Mekong river News

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Farmers sow rice in Vietnam's Mekong Delta.

A nature-based solution to save the Mekong Delta’s water future (commentary)

Pham Phan Long 26 Mar 2026
Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia.

The promise and perils of the 1995 Mekong River Agreement (commentary)

Pham Phan Long 10 Mar 2026

Cambodian market survey a snapshot of a resilient — but stressed — Mekong

Stefan Lovgren 10 Mar 2026
Community members gather as a tagged Mekong giant catfish (Pangasianodon gigas) is prepared for release in the Cambodian stretch of the Mekong River.

Earth’s freshwater fish face harsh new climate challenges, researchers warn

Stefan Lovgren 17 Dec 2025
A woman gathers plants along the banks of the Mekong River while a child plays in the background. Water levels of the mighty Mekong River have dropped drastically due to drought-like conditions and damming upstream. The drop disrupts the region’s water supply, transport routes, and the livelihood of communities in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts that more than one billion people will face water shortages due to climate change. Credit: © Greenpeace / Vinai Dithajohn

New mapping reveals hidden mining boom in Laos that threatens the Mekong

Andy Ball, Gerald Flynn, Konlaphat Siri 10 Dec 2025
Satellite imagery from February 2025 shows the transformation of the landscape at Global Green's gold mine, which is believed to be contaminating the O'Ta Bouk River. Image provided by Google Earth, Maxar Technologies.

Toxic runoff from politically linked gold mine poisons Cambodian rivers, communities

Andy Ball, Gerald Flynn, Phoung Vantha 24 Nov 2025
A 1.72-meter (5.6-foot), 102-kilogram (225-pound) Mekong giant barb caught in Tonle Sap Lake in December, 2002.

Shrinking Mekong megafish underlines risks to the river, study finds

Anton L. Delgado 26 Aug 2025
A fisher casts a small fishing net to catch fish for his family outside Phnom Penh, 2024.

Displaced and dispossessed, Cambodia’s ethnic Cham fishers struggle to survive

Daniel Zak, Vutha Srey 7 Aug 2025

Rare earth rush in Myanmar blamed for toxic river spillover into Thailand

Stefan Lovgren 9 Jun 2025
A fish release conducted for a recent study on fish migrations in the Mekong River.

Vital Mekong fish corridors tracked for first time, but funding cuts threaten future research

Anton L. Delgado 18 Apr 2025

Landmark report on migratory species underlines threats to Asia’s wildlife

Anton L. Delgado 12 Feb 2024

‘The police are watching’: In Mekong countries, eco defenders face rising risks

Hướng Thiện 18 Dec 2023
A dismembered tree in Chhaeb-Preah Roka Wildlife Sanctuary documented in April 2023. Image by Andy Ball / Mongabay.

Communities track a path of destruction through a Cambodian wildlife sanctuary

Gerald Flynn, Andy Ball, Meng Kroypunlok 9 Oct 2023
An aerial view of a new road that leads from Think Biotech’s concession into the Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary where illegal logging is taking place. Image by Andy Ball / Mongabay.

Logging route cut into Cambodia’s Prey Lang from Think Biotech’s concession

Gerald Flynn, Andy Ball, Meng Kroypunlok 5 Oct 2023
Long-tailed macaque. Image by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay.

Skepticism as Cambodia expands protected areas by more than a million hectares

Gerald Flynn 29 Aug 2023
A fish in a plastic glove.

Clean me a river: Southeast Asia chokes on Mekong plastic pollution

Juliette Portala 18 Jul 2023
Mekong giant catfish

‘Chasing giants’: Q&A with megafish biologist and author Zeb Hogan

Carolyn Cowan 9 May 2023
Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia.

Robust river governance key to restoring Mekong River vitality in face of dams

Carolyn Cowan 30 Mar 2023
Fishers pull in nets on Tonle Sap Lake in Cambodia

As hydropower dams quell the Mekong’s life force, what are the costs?

Carolyn Cowan 29 Mar 2023

For Thai fishers facing dwindling catches, a Lao dam looms large

Tom Fawthrop 10 Jun 2022

For Mekong officials fighting timber traffickers, a chance to level up

John Cannon 13 Dec 2021

In Laos, a ‘very dangerous dam’ threatens an ancient world heritage site

Tom Fawthrop 10 Dec 2021

Study puts 2050 deadline on tipping point for Mekong Delta salinity

Zoe Osborne 22 Jul 2021

Our World Heritage is deeply tied to rivers and they need protection from dams (commentary)

Gary Lee, Sarinee Achavanuntakul, Eugene Simonov 9 Jul 2021

Analysis: Years in the making, Vietnam’s Mekong Delta policy takes the long view

David E. Brown 30 Dec 2020

Analysis: How Vietnam came to embrace a new vision of the Mekong Delta’s future

David E. Brown 24 Dec 2020

China held water back from drought-stricken Mekong countries, report says

Michael Tatarski 30 Apr 2020

Past and future tropical dams devastating to fish the world over: Study

Asher Elbein 21 Feb 2020

Lao government says it will suspend new hydro projects after dam collapse kills 31

Mongabay 13 Aug 2018

‘If it’s going to kill us, OK, we’ll die’: Villagers stand firm as Cambodian dam begins to fill

Jenny Denton 18 Oct 2017

HydroCalculator: new, free, online tool helps citizens assess dams

Claire Salisbury 7 Aug 2017

A rising chorus of voices condemns Laos’ planned Pak Beng dam

Jenny Denton 2 Jun 2017

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