Dams lead to extinction
Before being officially declared extinct by scientists late last month, the Chinese paddlefish, a native to the Yangtze River system, had been listed along with the Mekong giant catfish as “critically endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The extinction of the paddlefish, one of the world’s largest freshwater species, will perhaps serve as a wake-up call to the builders of dams in the Mekong and regional policymakers about the seriousness of the adverse impacts existing and planned hydropower projects can have.
Editorial
