Environment and natural resources
Nan village changes farming practices to avoid burn-off woes
Ban Nam Chang village in Nan province has become a pioneer in tackling the seasonal haze problem in the North by changing its farming practices. With summer set to begin soon, farmers will soon be setting their fields on fire to clear land for the ...
10 sawmills closed, 18 others in process: official
Ten sawmills located near and inside forest areas have been closed and removed, while 18 others are in the process of being removed as part of the government’s crackdown on sawmill operations and illegal logging. The closures came after the government recently issued an order ...
The Philippines declares more than 100,000 acres as critical habitat
In November last year, the Philippines declared its largest critical habitat yet. Located in the long, narrow Philippine island of Palawan, the new Cleopatra’s Needle Critical Habitat is spread across 41,350 hectares (more than 100,000 acres). The second largest critical habitat, Carmen Critical Habitat for ...
Public should look at detail of anti-forest encroachment measures: Prayut
Government chiefs including Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha on January 31 urged the public to look at the detail of proposals by the National Reform Steering Assembly for tackling forest encroachment, saying it has merely tried to correct wrongs and not legalise wrongdoings including by resort ...
South Korea offers loan to Cambodia
South Korea has agreed to provide more than $400 million in loans to Cambodia for infrastructure and health development. Foreign Affairs Minister Prak Sokhonn and South Korean ambassador Kim Weon-jin signed two agreements at a ceremony on January 31 outlining loans that will be dispersed to ...
New regional platform to develop tourism companies
The Mekong Business Initiative will launch a new platform next month aimed at developing startups in the tourism sector throughout the CLMV region, which includes Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, a program organiser said on January 31. MBI, a program launched by the Asian Development ...
Ministry issues measures meant to counter wildfires
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Fisheries on January 30 signed off on a list of seven measures intended to guard against forest fires, although details on implementation remained scarce on January 31 and observers said they expected little to come of the new document. The ...
Poverty Reduction Fund reports five years of success
Despite poverty reduction activities achieving real success over the past few years, the improvement of behaviour patterns in poor communities in remote areas should continue to be monitored. The lessons learnt from the implementation of poverty reduction projects were discussed at a meeting held in ...
Thap Lan: Thailand's unsung forest gemk under threat, but still abrim with life
On the trail of a conservation group conducting a wildlife monitoring survey, we stop the 4×4 on the road and walk along the red earth to check on camera traps. Wildlife rangers from Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation and international conservationists ...
Deforestation-free commodities represent a major investment opportunity: report
It’s estimated that about 10 percent of global emissions comes from deforestation — meaning we could make considerable progress toward halting climate change simply by keeping what remains of the world’s forests standing. Agricultural commodities — especially beef, palm oil, soy, and pulp and paper ...
