Vociferous protest
Activists are up in arms against a Chinese government plan to blast rocks along Mekong river in order to make way for dams and shipping activities. They contend that the project will destroy the feeding and spawning grounds of various fish species, thereby affecting the region's ecosystem and the livelihoods of several fisherfolk and farmers. A number of sites have already been blasted in Laos and Myanmar, and several more detonations are planned in the two countries as well as in Thailand and China.
The World Wide Fund for Nature (wwf) and the Southeast Asia Rivers Network are campaigning to halt work until a comprehensive study is conducted, said Thailand's representative for wwf International, Robert Mather. "You're removing features that are very important for the biology of all aquatic species which live in the Mekong. That, in turn, has an effect on the local fisherfolk's livelihoods. You are removing the one place where fish can lay eggs and feed,' he said, addressing the authorities.
The activists had earlier rejected an environmental impact assessment study conducted by experts from China, Thailand, Laos and Myanmar after an Australian university called it "fundamentally flawed'.
The Mekong is the world's second most biodiverse inland waterway after the Amazon, with about 1,245 aquatic species. They provide most of the protein sources for the people of the region.