Among the fish populations that could be harmed by the Xayaburi dam in Laos is the critically endangered Mekong giant catfish, considered by the Guinness Book of World Records to be the world’s largest freshwater fish. The fish, which grows to 650 pounds and about 10 feet long, is only found in the Mekong River. It is migratory, moving between downstream habitats in Cambodia upstream to northern Thailand and Laos each year to spawn. Some experts fear the Xayaburi dam could block the migration and drive the giant catfish to extinction. (Photo by Courtesy of Zeb Hogan/University of Nevada, Reno)

A view through mist shows the Kirk of Saint Mary Magdalene in Primorsk, Leningrad Region, Russia on March 24, 2019. (Photo by Anton Vaganov/Reuters)

Blaze, 8, from Swindon, is covered from head to toe as he plays in the mud at Weston-super-Mare beach on August 4, 2019, as the tide recedes and the huge expanse of mud flats cover the beach where holidaymakers enjoy splashing around. (Photo by Ben Birchall/PA Images via Getty Images)

The head of a mountain ram is attached to a wooden column at the site used for shamans' rituals in the Aldyn Bulak area on the bank of the Yenisei River during sunset outside the village of Elegest, Tuva region, Southern Siberia, Russia, October 7, 2015. The region is inhabited by Tuvans, historically cattle-herding nomads, who nowadays practise two main confessions – Buddhism and Shamanism. (Photo by Ilya Naymushin/Reuters)

Partner of Team USA's Dustin Johnson, Paulina Gretzky celebrates with champagne after winning over Team Europe during Sunday Singles Matches of the 43rd Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits on September 26, 2021 in Kohler, Wisconsin. (Photo by Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

Pope Francis looks at an acrobat of the “Black Blues Brothers” performing during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022. (Photo by Andrew Medichini/AP Photo)

Filipino typhoon victims walk through heavy mud in the typhoon hit town of Taft, Samar island, Philippines, 08 December 2014. Typhoon Hagupit weakened into a tropical storm as it moved towards the Philippine capital after killing at least 27 people and displacing more than one million people in the eastern and central provinces. Hagupit slammed into the country's eastern coast on 06 December evening, bringing heavy rains and gale-force winds that flattened homes, ripped off roofs, and knocked out power and communications. (Photo by Francis R. Malasig/EPA)

A pigeon eating cherries in Bydgoszcz, Poland on September 14, 2018. The pigeon was captured at dinnertime, as he was caught on camera with its mouth full of a cherry. (Photo by Piotr Grny/Caters News Agency)