/0-tagged-Mekong-giant-catfish-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=311558</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Alaska, Global, Mekong Basin, North America, Southeast Asia, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Extinction, Fish, Food, food security, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Health, Impact Of Climate Change, Planetary Boundaries, Planetary Health, Research, Rivers, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Southeast Asia’s Mekong River is one of the world’s most diverse and productive freshwater ecosystems, home to more than 1,000 fish species, including both the critically endangered Mekong giant catfish (Pangasianodon gigas) and giant barb (Catlocarpio siamensis). Many of these species migrate long distances and depend on the timing and extent of the annual flood [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Southeast Asia’s Mekong River is one of the world’s most diverse and productive freshwater ecosystems, home to more than 1,000 fish species, including both the critically endangered Mekong giant catfish (Pangasianodon gigas) and giant barb (Catlocarpio siamensis). Many of these species migrate long distances and depend on the timing and extent of the annual flood pulse that expands habitat and triggers spawning. But that seasonal rhythm is shifting as monsoon seasons become increasingly erratic — the result of climate change, with upriver dams adding to the water level fluctuation problem. There have been years in which Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake, the region’s major nursery ground, has failed to expand as it did in the past, reducing habitat for migratory fish. These changes in annual rainfall are unfolding on top of multiple stressors, including dam building, pollution and overfishing — altering habitats and driving species declines. Escalating climate change is adding a new layer of instability to the Mekong system. But how such pressures combine remains poorly understood. Floating villages along Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake rise and fall with the annual flood pulse that drives the Mekong region’s fisheries. When the monsoon is weak and the lake fails to expand to its usual size, fish habitat shrinks and local catches drop — conditions felt immediately by communities whose lives are tied to the lake’s seasonal rhythms. Image courtesy of Chhut Chheana/Wonders of the Mekong. &#8220;Climate change is a great unknown,” says Zeb Hogan, a biologist at the University of Nevada, Reno,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/earths-freshwater-fish-face-harsh-new-climate-challenges-researchers-warn/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/earths-freshwater-fish-face-harsh-new-climate-challenges-researchers-warn/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-311558</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New mapping reveals hidden mining boom in Laos that threatens the Mekong</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/new-mapping-reveals-hidden-mining-boom-in-laos-that-threatens-the-mekong/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/new-mapping-reveals-hidden-mining-boom-in-laos-that-threatens-the-mekong/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Dec 2025 05:02:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Andy BallGerald FlynnKonlaphat Siri]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/10044442/l.-GP0KGK_Low-res-800px-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=310956</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Laos, Mekong Basin, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Chemicals, Ecosystems, extractives, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Global Environmental Crisis, Gold Mining, Governance, Illegal Mining, Mining, Pollution, Public Health, Rivers, Traditional People, Tropics, Water, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BANGKOK — A new satellite analysis from U.S. think tank the Stimson Center has identified 517 suspected mines along rivers in Laos, including major tributaries of the Mekong, Southeast Asia’s longest river, heightening concerns about contamination of waterways that sustain local communities. Stimson has not ground-truthed the mine sites identified through satellite imagery, but Mongabay spoke [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BANGKOK — A new satellite analysis from U.S. think tank the Stimson Center has identified 517 suspected mines along rivers in Laos, including major tributaries of the Mekong, Southeast Asia’s longest river, heightening concerns about contamination of waterways that sustain local communities. Stimson has not ground-truthed the mine sites identified through satellite imagery, but Mongabay spoke by phone with several government officials in Laos’s southern border province of Attapeu, home to 188 mines in the data, who said illegal mining remains widespread despite recent crackdowns. “We still see officials carrying out inspections and confiscating equipment” from illegal mines in Attapeu, said one government official who spoke to Mongabay on condition of anonymity due to the limited press freedoms in Laos. The analysis shines new light on the scale of mining in river basins across mainland Southeast Asia. The issue previously caught the spotlight in northern Thailand earlier this year after dangerous levels of arsenic were found to be flowing downstream from unregulated gold mines in Myanmar’s Shan state. A proliferation of rare earth mines in Laos and Myanmar has also raised concerns about deforestation, displacement of local communities, and the transboundary contamination of rivers flowing downstream into Thailand and Vietnam. Using satellite imagery analysis, the Stimson Center has produced a dataset of various mining types identified across mainland Southeast Asia&#8217;s river basins. Image by Emilie Languedoc / Mongabay. Besides Laos, the analysis flagged 1,868 mines in Myanmar, 17 in Cambodia and one in Malaysia, believed to be a mix of gold,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/new-mapping-reveals-hidden-mining-boom-in-laos-that-threatens-the-mekong/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/new-mapping-reveals-hidden-mining-boom-in-laos-that-threatens-the-mekong/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-310956</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Toxic runoff from politically linked gold mine poisons Cambodian rivers, communities</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/toxic-runoff-from-politically-linked-gold-mine-poisons-cambodian-rivers-communities/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/toxic-runoff-from-politically-linked-gold-mine-poisons-cambodian-rivers-communities/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Nov 2025 08:17:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Andy BallGerald FlynnPhoung Vantha]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/24072528/Header-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=310021</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Laos, Mekong Basin, Myanmar, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Chemicals, Corruption, Ecosystems, Fish, Fisheries, Freshwater, Global Environmental Crisis, Gold Mining, Governance, Illegal Logging, Illegal Mining, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Mining, Public Health, Rainforests, Rivers, Traditional People, Tropics, Waste, Water, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[*Sources have requested pseudonyms be used to protect their identity out of fear of retaliation from the government or mining companies BANGKOK, Thailand/RATANAKIRI, Cambodia — “When you touch the water of the O’Ta Bouk River, the mud will stick to your skin,” said Thao*. “It creates skin issues and we can’t catch fish this year anymore. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[*Sources have requested pseudonyms be used to protect their identity out of fear of retaliation from the government or mining companies BANGKOK, Thailand/RATANAKIRI, Cambodia — “When you touch the water of the O’Ta Bouk River, the mud will stick to your skin,” said Thao*. “It creates skin issues and we can’t catch fish this year anymore. It’s thick, like condensed milk. The oil from the machinery floats on the water surface, so it might affect our health, like our stomach or intestines.” On the quiet banks where the Sesan River and O’Ta Bouk River (also known as the Prek Liang River) meet in the northeastern Cambodian province of Ratanakiri, Ta Bouk village is where Thao calls home. The O’Ta Bouk River flows some 90 kilometers (56 miles) through Virachey National Park, one of Cambodia’s oldest protected areas, before feeding into the Sesan River and providing water to Ta Bouk village, just 2 km (1.2 mi) from the park’s border. The O’Ta Bouk has long sustained the Brao Indigenous communities who live, farm and fish along the river’s banks, providing them with clean, potable water for generations. But Thao’s village is just one of the hundreds across the Mekong region that have seen their life-giving rivers poisoned by toxic runoff from an explosion of unregulated mining, much of this is driven by surging gold prices, rising demand for rare earth elements and limited government oversight or environmental standards. Extensive satellite imagery analysis conducted by U.S. think tank the Stimson Center has uncovered&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/toxic-runoff-from-politically-linked-gold-mine-poisons-cambodian-rivers-communities/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/toxic-runoff-from-politically-linked-gold-mine-poisons-cambodian-rivers-communities/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-310021</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>More Thai rivers and downstream communities at risk from Myanmar’s rare earth mines</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/more-thai-rivers-and-downstream-communities-at-risk-from-myanmars-rare-earth-mines/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/more-thai-rivers-and-downstream-communities-at-risk-from-myanmars-rare-earth-mines/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Oct 2025 03:08:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/20024951/WhatsApp-Image-2025-10-08-at-10.22.31-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=307939</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Mekong Basin, Myanmar, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Critical Minerals, Ecosystems, extractives, Freshwater, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Illegal Mining, Indigenous Peoples, International Trade, Mining, Public Health, Rainforests, Resource Conflict, Rivers, Toxicology, Traditional People, Tropics, Waste, Water, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BANGKOK — New satellite data identified 513 sites of rare-earth mining that have cropped up across at least six key tributaries of the Mekong, Salween and Irrawaddy rivers in Myanmar over the past 10 years. These include 40 believed to have opened this year alone, with the total marking a dramatic increase from previous estimates and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BANGKOK — New satellite data identified 513 sites of rare-earth mining that have cropped up across at least six key tributaries of the Mekong, Salween and Irrawaddy rivers in Myanmar over the past 10 years. These include 40 believed to have opened this year alone, with the total marking a dramatic increase from previous estimates and suggesting the risk of transboundary river pollution is significantly higher than once thought. The new data and analysis from nonprofit think tank the Stimson Center, published Sept. 22, warns that the proliferation of unregulated mining operations in Myanmar, which are already having dire outcomes in northern Thailand’s Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provinces, could be worse for the region’s rivers than expected. Brian Eyler, director of the Stimson Center’s Southeast Asia program, who conducted research on the river contamination in northern Thailand, said further testing is urgently needed. He urged other countries to begin testing their waterways potentially as far afield as Cambodia and Vietnam, because the potential for acids, heavy metals, arsenic and other toxins linked to mining flowing downstream is now significantly higher than previously reported. This testing, he added, needs to include the water, sediment and surrounding soil from rivers. It was the “sticky mud” that inundated parts of northern Thailand following heavy rainfall that first alerted his team to contamination on the Kok River, which flows into Chiang Mai’s Mae Ai district from Myanmar, before going on to feed into the Mekong River in Chiang Saen district, Chiang Rai. “That’s what’s&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/more-thai-rivers-and-downstream-communities-at-risk-from-myanmars-rare-earth-mines/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/more-thai-rivers-and-downstream-communities-at-risk-from-myanmars-rare-earth-mines/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-307939</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Protected areas hit hard as Mekong countries’ forest cover shrank in 2024</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/protected-areas-hit-hard-as-mekong-countries-forest-cover-shrank-in-2024/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/protected-areas-hit-hard-as-mekong-countries-forest-cover-shrank-in-2024/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Oct 2025 03:33:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerald Flynn]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[global forests]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/01/22033617/DJI_0794-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=307108</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Laos, Mekong Basin, Myanmar, Southeast Asia, Thailand, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, data, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Forest Loss, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Hydroelectric Power, Illegal Logging, Illegal Mining, Industrial Agriculture, Landscape Restoration, Logging, Mining, Protected Areas, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Reforestation, Remote Sensing, Sustainable Forest Management, Timber, timber trade, and Tropical Deforestation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BANGKOK — The Mekong countries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam lost a combined area of tree cover of nearly a million hectares in 2024, or an area almost the size of Lebanon. That’s according to Mongabay’s analysis* of satellite data published by the Global Land Analysis and Discovery (GLAD) laboratory at the University of Maryland, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BANGKOK — The Mekong countries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam lost a combined area of tree cover of nearly a million hectares in 2024, or an area almost the size of Lebanon. That’s according to Mongabay’s analysis* of satellite data published by the Global Land Analysis and Discovery (GLAD) laboratory at the University of Maryland, in partnership with Global Forest Watch (GFW). GFW data show 991,801 hectares (2.45 million acres) of tree cover were lost in 2024, including nearly 220,000 hectares (544,000 acres) of primary forest, across the five Mekong countries. More than 30% of tree cover loss recorded in 2024 occurred inside protected areas, although across the region, the rate of deforestation — both within protected areas and outside of them — slowed slightly from 2023. Despite this, the drivers of deforestation vary somewhat from country to country, and last year’s losses still reflect a grim trajectory for forests in the Mekong region. The economies of almost all Mekong countries are heavily reliant on agriculture, with forests cleared for both agribusiness-run plantations or subsistence farming plots. But research indicates the conversion of forest to croplands has resulted in increasingly unpredictable weather patterns and subsequently poorer agricultural yields. Illegal logging has also ravaged the Mekong’s forests, while large-scale infrastructure projects threaten critical ecosystems. Global Forest Watch data was used to calculate national level tree cover loss, while Mongabay&#8217;s analysis of GLAD data was used to calculate forest loss inside protected areas. Image by Andrés Alegría / Mongabay. Calamity in Cambodia’s protected&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/protected-areas-hit-hard-as-mekong-countries-forest-cover-shrank-in-2024/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/protected-areas-hit-hard-as-mekong-countries-forest-cover-shrank-in-2024/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-307108</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Shrinking Mekong megafish underlines risks to the river, study finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/shrinking-mekong-megafish-underlines-risks-to-the-river-study-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/shrinking-mekong-megafish-underlines-risks-to-the-river-study-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Aug 2025 14:16:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Anton L. Delgado]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/08/26093159/imgonline-com-ua-FrameBlurred-mmealfk1s0NBv-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=304811</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Laos, Mekong Basin, Southeast Asia, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation, Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Dams, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Megafauna, Overfishing, Research, Rivers, Tropics, Water Pollution, Wetlands, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The megafish of the Mekong River are shrinking, a new study has found. In the most comprehensive analysis of species size in Southeast Asia’s Lower Mekong Basin, researchers have tracked a generational shrinkage among the river’s iconic gargantuan fish, which are among the largest freshwater fish in the world. The size decline in the Mekong [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The megafish of the Mekong River are shrinking, a new study has found. In the most comprehensive analysis of species size in Southeast Asia’s Lower Mekong Basin, researchers have tracked a generational shrinkage among the river’s iconic gargantuan fish, which are among the largest freshwater fish in the world. The size decline in the Mekong is a troubling trend for the ecosystem on which more than 65 million people across six countries depend. It also mirrors shrinkages of other megafauna in river basins around the world. “At its core, the analysis shows that the Mekong River’s biggest, slowest-to-mature fish species, and especially those at highest risk of extinction, are the ones shrinking fastest,” Zeb Hogan, a co-author of the study and biologist at the University of Nevada, Reno, said in an interview with Mongabay. “Declining fish size isn’t just a symptom of overfishing — it’s a warning sign of deeper population instability.” A Mekong giant catfish release in 2007. Image courtesy of Zeb Hogan with Wonders of the Mekong. The study results are based on more than seven years of catch-monitoring data that tracked 257 species across 23 sites in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. More than 397,000 samples were collected from mid-2007 to mid-2014. These samples were compared to historical data from conservation information hub FishBase and the Mekong River Commission’s fisheries monitoring database. Changes in fish body size are a key indicator of fish stock health that informs fisheries management and conservation planning. Small and medium-sized fish species didn’t&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/shrinking-mekong-megafish-underlines-risks-to-the-river-study-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/shrinking-mekong-megafish-underlines-risks-to-the-river-study-finds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-304811</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Displaced and dispossessed, Cambodia’s ethnic Cham fishers struggle to survive</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/displaced-and-dispossessed-cambodias-ethnic-cham-fishers-struggle-to-survive/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/displaced-and-dispossessed-cambodias-ethnic-cham-fishers-struggle-to-survive/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Aug 2025 20:28:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Daniel ZakVutha Srey]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/08/06080118/fishing-net-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=303758</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Mekong Basin, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Development, Environment, Environmental Law, Fish, Fishing, Governance, Land Rights, Poverty, Rivers, Saltwater Fish, and Social Justice]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[PHNOM PENH — Mao Man, a 65-year-old ethnic Cham fisher in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh,  says he isn’t sure how many times he’s had to relocate in his life, but he thinks he’ll be evicted again before the Water Festival this November. Today, he and his neighbors live on small wooden boats, which they [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[PHNOM PENH — Mao Man, a 65-year-old ethnic Cham fisher in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh,  says he isn’t sure how many times he’s had to relocate in his life, but he thinks he’ll be evicted again before the Water Festival this November. Today, he and his neighbors live on small wooden boats, which they moor behind a luxury hotel. Like many Chams, being relocated is a constant part of his life, and the lives of his ancestors. But now, the pressures to relocate come wrapped in the language of environmental protection. “When I move, I float like a water hyacinth down the river,” Mao told Mongabay on July 6. Mao Man sits on the shore of the Mekong River near his boat in July, 2025. Image by Vutha Srey for Mongabay. The Chams are one of Cambodia’s largest ethnic minorities, though they aren’t technically Indigenous people. They’re descendants of Champa, a collection of city-states that once ruled parts of southern Vietnam. After the last Cham state was annexed by the Đại Việt monarchy in 1835, and a campaign to forcibly assimilate and dispossess the Chams was instituted, many fled to Cambodia and settled along the Mekong River, converting to a unique form of Islam and taking up fishing. Today, about two-thirds of all Chams live in Cambodia. Mao, like many others, has lived through decades of upheaval. During the Cambodian civil war, he had to flee his village in Kampong Cham, the province with the highest concentration of Chams.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/displaced-and-dispossessed-cambodias-ethnic-cham-fishers-struggle-to-survive/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/displaced-and-dispossessed-cambodias-ethnic-cham-fishers-struggle-to-survive/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-303758</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Specter of dams and diversion looms over Southeast Asia’s Salween River</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/specter-of-dams-and-diversion-looms-over-southeast-asias-salween-river/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/specter-of-dams-and-diversion-looms-over-southeast-asias-salween-river/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Jun 2025 03:48:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerald Flynn]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/06/19023446/Salween-banner-image-V1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=301033</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Mekong Basin, Myanmar, Salween River, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Agriculture, Community-based Conservation, Conflict, Crops, Dams, Drinking Water, Ecosystems, Environment, Fishing, Freshwater, Governance, Hydroelectric Power, Indigenous Peoples, Land Rights, Renewable Energy, Resource Conflict, Rivers, Traditional People, Tropics, Water, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[MAE HONG SON, Thailand — The shores of Myanmar became visible from Sob Moei village in northeastern Thailand as the morning mist rises over the Salween River, the flowing water the only border between Thailand’s Mae Hong Son province and Myanmar’s Kayin state. Flowing nearly 3,300 kilometers (about 2,000 miles) from Tibet, south through China [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[MAE HONG SON, Thailand — The shores of Myanmar became visible from Sob Moei village in northeastern Thailand as the morning mist rises over the Salween River, the flowing water the only border between Thailand’s Mae Hong Son province and Myanmar’s Kayin state. Flowing nearly 3,300 kilometers (about 2,000 miles) from Tibet, south through China and Myanmar, before joining the Andaman Sea, the Salween River is Asia’s longest free-flowing river. Home to more than 200 species of fish, a quarter of which are estimated to be found nowhere else in the world, and irrigating vast tracts of farmland, the Salween is a vital resource that provides food security, livelihoods, as well as drinking and bathing water to largely Indigenous communities across three countries. Devoid of the hydropower dams that have choked the Mekong River and its tributaries, the Salween unites farmers and fishers in Thailand and Myanmar more than it divides them. But planned dams on the Myanmar stretch of the river mean its free-flowing nature is far from guaranteed. “We get our food from the river, so if the Salween River is dammed or developed, it will definitely impact our families,” said Naw K&#8217;nyaw Paw, secretary-general of the Karen Women’s Organization, speaking at a protest against dams at Sob Moei on March 14. Hundreds of Karen protesters light candles to bless the Salween River and protect it from hydropower dam construction. Image by Gerald Flynn / Mongabay. At least 20 dams have been proposed or planned along the Salween,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/specter-of-dams-and-diversion-looms-over-southeast-asias-salween-river/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/specter-of-dams-and-diversion-looms-over-southeast-asias-salween-river/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-301033</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Rare earth rush in Myanmar blamed for toxic river spillover into Thailand</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/rare-earth-rush-in-myanmar-blamed-for-toxic-river-spillover-into-thailand/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/rare-earth-rush-in-myanmar-blamed-for-toxic-river-spillover-into-thailand/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Jun 2025 23:09:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Stefan Lovgren]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/06/09223618/sampling-at-ruok-river-EARTH-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=300466</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Mekong Basin, Myanmar, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Environment, Gold Mining, Illegal Mining, Mining, Politics, Pollution, Public Health, Rainforests, Renewable Energy, Rivers, Tropics, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[CHIANG RAI, Thailand — Just days before the water fights were set to erupt across Chiang Rai for Songkran — Thailand’s New Year celebration, held every April and known for its festive street soakings — the city’s residents received a sobering warning: avoid contact with the Kok River, which winds through this northern Thai city [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[CHIANG RAI, Thailand — Just days before the water fights were set to erupt across Chiang Rai for Songkran — Thailand’s New Year celebration, held every April and known for its festive street soakings — the city’s residents received a sobering warning: avoid contact with the Kok River, which winds through this northern Thai city of 200,000. The reason? Tests conducted upstream had detected dangerous levels of arsenic and other hazardous substances. The alarm had first been raised the previous month, when people living near and across the border in Myanmar, where the 285-kilometer (177-mile) Kok River originates, reported skin rashes after bathing, elephants showing signs of illness, and fish turning up dead in the water. Just as communities prepared to celebrate renewal and rebirth, their most important river was declared off-limits. Reports of skin rashes and fish kills in the Kok River prompted both officials and activists to conduct tests of the river water. Image courtesy of Ecological Alert and Recovery–Thailand. Since then, the situation has grown even more dire. Follow-up testing in both the Kok and the nearby Sai rivers has revealed widespread contamination , especially close to the Thai-Myanmar border. Most sampling sites have shown arsenic levels far above safety standards, and in some areas the water has turned an unsettling orange-yellow hue. Perhaps even more alarming, elevated arsenic levels have also been found in the Mekong River, which is fed by both the Kok and Sai rivers. Tests at two sampling points in the Mekong showed&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/rare-earth-rush-in-myanmar-blamed-for-toxic-river-spillover-into-thailand/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/rare-earth-rush-in-myanmar-blamed-for-toxic-river-spillover-into-thailand/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-300466</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Vital Mekong fish corridors tracked for first time, but funding cuts threaten future research</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/vital-mekong-fish-corridors-tracked-for-first-time-but-funding-cuts-threaten-future-research/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/vital-mekong-fish-corridors-tracked-for-first-time-but-funding-cuts-threaten-future-research/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Apr 2025 20:30:28 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Anton L. Delgado]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Food systems]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/04/18092515/A-fish-release-conducted-for-a-recent-study-on-fish-migrations-in-the-Mekong-River.-Image-courtesy-of-FISHBIO-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=297793</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Laos, Mekong Basin, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Conservation, Dams, Ecosystems, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Freshwater, Funding, Hydroelectric Power, Research, Rivers, and Tracking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The first-ever acoustic telemetry network in the Mekong River has tracked key migration corridors critical to the survival of fish in Cambodia and Laos. To conduct the study, researchers caught fish from a dozen species and implanted them with small electric transmitters before releasing them back into the river. A network of receivers allowed the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The first-ever acoustic telemetry network in the Mekong River has tracked key migration corridors critical to the survival of fish in Cambodia and Laos. To conduct the study, researchers caught fish from a dozen species and implanted them with small electric transmitters before releasing them back into the river. A network of receivers allowed the researchers to follow the migration movements of 81 of these tagged fish during both the dry and wet seasons. The findings, published in a recent study, provide empirical data reinforcing local ecological knowledge that underlines the importance of a free-flowing Mekong. With dozens of dams built, planned and proposed across the basin, researchers say the exact data points detailing the Mekong’s massive fish migration underline the risks of cutting off these vital migratory corridors with hydropower. “I hope this information gives pause to developers or governments working on those dams,” study lead author Jackman Eschenroeder, from U.S.-based environmental consultancy FISHBIO, told Mongabay. “We’re trying to build a road map for where these fish are going with our acoustic telemetry network but it gives us just a glimpse into what these fish are doing.” Researchers perform a maintenance check on an acoustic receiver in the Mekong River. Image courtesy of FISHBIO. This study is the first attempt to use acoustic telemetry at this scale in the Mekong Basin. Eschenroeder referred to the study as a “pilot effort” that highlights “the need to do more studies like this to improve the resolution of our knowledge.” But continued&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/vital-mekong-fish-corridors-tracked-for-first-time-but-funding-cuts-threaten-future-research/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/vital-mekong-fish-corridors-tracked-for-first-time-but-funding-cuts-threaten-future-research/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-297793</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Photos: Top new species from 2024</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/photos-top-new-species-from-2024/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/photos-top-new-species-from-2024/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Dec 2024 22:47:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/04/01222118/Image-1-Leopardus-tigrinus-pardinoides-Cuenca-3-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=292398</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Amazon, Asia, Atlantic Forest, Australia, Cameroon, Central America, Chile, China, Global, India, Indonesia, Latin America, Malaysia, Mekong Basin, Pacific Ocean, Peru, South America, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birding, Birds, Botany, Charismatic Animals, Climate Change, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Cryptic Species, Culture, Deforestation, DNA, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Endangered Species Act, Environment, Flowers, Forests, Global Environmental Crisis, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Herps, Insects, Islands, Lizards, Mammals, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, New Discovery, Oceans, Oil Drilling, Plants, Rainforests, Reptiles, Research, Saving Species From Extinction, Snakes, Solutions, Species Discovery, Traditional Knowledge, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A giant anaconda, a vampire hedgehog, a dwarf squirrel, and a tiger cat were among the new species named by science in 2024. Found from the depths of the Pacific Ocean to the mountaintops of Southeast Asia, each new species shows us that even our well-known world contains unexplored chambers of life. This year, in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A giant anaconda, a vampire hedgehog, a dwarf squirrel, and a tiger cat were among the new species named by science in 2024. Found from the depths of the Pacific Ocean to the mountaintops of Southeast Asia, each new species shows us that even our well-known world contains unexplored chambers of life. This year, in Peru&#8217;s Alto Mayo Landscape alone, scientists uncovered 27 new-to-science species, including four new mammals, during a two month expedition. Meanwhile, the Greater Mekong region yielded 234 new species, and scientists from the California Academy of Sciences described 138 new species globally. The ocean depths continued to surprise, with more than 100 potentially new species found on an unexplored underwater mountain off Chile&#8217;s coast. Two new mammal species were found in India this year, including the world’s smallest otter. Scientists estimate only a small fraction of Earth&#8217;s species have been documented, perhaps 20% at best. Even among mammals, the best-known group of animals, researchers think we’ve only found 80% of species.  Most of these hidden species are likely bats, rodents, shrews, moles and hedgehogs. Members of Indigenous Awajun communities in Peru&#8217;s Alto Mayo assist scientists with their research, such as throwing cast nets to capture fish.  68 fish species were collected, including eight that are new to science. Photo courtesy of Trond Larsen/Conservation International. However, while species may be new to Western science, many have been well known to Indigenous peoples and local communities for generations. These communities often maintain sophisticated classification systems and deep ecological&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/photos-top-new-species-from-2024/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-292398</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Thai citizens protest plans for Mekong dam amid transboundary concerns</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/thai-citizens-protest-plans-for-mekong-dam-amid-transboundary-concerns/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/thai-citizens-protest-plans-for-mekong-dam-amid-transboundary-concerns/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Dec 2024 01:34:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/12/09143453/Banner_-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=291356</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Mekong Basin, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Business, Conservation, Dams, Energy, Environment, Finance, Fisheries, Flooding, Governance, Hydroelectric Power, Industry, Politics, Rivers, Tropics, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Citizens in northern Thailand staged protests along the shore of the Mekong River in Chiang Rai province on Dec. 7 to highlight concerns about the Pak Beng hydroelectric project slated for construction on the mainstream of the pivotal watercourse in Laos. The project, spanning the river in Oudomxay province, Laos, is located 97 kilometers (60 [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Citizens in northern Thailand staged protests along the shore of the Mekong River in Chiang Rai province on Dec. 7 to highlight concerns about the Pak Beng hydroelectric project slated for construction on the mainstream of the pivotal watercourse in Laos. The project, spanning the river in Oudomxay province, Laos, is located 97 kilometers (60 miles) from the Thailand-Laos border. More than 150 people, including local leaders, farmers, environmental activists and representatives of women’s rights groups, joined the protest. They called on Thai banks to withdraw their plans to fund the controversial project, citing unclear environmental and social impacts, particularly the cross-border effects on communities and resources in Thailand. Citizens stage a protest along the shores of the Mekong River in Thailand’s Chiang Rai province. Image courtesy of Rak Chiang Khong Conservation Group. The Pak Beng development, co-owned by China Datang Overseas Investment and Thailand-based Gulf Energy Development, is designed to generate 912 megawatts of power, all of which will be sold to Thailand’s national electricity authority, EGAT. Citizens have voiced their unease about the project for nearly a decade, issuing open letters urging the Thai government not to purchase power from the dam should it go ahead. Yet a power purchase agreement was finalized in 2023, and the developer is seeking loans, with financial closure expected by the end of 2024. Niwat Roykaew, an activist from the Rak Chiang Khong Conservation Group, said halting the financial phase to delay construction is vital to allow the necessary studies to be&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/thai-citizens-protest-plans-for-mekong-dam-amid-transboundary-concerns/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/thai-citizens-protest-plans-for-mekong-dam-amid-transboundary-concerns/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-291356</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Record-breaking floods in northern Thailand intensify scrutiny of Mekong dam project</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/record-breaking-floods-in-northern-thailand-intensify-scrutiny-of-mekong-dam-project/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/record-breaking-floods-in-northern-thailand-intensify-scrutiny-of-mekong-dam-project/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Sep 2024 11:26:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/09/24105937/Banner-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=287768</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Laos, Mekong Basin, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Business, Conservation, Dams, Energy, Environment, Finance, Fisheries, Flooding, Governance, Hydroelectric Power, Industry, Infrastructure, Politics, Rivers, Tropics, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi, communities in northern Thailand’s Chiang Rai province are taking stock of the toll wreaked by heavy rains and rising rivers. At least 33 people lost their lives in the country since mid-August amid hazardous conditions that devastated riverside homes, businesses and agricultural land. The flooding has heightened public and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi, communities in northern Thailand’s Chiang Rai province are taking stock of the toll wreaked by heavy rains and rising rivers. At least 33 people lost their lives in the country since mid-August amid hazardous conditions that devastated riverside homes, businesses and agricultural land. The flooding has heightened public and policymaker scrutiny of plans to build a major hydropower dam spanning the Mekong River at Pak Beng in Oudomxay province in Laos. Experts warn the dam, situated 97 kilometers (60 miles) from the Thailand-Laos border, has the potential to elevate water levels in the mainstream Mekong and thus exacerbate seasonal flooding along key tributaries in Thailand. Local communities and civil society groups have raised their concerns about the project for nearly a decade, claiming the developers and their Thailand-based investors have failed to consider the dam’s potential impacts on people living upstream. Against this backdrop, policymakers, community leaders and local residents met Sept. 20-21 at a forum in the flood-stricken province of Chiang Rai to discuss the implications of the controversial development. The dialogue was part of an investigation by the Thai parliament’s Committee on Land, Natural Resources and the Environment into the potential cross-border impacts of the scheme. Somsak Kemya and fellow farmers in Wiang Khaen district, Chiang Rai province hold a banner that states: &#8220;Our farmland is flooded, so halt the Pak Beng dam.&#8221; Image by Carolyn Cowan / Mongabay The investigation meeting hosted by the Thai parliament’s Committee on Land, Natural Resources&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/record-breaking-floods-in-northern-thailand-intensify-scrutiny-of-mekong-dam-project/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-287768</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>On heavily dammed Mekong, tracking study tries to find where the fish are going</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/on-heavily-dammed-mekong-tracking-study-tries-to-find-where-the-fish-are-going/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/on-heavily-dammed-mekong-tracking-study-tries-to-find-where-the-fish-are-going/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Jul 2024 20:23:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Anton L. Delgado]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/07/24145631/A-fisherman-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=284969</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Mekong dams]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Laos, Mekong Basin, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Dams, Ecosystems, Environment, Fish, Fishing, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Hydroelectric Power, Infrastructure, Land Rights, Law, and Rivers]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Key migratory fish species travel hundreds of kilometers along the Mekong River, including through several active and planned hydropower dam projects in Laos, a recent Researchers outfitted hundreds of fish with tracking tags known as passive integrated transponders (PIT) before releasing them in the Laotian capital, Vientiane. Aimed at developing a better, data-driven understanding of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Key migratory fish species travel hundreds of kilometers along the Mekong River, including through several active and planned hydropower dam projects in Laos, a recent Researchers outfitted hundreds of fish with tracking tags known as passive integrated transponders (PIT) before releasing them in the Laotian capital, Vientiane. Aimed at developing a better, data-driven understanding of fish migrations in the Mekong, the resulting study, published this year, also found empirical evidence that at least some fish were able to make use of the fish ladder at the controversial Xayaburi Dam in northern Laos, a pathway previously considered untested. But of the hundreds of fish tagged, only five made it up the ladder. The study called for continued research to better understand “the migration patterns of fish in the face of upcoming developments” and cautioned that government plans to build yet more dams on the mainstream of the Mekong may turn this already treacherous fish migration into an impossible odyssey. “It is highly likely that [key migratory species] will be blocked from continuing long distance migrations, and subsequently completing their life-cycles, if planned [hydropower projects] are constructed without suitable fish passage measures,” the study says. A fisherman untangles his catch from the Mekong River on the Thai-Lao border by Chiang Saen. Image by Anton L. Delgado. Over more than a month in 2022, fishers in Vientiane captured hundreds of fish for the study. More than 230 individual fish were tagged and released, most of them gold tinfoil barb (Hypsibarbus malcolmi) and sharp-nosed&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/on-heavily-dammed-mekong-tracking-study-tries-to-find-where-the-fish-are-going/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-284969</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Will the Mekong and Salween pay the price of China’s energy transition?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/will-the-mekong-and-salween-pay-the-price-of-chinas-energy-transition/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/will-the-mekong-and-salween-pay-the-price-of-chinas-energy-transition/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 May 2024 02:13:32 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2016/12/21121432/Kaw-Ku-agriculture-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=282249</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, China, Laos, Mekong Basin, Myanmar, Southeast Asia, Thailand, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate, Climate Change, Conservation, Dams, Ecosystems, Energy, Environment, Fisheries, Freshwater, Governance, Hydroelectric Power, Infrastructure, Politics, Renewable Energy, Rivers, Tropics, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The energy sector is the single largest source of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, spurring plans the world over to transition the sector away from fossil fuels and toward renewables. While decarbonization plans by some of the world’s top emitters have generally been welcomed, energy experts say decision-makers must take care while designing decarbonization strategies to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The energy sector is the single largest source of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, spurring plans the world over to transition the sector away from fossil fuels and toward renewables. While decarbonization plans by some of the world’s top emitters have generally been welcomed, energy experts say decision-makers must take care while designing decarbonization strategies to fully consider the unintended social and ecological consequences of rapidly scaling up renewable infrastructure. “If we think of any major technological change, they always have costs and unintended consequences,” said Stefano Galelli, an associate professor of environmental engineering at Cornell University in the U.S. “The sooner we realize and address them, the more sustainable and equitable the energy transition will be. We have to do it right.” In a new study published in Communications Earth &amp; Environment, Galelli and his colleagues from China and the U.S. evaluate how China’s plans to decarbonize its energy sector by 2060 could have inadvertent but severe impacts on local farmland and transboundary river basins, including the regionally significant Mekong and Salween. The researchers also consider how alternative solutions and new technologies could help minimize the most egregious impacts. “Decarbonizing is essential, we have to do it,” Galelli told Mongabay. “But we must think about trade-offs with the environment now, rather than afterwards. Getting an understanding of what could come in the next 40 years can give us an indication of the least-impactful pathways and give us an opportunity to steer the boat.” The 1,750 MW Jinghong Dam was built&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/will-the-mekong-and-salween-pay-the-price-of-chinas-energy-transition/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-282249</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Banks backing Mekong hydropower failing on due diligence, report reveals</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/banks-backing-mekong-hydropower-failing-on-due-diligence-report-reveals/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/banks-backing-mekong-hydropower-failing-on-due-diligence-report-reveals/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 May 2024 14:01:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/05/20134939/Xayaburi_WA-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=282281</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Laos, Mekong Basin, Southeast Asia, Thailand, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Banking, Business, Conservation, Dams, Ecosystems, Environment, Finance, Fisheries, Freshwater, Funding, Governance, Hydroelectric Power, Industry, Infrastructure, Politics, Rivers, Tropics, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Major banks operating in Thailand and Vietnam aren’t doing enough to address the environmental and human rights consequences of their investments in large-scale hydropower dams along the Mekong River, according to a new report. The report, by Fair Finance Asia, a network of more than 90 civil society organizations led by Oxfam, and Netherlands-based sustainability [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Major banks operating in Thailand and Vietnam aren’t doing enough to address the environmental and human rights consequences of their investments in large-scale hydropower dams along the Mekong River, according to a new report. The report, by Fair Finance Asia, a network of more than 90 civil society organizations led by Oxfam, and Netherlands-based sustainability research organization Profundo, scrutinized the policies of three banks based in Thailand and three based in Vietnam, including their capacity to uphold their publicly stated environmental, social and governance (ESG) commitments. The findings reveal regulatory shortcomings at national and regional levels that fail to hold banks accountable for their investment decisions. The report also uncovered a lack of meaningful implementation of international standards in environmental and human rights among Mekong hydropower funders. Given that the power purchase agreements that essentially greenlight hydropower projects ultimately hinge on the availability of long-term funding, the report says banks and investors play an important role in ensuring that environmental and social safeguards are implemented by companies during the construction, operation and decommissioning of hydropower plants. The water in Tonle Sap Lake in Cambodia, home of one of the world’s largest inland fisheries, is channeled from the Mekong and its tributary during the wet season. Image by Carolyn Cowan/Mongabay. Experts are calling on banks and investors to adopt more sustainable banking policies and practices when deciding which projects to support. In particular, they call on the region’s financial institutions to align their practices with international standards. “Large hydropower infrastructure projects&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/banks-backing-mekong-hydropower-failing-on-due-diligence-report-reveals/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/banks-backing-mekong-hydropower-failing-on-due-diligence-report-reveals/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-282281</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Hydropower in doubt as climate impacts Mekong Basin water availability</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/hydropower-in-doubt-as-climate-impacts-mekong-basin-water-availability/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/hydropower-in-doubt-as-climate-impacts-mekong-basin-water-availability/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Feb 2024 03:02:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/02/21023908/IMG_3703-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=279039</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, China, Laos, Mekong Basin, Southeast Asia, Thailand, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate, Climate Change, Conservation, Dams, Ecosystems, Energy, Environment, Fisheries, food security, Freshwater, Governance, Hydroelectric Power, Infrastructure, Politics, Rivers, Tropics, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Shifting monsoonal climate patterns that affect the availability of water in the Mekong River Basin are raising questions among experts about the sustainability of hydropower as a long-term energy solution in the region. This was a major point of discussion at a recent online dialogue, hosted by the U.S.-based Stimson Center, in which regional experts [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Shifting monsoonal climate patterns that affect the availability of water in the Mekong River Basin are raising questions among experts about the sustainability of hydropower as a long-term energy solution in the region. This was a major point of discussion at a recent online dialogue, hosted by the U.S.-based Stimson Center, in which regional experts reviewed the findings of hydrological monitoring carried out by the Mekong Dam Monitor over the course of the 2023 wet season, and looked ahead to what might unfold during the upcoming dry season. The Mekong Dam Monitor, a collaborative project between the Stimson Center and satellite research consultancy Eyes on Earth, tracks 55 of the largest dams throughout the Mekong and gathers hydrological information about the river basin using satellite imagery, data from water gauges, and surface wetness trends. Panelists at the Jan. 26 event analyzed the complex interactions between dams and climate, questioning whether hydropower presents an economically viable long-term energy solution given that increasingly dry wet seasons are likely to compromise the productivity of dams in the river basin. They also proposed recommendations for improved management of the pivotal watercourse that traverses six countries. Scores of hydropower dams have been built in recent decades to harness the river’s flow for energy production, including 13 major projects that span across the river’s entire mainstream channel, with hundreds more either planned or under construction. Dams holding back water during the wet-season months to refill reservoirs have exacerbated severe droughts experienced by people and ecosystems downstream;&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/hydropower-in-doubt-as-climate-impacts-mekong-basin-water-availability/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/hydropower-in-doubt-as-climate-impacts-mekong-basin-water-availability/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-279039</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Landmark report on migratory species underlines threats to Asia’s wildlife</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/landmark-report-on-migratory-species-underlines-threats-to-asias-wildlife/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/landmark-report-on-migratory-species-underlines-threats-to-asias-wildlife/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Feb 2024 19:37:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Anton L. Delgado]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/02/12191542/Anton-L.-Delgado_Boatload-of-fish-catch-on-the-Tonle-Sap-River-in-Cambodia_3748-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=278789</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Global, Mekong Basin, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Fish, Fisheries, Migration, Politics, Protected Areas, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Populations of protected migratory species are plummeting worldwide and “levels of extinction risk are rising,” according to a landmark report that emphasized the devastating threats facing Southeast Asia’s transboundary wildlife. The release of the United Nations-backed report, branded as the first comprehensive, global study on migratory species, coincides with the Conference of the Parties for [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Populations of protected migratory species are plummeting worldwide and “levels of extinction risk are rising,” according to a landmark report that emphasized the devastating threats facing Southeast Asia’s transboundary wildlife. The release of the United Nations-backed report, branded as the first comprehensive, global study on migratory species, coincides with the Conference of the Parties for the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, or CMS COP14 in short. The borderless nature of migratory species makes them ideal showrunners for these negotiations on multicountry conservation efforts. Besides the cultural significance of many of these species, migrating wildlife also play a critical role in ecosystems. For example, migratory fish transfer nutrients between marine, freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems, while migratory birds and bats disperse seeds and pollinate flowers. Of the roughly 1,200 species listed on the convention, nearly half are suffering population declines, and one in five are threatened with extinction. While the migratory species report studied each major animal group, fish were by far in the direst state, with 97% of fish species listed on the convention at threat of extinction. A haul of fish caught from the Tonle Sap River in Longvek city, approximately 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Phnom Penh. Image by Anton L. Delgado. The Living Planet Index monitored nearly 16,000 populations of more than 1,700 different migratory species from 1970 to 2017, finding an overall average decline of 15% across all species. “It really is the first time this data has been brought together,”&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/landmark-report-on-migratory-species-underlines-threats-to-asias-wildlife/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/landmark-report-on-migratory-species-underlines-threats-to-asias-wildlife/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-278789</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘The police are watching’: In Mekong countries, eco defenders face rising risks</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/the-police-are-watching-in-mekong-countries-eco-defenders-face-rising-risks/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/the-police-are-watching-in-mekong-countries-eco-defenders-face-rising-risks/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Dec 2023 18:14:31 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hướng Thiện]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/12/06114122/Greater-Mekong-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=276749</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Mekong Forest Trade and Mekong Illegal Logging]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Laos, Mekong Basin, Myanmar, Southeast Asia, Thailand, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Conflict, Crime, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Journalism, Law, Logging, Murdered Activists, Murdered Journalists, Politics, Protests, Surveillance, and Violence]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[While attending a recent United Nations forum, Toto, a Lao environmental activist, had an opportunity to meet with a U.N. special rapporteur in person. In the end, he decided not to do so. &#8220;It would be great to meet him, but it would be dangerous for me,&#8221; says Toto, who like all Mekong-based activists interviewed [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[While attending a recent United Nations forum, Toto, a Lao environmental activist, had an opportunity to meet with a U.N. special rapporteur in person. In the end, he decided not to do so. &#8220;It would be great to meet him, but it would be dangerous for me,&#8221; says Toto, who like all Mekong-based activists interviewed for this story asked for a pseudonym to avoid government reprisals. “I was afraid meeting him would make it even harder to do what I am doing now,&#8221; Toto says. Souk, another Lao environmental activist, found herself in the same boat as Toto: They were both scared when they were asked to introduce themselves while participating in various activities at the U.N. forum. “Being seen as attending human rights events would put us at risk,” Souk says. On paper, U.N. protocols protect participants in U.N. human rights forums from reprisals, but this doesn’t necessarily provide activists with solace. Their concerns stem from harsh realities. In May, a well-known young Lao activist, Anousa Luangsuphom, was shot in the face and chest, sending shockwaves to the public at home and abroad. “We all know that our government is involved in it,&#8221; Toto says. Security concerns Across the Lower Mekong countries, the voices of civil society actors have been progressively more curtailed and controlled. Activists, journalists, environmental lawyers and others who raise attention for environmental issues tell Mongabay they feel threatened by increasingly authoritarian governments. In Laos, Toto and Souk have been struggling to strike a balance between&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/the-police-are-watching-in-mekong-countries-eco-defenders-face-rising-risks/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-276749</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Dam-building on Mekong poses risk to regional industries, report says</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/dam-building-on-mekong-poses-risk-to-regional-industries-report-says/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/dam-building-on-mekong-poses-risk-to-regional-industries-report-says/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Nov 2023 16:00:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/11/08154622/Banner-_-%C2%A9-WWF-Viet-Nam-_-Cham-Team_WW1269211-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=275173</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Laos, Mekong Basin, Southeast Asia, Thailand, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, Conservation, Dams, Ecosystems, Environment, Erosion, Fisheries, Food Prices, food security, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Governance, Hydroelectric Power, Industry, Infrastructure, Politics, Rice, Rivers, Supply Chain, Tropics, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Crucial industries and supply chains worth billions of dollars are threatened by impacts from hydropower development along the Mekong River, according to a new report from WWF. The report reveals how continued hydropower development along the major watercourse jeopardizes future economic growth in five vital sectors that underpin regional economies: energy production; fisheries and aquaculture; [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Crucial industries and supply chains worth billions of dollars are threatened by impacts from hydropower development along the Mekong River, according to a new report from WWF. The report reveals how continued hydropower development along the major watercourse jeopardizes future economic growth in five vital sectors that underpin regional economies: energy production; fisheries and aquaculture; rice production; sand and construction; and textiles and electronics. “The Mekong’s health is inextricably linked to multiple domestic and global supply chains, countless livelihoods, and the food security of more than 50 million people,” Lan Mercado, WWF Asia-Pacific regional director, said in a statement. “We must pivot towards a more sustainable and balanced approach.” Fisheries upon which millions of people depend for livelihoods and nutrition are among the key sectors examined in the WWF report. Image courtesy of Kelsey Hartman/WWF-Greater Mekong More than 160 hydropower dams operate along the Mekong River and its tributaries, which together drain an immense basin that spans six countries. Despite widespread criticism over their impacts on the environment and traditional livelihoods, hundreds more dams are either planned or under construction. “Maintaining the environmental integrity of the Mekong system has been overshadowed by an appetite for a narrow conception of economic growth,” the report says. “With development decisions proceeding at pace, often with limited or no integration or system-scale planning, the past 40 years have seen a major degradation of the Mekong.” Dwindling fish catches, unprecedented riverbank erosion, collapsing flooded forests, and a sinking delta are just some of the challenges&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/dam-building-on-mekong-poses-risk-to-regional-industries-report-says/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-275173</doi>				</item>
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