Name: Toxic mining threatens Southeast Asias rivers, and communities
Uploaded: 2025-11-24T17:18:27.954Z
Duration: 3 min 20 s
Description: Pollution from rare earth mining in Myanmar is tainting rivers in Southeast Asia, threatening farmers, fishermen, and entire ecosystems downstream. One study found more than 2,400 mines across mainland Southeast Asia, many of them illegal and unregulated.

Pollution from rare earth mining in Myanmar is tainting rivers in Southeast Asia, threatening farmers, fishermen, and entire ecosystems downstream. One study found more than 2,400 mines across mainland Southeast Asia, many of them illegal and unregulated.

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Communities along the Kok and Mekong Rivers in Southeast Asia are facing severe impacts from water contamination linked to mining activities in Myanmar. Farmers in northern Thailand have been forced to stop using river water for irrigation due to pollution, while local fishermen report drastic declines in fish populations.

A study by the Stimson Center highlights that illegal and unregulated mines across the region may be releasing toxic chemicals, including cyanide and mercury, into major rivers. In response, Thailand has established new task forces to monitor health impacts, coordinate international efforts, and secure alternative water sources for affected populations.

Toxic mining threatens Southeast Asia's rivers, and communities

For most of her life, 59-year-old farmer Tip Kham Luu has irrigated her fields in northern Thailand with the waters from the Kok River. It flows down from neighboring Myanmar before joining with the Mekong River that cuts through Southeast Asia. But authorities in April warned residents to stop using water from the Kok because of contamination concerns. Since then, Tip has been using groundwater to grow pumpkins, garlic, sweet corn and okra. It's like half of me has died. When the river became like this, we couldn't use the river water, the water crops or for anything. If we use it on vegetables, people won't buy them. I just want those responsible to help take care of it. The contamination isn't just hurting farmers. It's devastating fishing communities, too. Forty-eight-year-old Sawat Khewadam, an artisanal fisherman from the riverside village of Ban Sob Kok, says he can barely catch fish from the river. If the Mekong River could speak, it would say it wants to cry. The water keeps rising and falling. There are no fish. The river would cry and so would we. We can't catch any fish. Where have they gone? I just cast my net across half the Mekong and didn't catch a single one. Before, there were always some. Now, where have they gone? A study by the U.S.-based Stimson Center found mines across mainland Southeast Asia, many illegal and unregulated, could be releasing deadly chemicals like cyanide and mercury into rivers. Brian Eiler is a senior fellow at the center. This story started with the impacts of only two rare-earth mines on the Kok River system. Those rare-earth mines were in Myanmar. Our research is showing that there are scores of tributaries of major rivers, like the Mekong, the Samui, the Irrawaddy, and rivers in Vietnam, that are likely highly contaminated. And this story is not known. So the extensiveness and the scale is something that's striking to me. The emergence of new China-backed rare-earth mines in eastern Myanmar initially set off concerns among researchers over the danger of downstream pollution along the Kok River. Thanaporn Phirnrath is from the Thailand Science Research and Innovation. The arsenic that appears in the water comes along with rare-earth minerals. These rare-earth elements are also associated with radioactive elements. Their concentrations rise and fall together. It has only been two years since the rise of rare-earth and gold mining in Myanmar at the Kok River's source. If this continues, nature will no longer be able to resist it, and contamination levels will rise sharply. From Myanmar's mining sites, raw materials are shipped to China for processing. Beijing dominates global rare-earth production, and has used these minerals as leverage in its trade war with the U.S. In response to questions from Reuters, China's foreign ministry said it was not aware of the situation on river pollution. Meanwhile, Thailand has set up three new task forces to coordinate international cooperation, monitor health impacts, and secure alternative water sources for communities along affected rivers.

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