Environment and natural resources

Forests and forestry

Bushfires threatening forests in northern Laos

Thousands of hectares of forests in the north of Laos have been destroyed by bushfires, the blazes are yet to be brought under control. According to local authorities, bushfires have been reported in northern Lao province of Oudomxay, Luang Namtha, Luang Prabang and Phongsaly provinces, which ...

Huaxia

NGOs unite to protect 937ha forest in Kampong Speu

Wildlife Alliance Cambodia (WAC) and the Prambei Mom Forest Community (PMFC) have united to protect a forest area spanning 937ha across Kampong Speu province to conserve its broad biodiversity. Community forest chief Soeun Lay told The Post on Tuesday that the protected area consists of different ...

Khouth Sophak Chakrya

Billion-dollar wildlife industry in Vietnam under assault as law drafted to halt trading

Vietnam’s prime minister, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, has asked the country’s agriculture ministry to draft a directive to stop illegal trading and consumption of wildlife over fears it spreads disease. The directive, seen as a victory for animal rights organisations, will lead to a clamping down on ...

Chris Humphrey

Smaller fragments of forest at risk of greater levels of deforestation, study finds

Smaller fragments of tropical forest experienced forest loss at a greater rate than larger blocks between 2001 and 2018, researchers have found, prompting calls for restorative measures to be taken to increase cover in highly fragmented areas. According to a statement released in conjunction with the report, ...

Lauren Crothers

Ayeyarwady island eyed as Ramsar Site

The Forest Department wants to upgrade an island in Ayeyarwady Region that is a nesting site for sea turtles from its current status as a protected area to a Ramsar Site. A Ramsar Site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the ...

MYAT MOE AUNG

Coronavirus outbreak may spur Southeast Asian action on wildlife trafficking

Governments across Southeast Asia have vowed to strengthen cooperation in curbing the illegal wildlife trade, suspected to have sparked the novel coronavirus epidemic. The issue will be at the top of the agenda at the Biodiversity Conference in Kuala Lumpur later this month. “What needs to ...

Imelda Abano

Over 60 per cent of Myanmar’s mangroves deforested in the last 20 years

Mangroves account for only 0.7 per cent of the Earth’s tropical forest area, but they are among the world’s most productive and important ecosystems. They provide a wealth of ecological and socio-economic benefits, such as serving as nursery habitat for fish species, offering protection against ...

Survey Finds Decade-High Numbers of Irrawaddy Dolphins

The number of the endangered Irrawaddy dolphins found in Myanmar this year has increased to 79, the highest in a decade, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society of Myanmar (WCS). The numbers include seven calves aged three months or younger. The Irrawaddy dolphins can also be found ...

Zarni Mann

Guardians of the forest: six rifles and one bullet a day

In late 2012, a fire threatened to engulf the community forest of Huai Hin Kao village in Nong Khai’s Pho Tak district. Twenty local men followed the village chief’s call to help tackle the flames that came dangerously close to the community. “I learned afterwards that ...

Quảng Trị to plant 60,000ha of forests by 2030

The central province of Quảng Trị had over 110,000ha of forests for production as of early this month, 22,000ha of which have received Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) forest management certifications. Quảng Trị is one of the top localities nationwide in terms of forestation certified by the FSC. ...

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