Opinion | Why Asia’s dying rivers will take people and economies down with them

A recent WWF report sounds the alarm about the Mekong River’s fish. With one-fifth of species facing extinction, these vital creatures are under immense pressure.

The Mekong boasts incredible biodiversity, with more than a thousand fish species, including the legendary Mekong giant catfish. The report also said that given the limited data on fish conservation status, the true number of threatened species is likely much higher.

The Mekong River’s plight is just one example of a widespread problem across Asia. Freshwater ecosystems are collapsing throughout the continent. The culprits are numerous but common, including overfishing with destructive techniques such as explosives and electrocution, habitat-polluting industrial waste, sand mining and agricultural run-off.

In India and Bangladesh, the Ganges River dolphins face extinction. The global conservation body’s estimates show only 2,500 to 3,000 Ganges dolphins remain. Entanglement in fishing nets, dams fragmenting their habitat, industrial pollution and agricultural run-off are taking a heavy toll on their populations.

China’s vast freshwater biodiversity, boasting more than a thousand fish species, faces a dire threat despite recent promises to protect it. Notably, two-thirds of these species, including the critically endangered Chinese sturgeon and paddlefish, are found nowhere else on Earth.

However, China’s large population, booming economy and rising resource demands create an intense web of threats to its freshwater biodiversity. Water pollution, habitat destruction, river fragmentation, overfishing and invasive alien species all contribute to the decline in biodiversity.