Environment and natural resources

Committed to tackling climate change, Finland has set the stage for creating a value chain through by pursuing a circular economy with both public and private companies starting to implement projects aimed at minimising the use of virgin resources and maximising their value. “The climate change ...

Champassak province should close all loopholes relating to the timber trade, and review all the procedures that have frustrated investors and delayed development. Deputy Prime Minister Dr Sonexay Siphandone tabled these issues in discussions with Champassak authorities during his visit to the province last week. ...

Citizens from eight Thai provinces along the Mekong River are suing state agencies because they claim there was inadequate public participation in planning for the Pak Beng hydropower dam, which is being built by Laos.The Thai Network of Eight Mekong Provinces filed a lawsuit in ...

Environmental activists will petition the Administrative Court Thursday to help in their protest against the new Pak Beng dam project on the Mekong River in Laos, which could bring both ecological and economic impacts to the region. They want the court to encourage state agencies, ...

Ministry of Finance and the World Bank on June 7 signed an agreement for more than 316 billion kip (US$38.6) million in credit to support key policy reforms to maintain the country’s strong economic growth. The agreement expects to benefit more people, especially the poor ...

The Second Meeting of the ASEAN Working Group on Chemicals and Waste was held in Vientiane on June 7 where a variety of topics including waste management and their corresponding facilities were discussed. Speaking at the meeting, the Ministry of Natural Resource and Environment’s Director General ...

Massive deforestation is playing a crucial role in the droughts that have devastated Cambodia. But despite an official ban on timber exports, forests continue to be cut down at a record rate. One of only two countries in the world to feature a building on its ...

Đà Nẵng has established central Viet Nam’s first Green Technology Institute for Herb and Agricultural Gene Conservation. The city’s Union of Science and Engineering Associations said the institute would focus on research and conservation of precious and rare genes including more than 400 genes of herbs ...

A draft amendment to the 2003 Law on Fisheries would allow provincial people’s committees to assign, lease and withdraw sea surface areas from organisations and individuals for aquaculture farming but a National Assembly working body says the Government or ministries should do the job. Presenting ...

Five Mekong Delta provinces and 11 agencies have signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in forming the Mekong Partnership for Climate Resilient Rice Research Network (MPCRR-N). The signatories were the departments of agriculture and rural development of An Giang, Kien Giang, Ca Mau, Bac Lieu ...