Environment and natural resources
North Korea flooding kills 133, displaces 107,000 - UN
Flooding from heavy rain in North Korea has killed 133 people in its northeast while 395 are missing, with many homes and critical infrastructure destroyed, a U.N. agency said on September 12. News of the natural disaster came as North Korea looked even more isolated from ...
Only certain plantation tree species may be exported: govt spokesman
Only certain species of trees grown in managed plantations may be exported, not all species, the government spokesman said last week. Eucalyptus and kathinnalong trees whose trunks measure 12 centimetres or less may be felled for export but trees with larger trunks must not be used ...
Domestic firms step up efforts to cut emissions
Domestic energy-consuming companies will get the chance to improve their core competitiveness and sustainable development ability, but still face many challenges after China and the US ratified the Paris climate deal, experts said on September 11. China and the US, the world’s two largest emitters of ...
‘A major concern’: plantation-driven deforestation ramps up in Borneo
Borneo, home to animals like orangutans, rhinos, elephants, and proboscis monkeys is also host to some of the fastest plantation expansion in the world. Now, a new study published on September 9 in Nature’s open access journal Scientific Reports examines how much of this expansion has been happening ...
How to increase REDD+ benefits to indigenous peoples and other traditional forest communities
To meet the target of limiting global warming to 2-degrees-Celsius established in the Paris Climate Agreement, it is crucial to curb tropical deforestation and encourage the reforestation of tropical forests that have already been cut down. Not only is tropical deforestation and forest degradation the source ...
New economic models sought for sustainable development
The Asian Productivity Organization has called upon global economies to explore and adopt new business models to achieve Green Productivity and long-term business sustainability for a low-carbon future. The APO, having 20-memebr economies, including Bangladesh, made the call referring to the ‘Bangkok Outcome Document’ based on ...
Mekong River level cause for concern in Nong Khai
The Nong Khai water monitoring office under the Department of Water Resources has reported the latest height of the Mekong River at 8 meters and 63 centimeters, up by over 1 meter from the same time on September 7 and only 3.57 meters below its ...
Recycled waste-to-fertilizer plants left idle, investors flee
A series of plants making fertilizer from domestic waste have been built in recent years with ODA capital. And a lot of them, capitalized at tens or hundreds of billions of dong have been left idle. In late 2012, the Hai Duong fertilizer plant was put ...
Southeast Asia issues a non-rebuke to China
A summit of Southeast Asian countries issued a mild rebuke of China on September 7 over its expansionist activities in the disputed South China Sea, and indirectly urged it to show restraint and not raise tensions. In a victory for Beijing’s diplomatic, economic and military clout, the ...
Vietnam is struggling to unite its Mekong neighbours against China
Vietnam moved rocket launchers into disputed territory in the South China Sea, reports recently suggested, meaning it could potentially attack land that China has controversially reclaimed. This all comes at a time of heightened tension over territorial wrangling in the region. A Pentagon report released in ...
