Environment and natural resources
Saving Vietnam's floating markets
Amid mighty rivers and dense mangroves, the busy floating markets in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta have long shaped the delta’s well-known “water civilization.” As many as a dozen floating markets still remain along major waterways around the delta, where boats, houses, and markets float upon the ...
New ‘stone’ frog discovered in Vietnam
In the rugged limestone hills of northern Vietnam, scientists have discovered a new species of frog that looks like a small piece of rock. Researchers have named it the stone leaf-litter frog or Leptolalax petrops, derived from the Latin words petra, meaning “rock”, and –ops, meaning ...
In defining plantations as forest, FAO attracts criticism
What’s in a definition? For some, too much. Nearly 200 organizations have signed an open letter to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, calling for the agency to change how they define “forest” – the very landscape honored today on International Day ...
Dam blamed as dolphins vanish
The last remaining Irrawaddy dolphins have stopped coming to a stretch of the Mekong river in Preah Rumkel commune due to the Don Sahong hydropower dam in nearby Laos, locals have warned. The activists from Stung Treng province say the dam, which is less than ...
Vietnam lacks green works despite legal framework
Despite many regulations favoring energy-saving construction, Vietnam still has few green buildings. The rapid development of the middle-class, which uses air-conditioners regularly, is a major reason behind the increasingly high electricity consumption in large cities of Vietnam, according to EuroCham. Tomaso Andreatta, chair of EuroCham’s Green ...
Ranger station razed by mob
A mob of some 60 men burned down an environmental ranger station inside Mondulkiri’s Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary on Friday, allegedly as revenge against rangers who had previously stopped them from clearing forest, an official said yesterday. Keo Sopheak, provincial environmental department director, said the ...
Denmark prohibits companies from selling Myanmar teak on European Union markets
Denmark last week placed an injunction on all Danish companies that prohibits them from selling teak imported from Myanmar on European markets. The ruling comes after evidence that Danish timber company Keflico had violated the European Union Timber Regulation was brought to light by the ...
Myanmar timber enterprise to respond to Danish teak sanctions
Danish authorities have made a ruling to place injunctions on all seven Danish operators bringing Myanmar teak into the Scandinavian country. Myanmar Timber Enterprise has plans to respond to the sanctions placed on the entire Myanmar teak industry, according to U Khin Maung Kyi, deputy ...
Poor crop hurts cashew farmers
Many farmers in the southern provinces of Bình Thuận, Bình Phước and Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu have been encountering difficulties due to a poor cashew crop caused by bad weather and plant diseases. Nguyễn Đình Chương, a farmer who has four hectares of cashew ...
Dozens of service co-ops treat waste
Environmental services co-operatives have been operating for years in the northern province of Vĩnh Phúc, providing a cleaner living environment for residents. For example, in Bình Xuyên District’s Tam Hợp Commune, the Tam Hợp Environment Service Co-operative, founded in 2014, is equipped with two incinerators ...
