Environment and natural resources
Dammed if they don’t: Mekong countries face crucial choice
In the wake of COP 21 and a new global climate accord, now is the time for the countries of the Lower Mekong Basin to redouble their efforts to protect the rice bowl of Southeast Asia. This region is among the world’s most vulnerable to climate ...
Wastewater problem growing in Vientiane
Few households in Vientiane have installed treatment systems for their wastewater before it is discharged into drainage channels and collects in the city’s ponds and marshes. As it seems that many home owners in Vientiane don’t care about wastewater treatment or the quality of the water ...
'No dodging' EIA on water plan
The development of two controversial water diversion projects would comply with an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study requirements, the Thai government insists. Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Gen Chatchai Sarikulya said on 12 January the government wants to study the prospects of diverting water from rivers forming a ...
Thai Government set to divert water from key rivers
The Thai government plans to divert water from rivers which form natural boundaries with Thailand’s neighbours into major dams in a long-term measure to battle drought. Suphot Tovichakchaikul, chief of the Department of Water Resources, said on 11 January that aside from the country’s local sources, water ...
Community sues border police over loggers
A group of villagers in Mondolkiri province filed a lawsuit this week against three local border police officers and a forestry official accusing them of allowing Vietnamese loggers to sneak across the nearby border and illegally log the forests they depend on for a living. Khut ...
Two Malaysian firms plan agarwood venture in Laos
Two Malaysian companies plan to invest US$18 million (RM79 million) for the inoculation of agarwood in Laos that is expected to generate US$200 million in three years. Agriculture transaction company Aseagate (M) Sdn Bhd, forestry management company Richwood Capital Sdn Bhd, together with non-governmental organisation Global ...
Authorities move to clear squatters from town water supply
Pyin Oo Lwin officials are cracking down on forest dwellers squatting near a road construction site alongside the city’s only water supply. The township’s Department of Environmental Conservation and Forestry blamed the squatters around Lake Thit Ta Pin Taung for causing forest degradation by lighting forest ...
Devastated farmers blame polluting factories for tons of dead fish on southern river
Officials are still awaiting test results but fish farmers believe that untreated waste discharged by factories along the Dong Nai River had killed a large number of fish in just one night. A total of 241 families in Dong Nai Province said they woke up on ...
What is the value of the Mekong river?
Putting a value on the Mekong River and measuring the impact it has on the gross domestic product (GDP) of downstream countries has for a long time been a strategic target of bureaucrats and non-governmental organizations seeking to measure and protect the world’s twelfth longest ...
Convoy of Lao trucks transports logs to Vietnam, despite ban on timber exports
Laos has continued to transport logs from its forests to Vietnam, despite a government ban on timber exports that took effect in August and a leaked report by an international environmental group two months ago, revealing huge increases in illegal logging with the implication of ...
