Environment and natural resources
Forests and forestry
Boundary markers create concerns for indigenous people
The Bunong indigenous people in Mondulkiri province have expressed concerns about deforestation in the Phnom Nam Lyr Wildlife Sanctuary after a forest community spotted machinery in an off-limits area and noticed markers planted in the surrounding land. But an environment official claimed the machinery was being ...
Khorn Savi
Myanmar shorebirds get four-fold expansion in protected wetland
Twenty years ago, few conservationists knew about the Gulf of Mottama and the secrets hidden within its complex coastline. Its location in southern Myanmar is, like many parts of the country, rugged and difficult to access. However, in the early 2010s, everything changed when surveys lead ...
Ding Li Yong
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