The article "Balancing hydropower and biodiversity in the Amazon, Congo, and Mekong" by Winemiller et al. (2016) highlights the unprecedented boom in hydropower dam construction in the world's most biodiverse river basins—Amazon, Congo, and Mekong. While these projects address energy needs, they often overestimate economic benefits and underestimate their far-reaching impacts on biodiversity and fisheries. The authors emphasize the need for basin-scale planning to minimize biodiversity loss and other environmental, social, and economic effects. They argue that current site-specific assessments often overlook cumulative impacts, such as changes in hydrology and ecosystem services, and call for more sophisticated and holistic planning that includes validation of technologies to mitigate environmental impacts. The article also discusses the specific impacts of dams on fish diversity, seasonal flood pulses, and regional food security, and recommends that institutions involved in hydropower development require basin-scale analyses that account for cumulative impacts and climate change. Without careful planning, the authors warn that species extinctions and basin-wide declines in fisheries and ecosystem services are inevitable.The article "Balancing hydropower and biodiversity in the Amazon, Congo, and Mekong" by Winemiller et al. (2016) highlights the unprecedented boom in hydropower dam construction in the world's most biodiverse river basins—Amazon, Congo, and Mekong. While these projects address energy needs, they often overestimate economic benefits and underestimate their far-reaching impacts on biodiversity and fisheries. The authors emphasize the need for basin-scale planning to minimize biodiversity loss and other environmental, social, and economic effects. They argue that current site-specific assessments often overlook cumulative impacts, such as changes in hydrology and ecosystem services, and call for more sophisticated and holistic planning that includes validation of technologies to mitigate environmental impacts. The article also discusses the specific impacts of dams on fish diversity, seasonal flood pulses, and regional food security, and recommends that institutions involved in hydropower development require basin-scale analyses that account for cumulative impacts and climate change. Without careful planning, the authors warn that species extinctions and basin-wide declines in fisheries and ecosystem services are inevitable.