Rare earth mining is poisoning Mekong River tributaries, threatening 'the world's kitchen'

CHIANG SAEN, Thailand (AP) — Perched on the bow of his long-tail fishing boat, 75-year-old Sukjai Yana untangled a handful of small fish from his net, disappointed by his catch and fretting over whether he can sell them.

Some days Yana earns nothing: demand for fish is falling due to worries over contamination of the Mekong River and its tributaries by toxic runoff from rare earth mines upstream that is threatening millions who rely on those waters for farms and fisheries.

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Agriculture is the backbone of Southeast Asia’s economies, said Suebsakun Kidnukorn of Mae Fah Luang University in northern Thailand’s Chiang Rai, warning that rare earth mines are destroying “the world’s kitchen.”

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Thailand is one of the world’s top rice exporters along with India and Vietnam. It exported over $10 billion worth of rice and fruits in 2024, according to trade figures that rank the U.S. as the top rice importer.

https://apnews.com/article/rare-toxin-asia-food-energy-rivers-997fe49779594e002211352a019c1381

A lot of shrimp and farm raised seafood comes from there.