Mekong River’s diverse fish populations face extinction threat

The Mekong River, a lifeline stretching almost 5,000 kilometres from the Tibetan Plateau to the South China Sea, is under grave threat. A recent report reveals that unsustainable development is severely endangering the river’s health and diverse fish populations. Consequently, one-fifth of the fish species in this Southeast Asian lifeline are on the brink of extinction.

The Mekong River plays a vital role in the farming and fishing activities of millions of individuals across six countries: China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. However, the river and its fish populations are being threatened by habitat loss, agricultural conversion of wetlands, unchecked sand mining, introduction of invasive species, escalating climate change and the fragmentation caused by hydropower dams.

“The most immediate and potentially escalating threat is hydropower development,”…