Sawat Kaewdam, 48, an artisanal fisher, sits on a boat with an empty net after fishing on the Mekong River, as prices have fallen and locals rarely eat fish from rivers due to fears of contamination, amid increased rare earth and gold mining at the Kok river’s source in Myanmar, where unregulated operations may release toxic chemicals, according to the Stimson Center report, at Ban Sob Kok, in Chiang Saen district, in Chiang Rai province, north of Thailand, November 8, 2025. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa