Environment and natural resources
UNESCO Requests New Impact Assessment for Luang Prabang Dam
UNESCO has requested a new assessment for a large-scale Lao Mekong River dam located near a World Heritage Site, fearing that the dam’s potential impact could put the site at risk. According to UNESCO, the town of Luang Prabang is “an outstanding example of the fusion ...
RFA’s Lao Service. Translated by Max Avary. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
US pledges to enhance cooperation with Mekong subregion’s countries
The US will bolster support for countries in the Mekong subregion through the Mekong-US partnership, US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Atul Keshap said at a recent online seminar to reveal results of a report ...
VNA
Mekong needs tough govt stance
On Feb 8, Charge d’Affaires of Chinese Embassy Yang Xin paid a courtesy call to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, in which they exchanged Chinese New Year’s wishes, looking ahead for warmer relations and closer cooperation. One topic was missing from their friendly talks: the fluctuating water ...
BANGKOK POST EDITORIAL COLUMN
New dam management guidelines to minimise water issues
New guidelines issued recently by the government aim to minimise water shortages and flooding both downstream and upstream of hydropower plants. Once water levels in reservoirs rise to a critical point, dam operators are required to notify the relevant authorities, under a new decree issued by ...
Times Reporters
Cambodia: Widespread illegal logging in Prey Lang rainforest amid ban on community patrols
Widespread illegal logging and the repression of environmental activism are among the grave threats to Cambodia’s Prey Lang rainforest, Amnesty International said today, one year after authorities banned environmental defenders from entering the Prey Lang wildlife sanctuary. Recent images and remote sensing data reviewed by Amnesty ...
Lao PDR: New Project to Protect Landscapes and Enhance Livelihoods
The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today approved a US$57 million project to help Lao PDR promote sustainable forest management, improve protected area management, and enhance livelihoods opportunities in eight provinces across the country. Project funding comes from the World Bank’s International Development Association, ...
Newsroom
PM: Government won't use force in Bang Kloi
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Tuesday said his administration won’t use force against ethnic Karen villagers living in Phetchaburi’s Kaeng Krachan National Park as past governments did. Instead, this government will take care of those living in Bang Kloi by ensuring they have proper jobs and ...
MONGKOL BANGPRAPA
Mekong River water level rise barely discernible in Vietnam
Water levels in some sections of the Mekong River have only increased slightly in the last seven days though China has claimed consistent excess outflow from the Jinghong dam. The outflow at Jinghong hydrological station rose from 786 cubic meters per second on February 15 to ...
Viet Anh
Mekong's falling water level riles China's downstream neighbors
China’s water relations with Southeast Asian neighbors are under strain after Beijing held up the Mekong River’s flow at one of its large dams upstream, precipitating a sudden drop in volume for downstream countries that share the region’s longest body of water. “The water levels dropped ...
MARWAAN MACAN-MARKAR
Crackdown on "Encroachers" in Kaeng Krachan Forest Begins
Fresh evidence of apparent forest clearing and burning in the deep jungle of Kaeng Krachan National Park has been presented to the public to substantiate claims and the forest suppression operation by forest officials, while Karen supporter groups have condemned the latest suppression move and ...
B.Tribune