Environment and natural resources
Current threats and future hopes for the greater Mekong’s mangroves
Critical to the health of rivers, shorelines and forests globally, today only 150,000 square kilometers (57,900 square miles) of mangroves remain, down from 320,000 square kilometers (123,550 square miles) 50 years ago. Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar are home to the largest mangrove forests in the Greater ...
Forum to talk climate-resilient development in Mekong Delta
The Prime Minister has agreed in principle the organisation of the forum on sustainable and climate-resilient development of the Mekong Delta in October 2019. The leader has asked the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to coordinate with the Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development, Planning ...
Saline intrusion threatens Mekong Delta
Vietnam’s Mekong Delta region could suffer serious salt intrusion by the end of this month, according to the Southern Irrigation Institute. Saltwater could penetrate 40 to 50km inland, the institute said. Keep reading ...
Thai police bust animal trafficking gang
Thai police seized more than 1,600 bear claws and other animal parts in central Thailand’s Ayutthaya Province. Three suspects, including one Lao national and two from Vietnam were nabbed during the operation, according to reports. Keep reading ...
WWF-Cambodia announces new ‘accurate’ survey of reptiles
To help conserve the critically endangered Siamese crocodile, WWF-Cambodia has announced it will conduct a survey this year to accurately record the number of the reptiles left in the wild in the Kingdom’s Eastern Plains Landscape. The Siamese crocodile was once widespread throughout much of ...
How wasps saved Asia’s forests
In our recent study, we combined field observations and satellite imagery to show how the tiny pest-killing lopezi wasp (Anagyrus lopezi) helped combat deforestation in Thailand, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Vietnam by controlling a pest that was devastating cassava crops across the region. Keep reading ...
Rising Mekong No Cause for Alarm: Engineer
A state engineer Thursday dismissed panicked reports in the media and online that the Mekong River is about to flood. Water released upriver from Thailand by a Chinese dam has caused levels to rise downriver between Thailand and Laos, but despite local news and social ...
Forest activists issue damning report of logging at Prey Lang
Activist groups from four provinces jointly published a report showing that 41 per cent of new tree stumps at the Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary that was recorded over the last two years were the result of illegal logging. The 7th Prey Lang Monitoring Report by ...
World Bank Group Announces $50 billion over Five Years for Climate Adaptation and Resilience
The World Bank Group today launched its Action Plan on Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience. Under the plan, the World Bank Group will ramp up direct adaptation climate finance to reach $50 billion over FY21–25. This financing level—an average of $10 billion a year—is more ...
From Tibet to the 'Nine Dragons', Vietnam's Mekong Delta is losing sand
In the dead of night, the entire front half of shopkeeper Ta Thi Kim Anh’s house collapsed. Perched on the sandy banks of the Mekong River, it took just a few minutes for one half of everything she owned to plunge into its murky depths. “Our ...
