Sawat Kaewdam, 48, an artisanal fisher, prepares a fishing net on the banks of the Mekong River in Ban Sob Kok, as prices have fallen and locals rarely eat fish from rivers due to fears of heavy metal 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, in Chiang Saen district, in Chiang Rai province, north of Thailand, November 8, 2025. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa