Environment and natural resources
Biodiversity
The Dammed Don: Lao hydropower project pushes ahead despite alarm from scientists
Snaking down the length of the Mekong River the beautifully detailed map looks strikingly like those marking the distribution of unexploded ordnance in Laos. The red dots that pockmark the course of the river, from its origins in the highlands of China to its outlet ...
Farewell to Vo Quy, Vietnam's hero of the environment
Vietnam’s Professor Vo Quy has passed away in Hanoi at age 87. The well-known and well-loved zoologist had a storied career that spanned decades and, even in his 80s, he was still working and busy, as passionate as ever. I met Professor Vo Quy in Hanoi ...
Wildlife group extends support for National Protected Area
The Wildlife Conservation Society-Laos Programme will continue to work closely with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to conserve the Nam Et-Phou Louey National Protected Area ecosystem. An agreement on the Nam Et-Phou Louey National Protected Area Management and Tiger Conservation Project Phase 5 was ...
Palm oil projects destroy local livelihoods: report
More than 1.8 million acres of palm oil plantations in Myanmar’s southern Tenasserim Division do more harm than good for local Karen villagers, causing land conflict, damaging livelihoods, destroying biodiversity, and polluting the environment, according to a new report. Companies and businesspeople have taken over ...
Takeo zoo animals to get new home in SR
A group of animals, including a family of gibbons, currently living at Takeo province’s Phnom Tamao Zoo are set to be transferred to Siem Reap’s Banteay Srei district in a bid to boost eco-tourism. The animals will be moved to the Khun Ream rosewood farm ...
Digital hub in private sector call
The Digital Economy and Society minister has called on the private sector to work more closely with the ministry to help Thailand become a digital infrastructure gateway in ASEAN by 2020. The evolution of the country’s digital ecosystem, especially in many crucial development areas, needs ...
Even as more new species are found, Southeast Asia is in the grip of a biodiversity crisis
Rich in wildlife, Southeast Asia includes at least six of the world’s 25 “biodiversity hotspots”—the areas of the world that contain an exceptional concentration of species in habitats that are also exceptionally endangered. The region contains 20 percent of the planet’s vertebrate and plant species and the ...
Largest number of rare pangolins freed into wild
The largest ever number of rare Java pangolin (Manis javanica), 54 individuals, were released into the wild recently by the Save Vietnam’s Wildlife (SVW) organisation in coordination with Cúc Phương National Park and the Hanoi Wildlife Rescue Centre. The pangolins were rescued from illegal traders in ...
Illegal wildlife trade remains serious threat as demand for rare-animal pets increases
Illegal trade in wildlife was the most serious threat that rare animals in Thailand faced this year and the issue is expected to remain a major concern in the upcoming year, the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department and experts have said. News about ...
Hemp growing initially to be limited to govt
Only government agencies will be able to seek permission to grow, sell and possess hemp – which is now classified as a type of narcotic – during the first phase of an initiative to legalise cultivation of the plant. Individuals and private entities will be ...
