Environment and natural resources
Climate change
Poor crop hurts cashew farmers
Many farmers in the southern provinces of Bình Thuận, Bình Phước and Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu have been encountering difficulties due to a poor cashew crop caused by bad weather and plant diseases. Nguyễn Đình Chương, a farmer who has four hectares of cashew ...
A look inside Xayaburi dam
The Xayaburi dam, with installed capacity of 1,260 MW, is the first one among 12 mainstream dams on the Mekong river. Located approximately 30 kilometers east of Xayaburi district, in northern Laos, this $3.2 billion dam is a controversial case: while Laos and dam-developers are ...
Mekong water diplomacy vital
Dr Lê Tuấn Anh, deputy director of the Research Institute for Climate Change at Cần Thơ University, speaks to Sài Gòn Giải Phóng (Liberated Sài Gòn) newspaper about the negative impact of climate change. Do you anticipate that in 2017 the Mekong Delta region will face a drought as severe as last year’s? ...
Japan to help country go green
Japan has signed a three-year deal to help train government officials on attracting environmentally friendly investment. The Environment Ministry and Japan International Cooperation Agency on March 6 signed the agreement to educate officials about how to use environmental impact assessments and enforce pollution controls. The project is ...
Lights off in Vietnam for earth hour
Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Danang and 60 other cities and provinces will turn off the light from 8.30 PM to 9.30 PM on March 25, in sync with foreign countries. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has launched the Earth Hour campaign 2017 themed “Light ...
As global food demand rises, climate change is hitting staple crops
While increases in population and wealth will lift global demand for food by up to 70 percent by 2050, agriculture is already feeling the effects of climate change. This is expected to continue in coming decades. Scientists and farmers will need to act on multiple fronts ...
Climate captives: Life and loss in the Mekong river delta
The growing impact of climate change on the people living in the Mekong river delta is the focus of Singapore-based photographer Oh Soon-Hwa’s new solo exhibition. Submerged up to her midriff in the muddy water of a mangrove swamp, Bong is collecting her catch for the ...
Unusually strong tides erode coastal land
Hundred metres of land along rivers and coastlines have been destroyed by unusually strong winds and waves, combined with rising tides in the southernmost province of Cà Mau. According to the provincial Agriculture and Rural Development Department, waves and rising tides have caused severe land ...
Water experts: Myanmar needs to prepare for climate change
With the threat of climate change and population growth, Myanmar – a nation rich in water resources – has to put in place proper measures to ensure water security for the future, experts said. National University of Singapore’s Assistant Professor Dr Winston Chow, who has ...
Some business fields to face big challenges in 2017
The severe weather conditions in the first months of 2016 with drought and saline intrusion dealt a strong blow on Vietnam’s agriculture, leading to minus growth rate of the sector in the first half of the year. Agricultural production, which has just recovered from the damage ...