With 60 million people depending on its aquatic resources for food and livelihoods, the lower Mekong River Basin is threatened by rapid development that would adversely affect the people and wildlife within this region. To conserve the Mekong and help support the communities who live beside it, the U.S. Agency for International Development has just awarded a new 5-year initiative that will be led by the University of Nevada, Reno’s Global Water Center.