Environment and natural resources policy and administration
Environmental impact assessments
Activists slam 'fast-track' order
Thailand’s grassroots network has lashed out at the use of special powers to “fast track” mandatory environmental impact assessments for mega projects. A network of 46 civic groups, including Sueb Nakhasathien Foundation and the Stop Global Warming Association, issued a statement on 9 March, calling on ...
Cambodia ranks low on global green list
Cambodia has performed poorly in the 2016 edition of a recent environmental report, ranking a dismal 146 out of 180 countries. The Kingdom returned one of the lowest Environmental Performance Index (EPI) scores in the region, narrowly edging ahead of Myanmar and Laos. Keep reading View the report ...
Koh Kong sand dredging impact studies due
The Ministry of Mines and Energy plans to release the environmental impact assessments of two controversial sand-dredging companies in Koh Kong “soon”, ministry spokesman Meng Saktheara said on 15 February. Activists from NGO Mother Nature – three of whom have been arrested for interfering with the ...
'No dodging' EIA on water plan
The development of two controversial water diversion projects would comply with an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study requirements, the Thai government insists. Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Gen Chatchai Sarikulya said on 12 January the government wants to study the prospects of diverting water from rivers forming a ...
Sand firms’ licences are revoked
Preah Sihanouk provincial authorities have revoked the business licences of four companies working across more than 10 hectares for alleged environmental impact. Keep reading ...
IFC to lead sustainable hydro in Myanmar
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has signed to advise the government on environmental and social risk management for hydropower projects nationwide. This is the first time anything like this will be done in Myanmar. Commentators say they hope it will serve as the basis for transparent ...
Green light for Mekong ‘time bomb’ sparks alarm
Environmental groups have expressed alarm at the Laotian National Assembly’s approval of the concession for the Don Sahong Dam project, which has been described as an “ecological time bomb” about to be dropped on the Mekong River. The Laotian government and the project’s developer, Malaysia’s MegaFirst ...
Krabi EIA on hold for clean tech study
The tripartite panel considering the fate of the coal-fired power plant proposed for Krabi must reach a conclusion before the project’s environment and health impact assessment is considered, says the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (Onep). Raweewan Bhuridej, Onep’s acting secretary-general, yesterday ...
Thai activists hold alternative 'review' of coal plant
Songkhla residents protesting against plans for a new coal-fired power plant and sea port in Thepa district held their own “public review” 28 July. The move followed their boycott of the third and final public of the third and final public hearing on the Environmental and Health ...
Thai court holds hope for transboundary justice in the Mekong
The closely watched lawsuit filed by Thai Mekong communities against the Xayaburi Dam’s power purchase agreement (PPA) has reached a critical juncture: the final day that the Administrative Court will accept evidence into the case. It has been just over a year since the Thai Supreme Administrative ...