Environment and natural resources
Biodiversity
Rhino horns pierce a wall between crime and affluence in Vietnam
A suspicious package listed as textiles arrived at Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport in July 2019. For fabric, the parcel was heavy, weighing in at 126.5 kilograms (278.8 pounds). Customs officials flagged the goods. On inspection, police found 55 rhino horns encased in plaster. An investigation ...
GOVI SNELL
Greater Mekong primates struggle to cling on amid persistent threats: Report
When scientists described the Popa langur (Trachypithecus popa) as a species new to science in 2020, it was already staring extinction in the face. Fewer than 260 of the fluffy gray leaf-eating monkeys are estimated to remain across four precariously isolated patches of forest on Myanmar’s central ...
Carolyn Cowan
Endangered ‘barking deer’ strikes a pose for conservationists
The spots on the back of the large-antlered muntjac may have given it away as a fawn, but the photo of the deer suckling from its mother served as confirmation. Photographs of the moment are the first known images of a large-antlered muntjac fawn in Cambodia. ...
ANTON L. DELGADO
Group starts ‘one-dollar’ campaign to protect forest
A local community in Oddar Meanchey province is doing an online “one-dollar” campaign to raise funds for forest protection after facing personnel shortfalls for their patrolling, leaving much of the Sorng Rukhavorn Wildlife Sanctuary’s more than 30,000ha unprotected. The Sorng Rukhavorn forest community said forestry crimes ...
Long Kimmarita
Scientists step up hunt for ‘Asian unicorn’, one of world’s rarest animals
Weighing 80-100kg and sporting long straight horns, white spots on its face and large facial scent glands, the saola does not sound like an animal that would be hard to spot. But it was not until 1992 that this elusive creature was discovered, becoming the first ...
Veronika Perková
Thai construction tycoon jailed for poaching protected animals
Thailand’s supreme court has sentenced construction tycoon Premchai Karnasuta to two and a half years in prison without probation on charges related to the poaching of protected animals, a prosecutor told Reuters news agency. Premchai, president of Thai construction company Italian-Thai Development, was found guilty on ...
AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES
Ben Tre develops forests in climate change response
The People’s Committee of southern Ben Tre province has issued a plan to carry out a project on coastal forest protection and development in adaptation with climate change and green growth promotion for the 2021-2030 period. Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Minh Canh said the ...
VNA
New dams on 3S rivers endanger survival of the Mekong
“It’s rare to see the birds these days, they’re gone. They lived off the fish, but most of the fish are gone too,” says Vuth Khat as he tours what used to be his village in the northeastern Cambodian province of Stung Treng and talks ...
Gerald Flynn, Phoung Vantha
Thailand endorses projects for the conservation of marine mammals
The government is proceeding with conservation and management efforts for marine mammals by enforcing regulations that are in line with international practices, to prevent negative effects on Thai seafood exports. Deputy Prime Minister Gen. Prawit Wongsuwon presided over a meeting of the National Fishery Committee, which gave an endorsement to urgent projects ...
Pattaya Mail
The Greater Mekong region: A hotspot of wildlife and crime
Did you know that illegal logging can be five times as lucrative as selling the world’s most well-known soda? In 2020, the Coca-Cola company reported $33 billion in revenue. The global illegal timber trade, in comparison, generates up to $152 billion a year — accounting for up ...
Sheryl Lee Tian Tong