Environment and natural resources
Big steel manufacturer fined VND565 million, forced to settle pollution
Thai Nguyen has wrapped up an inspection over the outdoor mountain of hazardous waste. Tisco’s waste was mostly from its two subsidiaries – Luu Xa steel mill and the pig iron mill. The former makes ingot steel with the capacity of 450,000 tons per annum, using ...
Doan Bong
Wildlife trafficking in Vietnam remains complex: report
The report was based on a survey carried out across 20 provinces and cities nationwide in 2019-20. Vietnam is viewed as a hotspot for transportation and consumption of wildlife products of the world. Despite the Government’s efforts to prevent the illegal trade after COVID-19 broke out, ...
VNA
Foreign Secretary visits Vietnam to strengthen bilateral ties and cooperation on trade and global challenges
In his second visit within 9 months, the Foreign Secretary has met counterpart Vietnamese Foreign Minister, Minister Bui Thanh Son, to discuss the implementation of the UK-Vietnam Strategic Partnership Agreement, in addition to subjects such as the global health security, climate change and Myanmar. The visit ...
FCDO Communication Team
Fishermen call for river pollution to be addressed
Members of a large fishing community in Naxab village, Naxaithong district, Vientiane, are appealing to authorities to address the problem of farms dumping animal waste in the Khon River, which they say is creating a threat to fishing. The polluted river affects some 1,648 people who ...
Times Reporters
Heavy rainfall sees Mekong levels rise
The Mekong River Commission (MRC) has recorded river levels increasing by 0.65m between Stung Treng and Prey Veng’s Neak Loeung over the last seven days and forecast an additional rise this week of 0.60m due to torrential rain. Lower Mekong River Basin (LMB) water levels have ...
Ry Sochan
Citizen scientists tackle Mekong environmental challenges
The Greater Mekong, a transnational region in Southeast Asia, spans six countries: China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. The region is home to more than 325 million people and, while it has survived the trauma of wars, it now faces mounting environmental threats from ...
JAMES BORTON And TANAPON PHENRAT
Mekong river rising steadily
The level of the Mekong river is rising steadily in this northeastern province, between 30 centimetres and one metre per day, following heavy rain during the past week. On Wednesday morning, the river was 6m deep and about 6m below the spill-over point. After an inspection on ...
PATTANAPONG SRIPIACHAI
Cleaning up our act
For Southeast Asian countries, the meaning of regional connectivity and integration goes beyond their vision of development and economic progress. Interconnectedness also applies when discussing disasters and environmental degradation. One example is transboundary haze, the top-of-mind term for the raging forest fires on Sumatra or Kalimantan ...
ISMIRA LUTFIA TISNADIBRATA
Interview: Pou Sothirak on protecting the Mekong and powering Cambodia
Previously secretary of state at the Foreign Affairs Ministry for the Cambodian government, Pou Sothirak is executive director of the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace. He is a tireless campaigner for the ecology and communities of the Lower Mekong and particularly Tonle Sap, Southeast ...
Tyler Roney
Irrigation dams threaten Thailand’s tiger forests, say conservationists
A plan to construct seven dams in one of mainland Southeast Asia’s last intact forest systems could cause widespread habitat loss and sever important wildlife corridors, activists warn. The Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai (DPKY) Forest Complex is a vast and biodiverse region that spans six provinces in ...
Carolyn Cowan