Environment and natural resources

Cambodian sanctuary ravaged by logging

As you approach Beng Per Wildlife Sanctuary, five hours north of Phnom Penh, it’s difficult to tell exactly where the park begins. There is no audience of trees to greet you, no sign to welcome you. In many areas, there are no trees at all, ...

Chris Humphrey

Hanoi takes initiative in reducing greenhouse gas emissions

Joining the Ambitious City Promises project, funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, since October 2017, Hanoi is making every effort to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.  According to Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Natural Resources and ...

Controversial aquaculture projects threaten Myanmar’s remaining mangroves

Most of the waterways surrounding the islands of the Mergui archipelago in the Andaman Sea are lined with mangroves, and the one leading into the island of Kala from the east was no different. But as our speedboat rounded a corner, we came up against ...

Wudan Yan

Giving a dam about the Mekong

Originating in the Tibetan highlands and running through China, Myanmar, Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia, and Vietnam, the Mekong and its tributaries provide water, food and income for 60 million people. The longest river in Southeast Asia is home to the world’s largest inland fishery. It ...

Sheith Khidhir

Wealthy Countries' Trash Overwhelms Southeast Asia

Wealthy countries are exporting millions of tons of plastic waste to Southeast Asia where the recycling systems are becoming overwhelmed, leading to widespread pollution problems, according to a joint investigation by Greenpeace and the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA). In early 2018, China banned the import of plastic waste ...

New-styled cooperatives in Mekong delta make breakthrough

The Mekong Delta is facing climate change with extreme impact of natural disasters causing difficulties for agricultural production, especially smallholder farmers are extremely vulnerable to agricultural risks and climate change.   Therefore, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and locals authorities in Mekong delta provinces have ...

Ministry approves protected area status for Yeak Laom Lake in Ratanakkiri

The Ministry of Environment on Friday approved the registration of the Yeak Laom Lake community natural protected area in Ratanakkiri province to support the preservation of natural resources, culture and eco-tourism. The indigenous community hailed the decision, but said it had come too late to save ...

Voun Dara

Endangered River Dolphin Species' Numbers on the Rise

It’s 5:30 p.m., and several tourist boats linger in the middle of the Mekong River. A blood-orange sun casts a warm glow across the milky brown water, making it the ideal time to photograph the rare Irrawaddy river dolphins that congregate in deep, swirling pools. ...

Stefan Lovgren

If we care about plastic waste, why won’t we stop drinking bottled water?

For all the innovation and choice that define the food and drink industries, if you want to make money, you could do a lot worse than bung some water in a bottle and flog it. A litre of tap water, the stuff we have ingeniously ...

Simon Usborne

Mine Lar’s Sut Lway jetty seeks to shed its bad image

Hidden deep in the forest about 250 kilometres from the notorious sin city of Mine Lar in Shan State is the decrepit Sut Lway jetty on the Mekong River. Despite its tumble-down appearance, Sut Lway is the gateway for an illicit trade in luxury motor vehicles and ...

Nanda, Chan Thar

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