Environment and natural resources
Natural resources sector vows to accelerate projects affected by Covid-19
The Natural Resources and Environment Sector Working Group (NRESWG) plans to accelerate implementation of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment’s priority projects affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The group also aims to ensure the alignment of ongoing and future activities through the NRESWG platform, as ...
Times Reporters
Local efforts help protect the endangered Irrawaddy Dolphins in Myanmar
Irrawaddy dolphins can be seen in three major rivers in Southeast Asia: the Ayeyarwady (Myanmar), the Mahakam (Indonesian Borneo) and the Mekong. In Myanmar, the dolphin is known for its close relations with local fishers as they often help to drive shoals of fish towards ...
Thinn Nay Chi Sun
Mekong People's Forum Pushed to Pave Way for Wider Participation in Mekong Decision Making
Over a hundred participants from various sectors, which have been working on development issues in the Mekong Basin, attended the two-day seminar held in Chiang Rai’ Chiang Khong district, where has been one of the locations which have long suffered from development projects in the ...
B.Tribune
Tide turning for Mekong protesters
After almost two decades of campaigning against hydro-dams and water projects built on the Mekong River, local civic groups and conservationists finally launched the “Mekong People’s Forum,” with the hope of moving their campaign to a policy level. The forum was held on Dec 1–2 in ...
WASSAYOS NGAMKHAM
Mekong Delta faces decline in wild birds, fish and plants
The number of species of wild birds, fish, and plants in the Mekong Delta has fallen rapidly in recent years because of a decline in food resources and natural habitats. In Tram Chim National Park in Dong Thap province, 13 bird species are in danger of extinction and need protection, according to park authorities. The species include red-headed cranes, ...
VNA
Geopolitics plays out on the Mekong with doubts on dams and promises of cooperation
Recent weeks have seen new developments in the ongoing tension over the Mekong river and its waters, as the river basin faces ecological crises and its waters play an ever-larger role in geopolitics. Thailand has announced that it is reconsidering its decision to purchase power from the planned Sanakham ...
Editorial
Alleged gov’t-linked land grabs threaten Cambodia’s Cardamom Mountains
Rising across remote stretches of southeast Cambodia, the Cardamom Mountains harbor dense tropical rainforest, much of it native growth carpeting the range’s wet slopes. Due to its remoteness, the vast protected area has historically seen relatively little human activity, which helped safeguard crucial tracts of ...
CHRIS HUMPHREY
Thai teak seized in SorPorKor raid north of Patong
The Forestry officials, along with police from the Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Suppression Division seized sawn pieces of timber valued at about B60,000 at the site, located in the hills on Phra Barami Soi 7. Boonlarp Suksai, Chief of the Royal Forestry Department Region 12 ...
The Phuket News
China unveils early warning and data sharing website to cooperate with Mekong River countries
China made good on its promise to share year-round hydrological data on upper reaches of the Mekong River with the kickoff of an online information sharing platform on Monday. The platform aims to provide reliable forecasting and early warning services related to floods and droughts. China ...
Hu Yuwei Source
Fight for the Mekong gathers pace
More than 20 years ago, when two Chiang Rai-based environmentalists, Niwat Roikaew and Somkiat Kuenwongsa, learned that the Chinese government were blasting rapids in the upper Mekong River from Yunnan to Myanmar and Laos to clear the way for large commercial vessels, they started worrying. Back ...
PASSAKORN JUMLONGRACH