by germainebull » 24 Nov 2025, 14:53
Tip Kamlue, a 59-year-old farmer from Tha Ton, Thailand, has long relied on the Kok River for his crops. But since April, the government has warned people not to use it because of contamination. Now Tip is forced to use groundwater to grow pumpkins, garlic, sweet corn and okra. He says half of his life has died because the river he used to live in is no longer usable.
A new report by the Stimson Center has found that more than 2,400 mines across Southeast Asia may be releasing dangerous chemicals like cyanide and mercury into rivers. Many of the mines are unregulated and pollute tributaries of major rivers like the Mekong, Salween and Irrawaddy. This contamination makes the water dangerous for farmers and communities that depend on them.
The study used satellite imagery to identify hundreds of alluvial heap leach and rare earths mines that are dumping waste into the Mekong Basin. The Mekong is Asia’s third-largest river and is relied on by more than 70 million people for agriculture and fishing. It used to look clean, but now it is full of pollution. Brian Eyler of Stimson said the lack of laws and regulations makes this area ripe for uncontrolled mining activities. This is what is destroying the lives of people like Tip and many others.
Source: Reuters
Tip Kamlue, a 59-year-old farmer from Tha Ton, Thailand, has long relied on the Kok River for his crops. But since April, the government has warned people not to use it because of contamination. Now Tip is forced to use groundwater to grow pumpkins, garlic, sweet corn and okra. He says half of his life has died because the river he used to live in is no longer usable.
A new report by the Stimson Center has found that more than 2,400 mines across Southeast Asia may be releasing dangerous chemicals like cyanide and mercury into rivers. Many of the mines are unregulated and pollute tributaries of major rivers like the Mekong, Salween and Irrawaddy. This contamination makes the water dangerous for farmers and communities that depend on them.
The study used satellite imagery to identify hundreds of alluvial heap leach and rare earths mines that are dumping waste into the Mekong Basin. The Mekong is Asia’s third-largest river and is relied on by more than 70 million people for agriculture and fishing. It used to look clean, but now it is full of pollution. Brian Eyler of Stimson said the lack of laws and regulations makes this area ripe for uncontrolled mining activities. This is what is destroying the lives of people like Tip and many others.
Source: Reuters
