Environment and natural resources
Southeast Asia to suffer intense, more frequent drought without government action: UN and Asean report
Drought in Southeast Asia may become even more frequent and intense if countries do not take steps to reduce its impact, according to a joint study from the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and ASEAN. “Ready for the Dry Years: ...
Where the Silk Roads meet the mighty Mekong
Welcome to the China-Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor, one of the key planks of the New Silk Roads, or Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The apparition on the Mekong is an under-construction bridge, part of the 420 km-long, US$6 billion worth high-speed railway connecting Kunming, in Yunnan ...
Pepe Escobar
Is China meeting its international environmental and human rights obligations on BRI?
On Thursday, April 25, 2019, Chinese President Xi Jinping will deliver the keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Second Belt and Road Forum (BRF) for International Cooperation in Beijing. Heads of state and other senior government officials from 37 governments will attend, including representatives from ...
Oliver Ward
Vietnamese land grabbers linked to Cambodian firm
A senior Virak Chey National Park official on Monday said the 12 Vietnamese nationals being held in pre-trial detention for allegedly crossing the border illegally into Ratanakkiri province and clearing land are suspected of having links to a Cambodian company. Sou Khon, Virak Chey National Park ...
Illegal Charcoal Trade Wrecks Myanmar’s Bulwark Against Cyclones
The depletion of mangroves in southern Myanmar is impacting local fisheries near the island villages and playing havoc with the mangrove forest that protect the coastline from extreme weather events. The illegal charcoal trade persists due to a lack of law enforcement and oversight in Myanmar ...
Wudan Yan
China’s assertive maritime policy is older than Xi
The toughening of China’s policies in the South and East China Seas is widely regarded as a defining characteristic of Xi Jinping’s foreign policy. But while it is true that the PRC has become more assertive in its maritime disputes under Xi, China had already ...
Andrew Chubb
Standing on the shoulders of science above the South China Sea fray
The waters of the South China Sea face environmental peril that is ‘inseparable from the territorial disputes that plague it’. As claimants solidify their positions through artificial island construction, with China driving the most ambitious builds, habitats with wide-ranging ecological and economic value are being ...
James Borton
Drought, saltwater intrusion double whammy for Mekong delta farmers
Due to a prolonged drought, seawater has intruded deep into rivers in the Mekong Delta, leaving thousands of households facing a water shortage. Freshwater is sold in certain areas for VND200,000 ($8.6) per cubic metre, and local authorities use tanker trucks to deliver water to households. For ...
Huy Phong, Hoang Nam
Tighter control on transnational food industry required to solve haze problem: expert
A STRONGER political will is required to take action against monoculture corn cultivation both inside Thailand and in neighbouring countries, or the transboundary haze problem will never be solved, environmental experts said, as Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district continues to choke under hazardous smog. Greenpeace said ...
Pratch Rujivanarom
Heritage site or home? Indigenous Thais fight for right to forest
Hundreds of indigenous Karen people in Thailand face evictions from a national park that authorities wish to turn into a World Heritage Site, joining millions in a similarly precarious situation as authorities worldwide push tough conservation laws. The Kaeng Krachan is Thailand’s biggest national park, sprawled ...
