Environment and natural resources
The salty taste of climate change
Salt water is seeping into freshwater underground aquifers that are used to irrigate crops and provide communities with water for drinking and washing, but because these aquifers are out of sight, they get less attention than surface water, which is also impacted by sea-level rise. U ...
Kyaw Nyunt Linn
Concerns rise over microplastics in stomachs of mackerel
The discovery of microplastics in the stomachs of mackerel caught in Trang Sea have raised concerns, but the 3rd Marine National Park Operation Centre urged Thais on Wednesday to refrain from panicking and shunning mackerel. The centre urged people to instead get full awareness of the ...
Mangrove forest to be planted
An ambitious campaign to plant 100,000 mangrove trees near Kampot province’s coast over nine months has been announced. Eight fishing communities from Trapaing Sangke, Kampong Samaky, Trapaing Ropov, Prek Tnort, Kep Thmey, Toteung Thngai, Koh Kroesna, and Lok districts, civil society organisations, and Kampot provincial authorities ...
Long Kimmarita
Start of Latest Mekong Dam Draws Fears of River's 'Tipping Point'
Critics of the 1,285-megawatt Xayaburi hydropower dam in northern Laos fear recent upgrades to the controversial project won’t be enough to save the Mekong River from a critical tipping point when it starts churning out electricity at full throttle next month. After seven years of construction, ...
Zsombor Peter
Mekong River flooding expected next week
The much anticipated annual flooding season in the Mekong Delta is set to arrive in the next few days, much later than usual. The Mekong River Commission (MRC) reports that the floods have reached Thailand and Laos now, and should reach Cambodia in the next few ...
Minh Nga
A new dam on the Mekong could cause a biodiversity crisis
The Tonle Sap Lake is called the Great Lake by Cambodians for good reason. The scenic lake spans a vast area as the largest freshwater body in Southeast Asia. Its quaint waterborne villages are popular with tourists. Yet Cambodia’s Great Lake does more than just provide for ...
Darunee Sukanan
Twelve logs and three trucks found in Kampong Speu
Kampong Speu provincial authorities found 12 logs measuring a total of 40 cubic metres in a two-day operation over Tuesday and Wednesday in Oral district’s Sangke Satoap commune. Three trucks also found at the scene were impounded. Provincial governor Vey Samnang said two of the discovered ...
Khorn Savi
'Safari tours' to cut conflict with wildlife
The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation has unveiled plans to develop “safari tourism” on the edge of the world-heritage Huai Kha Kheng Wildlife Sanctuary to reduce growing conflict there between humans and wildlife. Department spokesman Sompoch Maneerat said locally run safari tourism is ...
Apinya Wipatayotin
Myanmar youths to join ASEAN environmental meet
Five Myanmar university students have been chosen to represent the country at a regional youth meeting on the environment, the Environmental Conservation Department said. The Environmental Forum of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus three (China, Japan, and South Korea) will be held on Thailand’s Phuket ...
Myat Moe Aung
In the rice-rich Mekong region, will husk briquettes take hold?
Sanu Kaji Shrestha was wandering along a Cypriot coastline 10 years ago, enjoying some downtime from a workshop he was leading on green energy technology, when he decided to collect some seaweed to experiment with. Shrestha was searching for ways to expand the types of raw materials ...
Lauren Crothers