Environment and natural resources
Wildlife group extends support for National Protected Area
The Wildlife Conservation Society-Laos Programme will continue to work closely with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to conserve the Nam Et-Phou Louey National Protected Area ecosystem. An agreement on the Nam Et-Phou Louey National Protected Area Management and Tiger Conservation Project Phase 5 was ...
Palm oil projects destroy local livelihoods: report
More than 1.8 million acres of palm oil plantations in Myanmar’s southern Tenasserim Division do more harm than good for local Karen villagers, causing land conflict, damaging livelihoods, destroying biodiversity, and polluting the environment, according to a new report. Companies and businesspeople have taken over ...
Takeo zoo animals to get new home in SR
A group of animals, including a family of gibbons, currently living at Takeo province’s Phnom Tamao Zoo are set to be transferred to Siem Reap’s Banteay Srei district in a bid to boost eco-tourism. The animals will be moved to the Khun Ream rosewood farm ...
Hà Nội launches online air quality index
Hà Nội People’s Committee on January 9 launched an online service with information about weather conditions and environment indexes, including air quality index, rainfall and flooding. The page, hanoi.gov.vn/quantracmoitruong, is part of the People’s Committee efforts to turn the capital into a greener, smarter and friendlier ...
Polluted water causes mass clam deaths in Thanh Hóa
Sea water and wastewater samples related to mass clam deaths in central Thanh Hóa Province have failed to meet environment criteria, said Lê Văn Bình, head of the Environmental Protection Branch under the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment, on January 8. All the ...
Digital hub in private sector call
The Digital Economy and Society minister has called on the private sector to work more closely with the ministry to help Thailand become a digital infrastructure gateway in ASEAN by 2020. The evolution of the country’s digital ecosystem, especially in many crucial development areas, needs ...
Luang Namtha targeting rubber for poverty reduction
Luang Namtha provincial authorities are allowing some poor families to grow rubber trees on their small allotments to discourage illegal plantings in forest conservation areas. An official from the provincial Planning and Investment Department, Mrs Phommy Somboun, told Vientiane Times on January 5 the policy was ...
Even as more new species are found, Southeast Asia is in the grip of a biodiversity crisis
Rich in wildlife, Southeast Asia includes at least six of the world’s 25 “biodiversity hotspots”—the areas of the world that contain an exceptional concentration of species in habitats that are also exceptionally endangered. The region contains 20 percent of the planet’s vertebrate and plant species and the ...
Vientiane targets economic growth of 11 percent
Vientiane authorities are aiming to grow the capital’s economy by 11 percent this year and expect that GDP will increase by 41.6 trillion kip. It is also anticipated that the capital’s residents will have an annual average per capita income of US$5,000. The agriculture and ...
Agricultural land thirsts for clean water
As the shortage of clean water for irrigation has become serious, local authorities are trying every possible way to bring clean water to fields. To produce clean rice, vegetables and fruits, farmers need safe land which is not infected with heavy metals and with toxic chemical ...
