Environment and natural resources
Forests and forestry
Close to 108,260 ha of new forest planted during year’s first half
A total of 108,258 ha of forest were planted in the first six months, up 22 percent on-year. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, during the period, the entire nations prepared nearly 650 million saplings for afforestation, an annual increase of 43 percent. To ...
VNA
New Unesco heritage bid for forest site
Thailand will push ahead with another attempt to secure Unesco World Heritage site status for the Kaeng Krachan Forest Complex at the annual World Heritage Convention this month, said Varawut Silpa-archa, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment. The country’s largest national park, covering a 2.9-million rai ...
POST REPORTERS
Deforestation of endangered wildlife habitat continues to surge in southern Myanmar
Tanintharyi, Myanmar’s portion of the spit of land that splits the Gulf of Thailand from the Andaman Sea, is still swathed in old growth rainforest home to a unique medley of animals and plants – some of which are endangered and found nowhere else on ...
Morgan Erickson-Davis
Forest loss in mountains of Southeast Asia accelerates at ‘shocking’ pace
Southeast Asia is home to roughly half of the world’s tropical mountain forests. These highland ecosystems support massive carbon stores and tremendous biodiversity, including a host of species that occur nowhere else on the planet. But new evidence suggests these havens are in grave danger. ...
Carolyn Cowan
Wildlife trafficking in Vietnam remains complex: report
The report was based on a survey carried out across 20 provinces and cities nationwide in 2019-20. Vietnam is viewed as a hotspot for transportation and consumption of wildlife products of the world. Despite the Government’s efforts to prevent the illegal trade after COVID-19 broke out, ...
VNA
Myanmar Junta to Sell More Timber in Search for Hard Currency
Myanmar’s military regime will hold further timber auctions on June 23 and 24 as it seeks to raise hard currency to fund its coup. Myanma Timber Enterprise (MTE), the state-run entity which controls Myanmar’s timber sales, held three separate auctions in late May in which nearly ...
THE IRRAWADDY
Prime Minister joins tree plantation drive
Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh joined students at the Faculty of Architecture, Lao National University, to plant 90 rosewood trees to mark National Arbour Day on June 1. This is a part of the government’s plans to plant 35 million trees over 36,950 hectares this year and ...
Times Reporter
Coal-powered developments threaten Cambodia’s largest national park
Cambodia’s government has granted permission for a new special economic zone (SEZ) and coal-fired power plant within the lush Botum Sakor National Park in coastal Koh Kong province. The SEZ would create another loosely regulated industrial area within a biodiverse primary forest. Late last year, Koh ...
Danielle Keeton-Olsen
Illegal company stopped from filling flooded forest in Banteay Meanchey
An illegal company that was not identified was stopped by authorities from filling in a protected flooded forest area in Banteay Meanchey province. Some villagers in Preah Netr Preah district’s Rohal commune said that in less than one year, 300 hectares were cleared and filled and ...
Yin Soeum
Andaman forests need longer intervals between repeat logging for recovery: study
To the untrained eye discerning between evergreen and deciduous tree mosaics of the Andaman archipelago can be tough in the wet season but the patches clearly stand out in the dry season in the volcanic ridge-arc islands. In the dry season between January and April, ...
Sahana Ghosh