World’s largest freshwater fish threatened

The 16th Conference of Parties of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) has brought thousands of delegates from over 150 countries to Bangkok to discuss cross-border cooperation, sustainable use of biodiversity and transnational endangered species issues. … Construction has already begun on the first mainstream dam on the lower Mekong, and without improved planning and cooperation between Mekong countries, mainstream dams will have serious transboundary environmental impacts. The first of 11 dams planned for the mainstream of the lower Mekong River, the Xayaburi dam will likely have a negative impact on biodiversity, sediment and nutrient flow and fisheries production, undercutting the livelihoods of people living along the river in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. While many studies suggest serious negative environmental impacts of dams on large rivers, detailed studies of the ways in which Mekong dams will effect migratory fish are lacking, which makes effective mitigation nearly impossible. As the governments of Cambodia and Vietnam have already suggested, a new transboundary environmental impact assessment of the Xayaburi dam is necessary and must include rigorous research into the life cycles and migration patterns of Mekong fish, a topic which – despite the importance of the Mekong’s fisheries – has largely been ignored. …

http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/340170/mekong-dams-threaten-world-largest-freshwater-fish