Biodiversity

Ecosystems

Iguana import ban: Thailand takes action to curb environmental threat

The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) has brought into effect an iguana import ban amid fears of rapid proliferation and potential environmental damage. The invasive species, discovered in vast numbers in natural habitats in the Lopburi province, have been causing distress to local communities by feeding on agricultural produce. The green iguana ...

Nattapong Westwood

Hundreds of newly discovered species under threat in Southeast Asia’s Mekong region

Nearly 400 species only just discovered in Asia’s Greater Mekong region could soon become extinct due to loss of habitat caused by human activity, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) warned in a report published Monday. The discoveries – including an orchid that looks like a “Muppet ...

Kathleen Magramo

Cambodia Seeks UNESCO World Heritage Status to Protect a Mekong Biodiversity Hotspot

A bold Cambodian plan to secure World Heritage status along their stretch of the Mekong, where the free-flowing river has sustained some of the world’s greatest biodiversity, could provide much-needed respite to a river in danger of dying from dams and over-exploitation, experts say. In Phnom Penh, the Environment ...

Tom Fawthrop

Pristine bay in Phuket under threat from marina developers

A marina developer has plans to turn one of Phuket’s few remaining mangrove forests into a new gateway for luxury yachts and cruises post the Covid-19 pandemic period. In Ao Kung, a quiet bay in the northern part of bustling Phuket island, Sujirtra Thothip stood in ...

Wanpen Pajai

In Vietnam, farmers show a willingness to work with the elephant in the room

Solving human-wildlife conflict is a complex issue and a pressing concern for a wide variety of endangered species, none more so than the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus). People living around Vietnam’s Dong Nai Biosphere Reserve, however, want to foster coexistence with elephants, not conflict. That’s ...

Sean Mowbray

Two-week old dolphin calf spotted in Mekong

A dolphin calf, about two weeks old, was spotted on Sunday in one of the Mekong River’s deep pools in Kratie province by the research team of the Fisheries Administration and World Wildlife Fund (WWF), who confirmed the sixth calf recorded this year. Ouk Vibol, Director ...

Torn Vibol

Can Mekong Stingrays Tell the Chinese Dam Story Well?

Can a giant stingray in the Lower Mekong be used to craft a good narrative about Chinese upstream dams? It can, according to an unsigned Khmer Times article in June 2022 about a 300-kilogramme stingray found in Cambodia’s Stung Treng province. The article quoted Zeb Hogan, ...

HOANG THI HA

Vietnam loses sacred cranes after habitat change

Twenty years ago, Nguyen Van Liet took scientists to the wetlands near his hometown of Tram Chim on Vietnam’s Mekong Delta to find sarus cranes, a vulnerable bird species according to the IUCN Red List, native to Southeast Asia, South Asia and Australia. “We had to ...

Tran Nguyen

Phu Quoc authorities order removal of illegal constructions in protected maritime areas

Authorities on Phu Quoc, a popular tourist island off the coast of southern Vietnam’s Kien Giang Province, have ordered the removal of illegal constructions in the island’s protected maritime areas following the report of Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper last week. On Tuesday, Phu Quoc leaders inspected the illegal works in ...

Duy Khang - Son Lam - Chi Cong / Tuoi Tre News

Explainer: What is ecocide?

What is ecocide? In short, ecocide refers to the mass destruction of ecosystems. Formally, it is defined as “unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment being caused by those acts”. ...

Kate Yeo

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