Environment and natural resources
How conservation became colonialism
A feature article by Alexander Zaitchick that critically examines the importance of why indigenous people, not environmentalists, are the key to protecting the world’s most precious ecosystems. Read more ...
Laos' hydropower ambitions threaten Mekong fishing villages
The tiny Southeast Asian nation of Laos champions itself as “the battery of Southeast Asia,” exporting hydroelectricity to its neighbors as it seeks to exit the ranks of least developed countries. Keep reading ...
Where is the promised money, campaigners ask at climate talks in Bangkok
Developed countries are dragging their feet on meeting their pledges of billions of dollars to help developing nations tackle climate change, leaving poor nations with mounting costs from rising temperatures, rights groups said. Rich governments have promised to mobilise $100 billion per year in climate ...
Myanmar-Thailand highway branded ‘ecological and social disaster’
Community and conservation groups in Myanmar have branded a planned highway linking a port project to Thailand an “ecological and social disaster”, saying it would uproot indigenous people from their homes and farms. Critics said an environmental and social impact assessment for the road project, ...
Illegal trafficking of baby elephants to China and Dubai for tourism must be stopped, say activists
An investigator has called on the international body that polices trade in wildlife to crack down on the illegal trafficking of young elephants across borders in south-east Asia. Secretive agents in Laos are sending dozens of animals each year across the country’s land border with China and fly others to the Middle East, earning up ...
HCM City seeks ways to curb CO2 emissions from vehicles
Air pollution in HCM City caused by vehicles has become even more serious than the level of pollution emitted by industrial zones, environmental experts say. The amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the city is estimated to be 38.5 million tonnes per year, making up ...
Trade of coastal sand is damaging wildlife of poorer nations, study finds
The secretive trade of coastal sand to wealthy countries such as China is seriously damaging the wildlife of poorer nations whose resources are being plundered, according to a new study. Sand and gravel are the most extracted groups of materials worldwide after water, with sand used in ...
Climate change will make hundreds of millions more people nutrient deficient
Rising levels of carbon dioxide could make crops less nutritious and damage the health of hundreds of millions of people, research has revealed, with those living in some of the world’s poorest regions likely to be hardest hit. Previous research has shown that many food crops become ...
Mekong River flooding communities throughout the northeast
The rising Mekong River has resulted in flooding in Mukdaharn province and brought flood warnings to all riverside communities. A rise of 10 centimeters in the Mekong River in Mukdaharn province has allowed it to 0verflow its 12.5 meter high banks for a second time this ...
Samlot rife with land grabs
Authorities are facing mounting pressure to safeguard the Samlot Protected Area, where villagers and wealthy land-grabbers continue to trespass to start orchards and claim ownership of the plots. The area, which straddles Battambang and Pailin provinces, is jointly protected by the Ministry of Environment and ...
