Freshwater ecosystems News

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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

In Chocó, river defenders say race for energy transition threatens lifelines

Euan Wallace 8 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
Leaching ponds have been drilled into the mountains of Laos, using a mix of toxic chemicals to separate the rare earth minerals from the other materials siphoned out of the ground. Image supplied by source.

Rare earth mining expands into Laos, threatening entire Mekong River

Mongabay 27 Oct 2025
Flowing from Myanmar into Thailand, the Kok River carries toxic runoff from rare earth mines into Chiang Mai province. Image supplied by Brian Eyler.

More Thai rivers and downstream communities at risk from Myanmar’s rare earth mines

Mongabay 20 Oct 2025
The Mae Moh power plant in northern Thailand's Lampang province is a significant contributor to air pollution and has sickened residents across Mae Moh district. Image by Gerald Flynn / Mongabay.

Anguish for residents as Thailand’s most polluting coal plant gets new lease of life

Gerald Flynn 1 Oct 2025
river

Uruguay’s green hydrogen plans raise ecological concerns in Argentina & at home

Ali Qassim 15 Sep 2025
Irrigation Dam 2 is just the latest in a string of dams being built atop protected forests within the Cardamom Mountains. Image supplied by source.

Cambodian irrigation dam construction threatens riverine communities in the Cardamoms

Gerald Flynn 10 Sep 2025
researcher glacier

Communities and ecosystems in Venezuela learn to adapt to life after glaciers

María Fernanda Rodríguez and Jeanfreddy Gutiérrez Torres 30 Jun 2025
Boats sporting "No Dam" parade down the Salween River along the Thai-Myanmar border in March 2025. Image by Gerald Flynn / Mongabay.

Specter of dams and diversion looms over Southeast Asia’s Salween River

Gerald Flynn 19 Jun 2025
Sakda Khayankitphuanphon took reporters into the old mining tunnels to see the fluorite that Universal Mining seeks to extract from the mountains. Image by Gerald Flynn / Mongabay.

Mining company returns to haunt Thailand’s Karen communities as resistance mounts

Gerald Flynn 4 Jun 2025

Lithium Triangle mining may strain water sources more than expected, study says

Maxwell Radwin 4 Apr 2025
irrigation field

Groundwater overuse puts Brazil’s river flow at risk, study finds

Sarah Brown 3 Apr 2025

Severe drought in Peruvian Amazon isolated more than 130 Indigenous communities

Aimee Gabay 5 Dec 2024

Six months after its worst floods, Rio Grande do Sul works to bounce back

Shi En Kim 28 Oct 2024

Record drought in Yucatán prompts revival of ancient Maya rain ceremony

Mark Viales 29 Aug 2024

Eucalyptus expansion worsens droughts and fires in Brazil’s Cerrado, conservationists say

Sarah Brown 27 Aug 2024
The Cerrado biome landscape.

Cerrado’s current drought impossible without human-caused climate change: Study

Molly Herring 31 Jul 2024

In Mexico City’s precolonial canals, scientists aim to save ancient salamanders

Boris van der Spek 16 Jul 2024

Global migratory freshwater fish populations plummet by 81%: Report

Liz Kimbrough 8 Jul 2024

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