According to International Rivers, the dam's construction would cause around 2,100 people to be resettled, and more than 202,000 people living in the dam's area would experience impacts due to the loss of agricultural land and riverbank gardens, bring an end to gold panning in the river, and provide less access to the forest resources of the Luang Prabang Range. The Xayaburi Dam would also have a significant effect on the biodiversity of the river ecosystem, and the fisheries within the larger Mekong River basin. According to a World Wildlife Fund (WWF) report, the Xayaburi Dam would drive the already critically endangered Mekong giant catfish (Pangasianodon gigas) to extinction.