Environment and natural resources

Vietnam must improve the management of its numerous reservoirs to protect the rights and interests of residents in the downstream areas, and to optimise the efficiency of its water management and hydropower projects, experts said during a conference on the subject last week. Experts said the ...

Vietnam’s tourism administration agency has expressed support for installing a controversial cable car system near the world’s largest cave, Son Doong, news website VnExpress reported on 12 October.   Nguyen Van Tuan, chief of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, was quoted as saying that the system, ...

Hydrologists have warned about imminent flooding in the Red River in northern Vietnam due to huge discharge of water from upstream reservoirs in China.   Water levels in the river rose to 31.7 m in Yen Bai Province on 12 October before receding, according to the National Center ...

Two Vietnamese nationals were arrested in Cambodia’s Mondolkiri province as they attempted to cross the border back into Vietnam on 8 October in a tour bus loaded with high-grade timber, authorities said 11 October. Keep reading ...

Walk down any street in Luang Prabang, Laos, and you will be presented with any number of opportunities to interact with elephants. Some are more ethical than others. Indeed, at the Elephant Village, 15 kilometres outside town, the motto is: “Saving elephants is our mission.” Keep reading ...

The government is ready to help Indonesia tackle the haze pollution problem which has spread over large parts of the region after its envoy admitted the country’s efforts are not enough to stop the fires, Foreign Ministry deputy permanent secretary Vitavas Srivihok said. Keep reading ...

Hanoi will spend VND1.35 trillion (US$60 million) on an environmental campaign to fight pollution in 80 of its craft villages through 2030, the capital city’s Department of Trade and Industry said on 7 October. Water samples taken from 40 craft villages in Hanoi raised red flags ...

After beginning in 2012, the construction of the US$3.5 billion Xayaboury dam is now about 50 per cent complete, according to a report by Vientiane Times. When it becomes operational in 2019, about 95 percent of the 1,285-megawatt electricity produced will be sold to Thailand.  The dam, ...

A prominent Areng Valley activist joined three other environmentalists in jail on 7 October in Koh Kong after being questioned at the provincial court about alleged “forest crimes”. Ven Vorn, 36, a community representative and commune councillor with the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, was arrested at the ...

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered the Foreign Ministry to work closely with neighbouring countries to tackle the chronic haze problem gripping Southeast Asia. Short- and long-term solutions are needed to deal with the smog caused by slash-and-burn farming on Sumatra Island in Indonesia, Gen Prayut ...