Environment and natural resources
Deforestation Hotspots Causing Wildlife Losses in Southeast Asia
Every two years, the World Wide Fund for Nature publishes a report that sums up the state of the world’s wildlife based on the monitoring of its projects around the world. The latest WWF report, titled the “Living Planet Report,” describes stunning declines in biodiversity caused ...
A commentary by Dan Southerland
Extreme weather highlights Southeast Asia’s vulnerability to climate change
Over the past several weeks, parts of Southeast Asia have been pummeled by severe storms. Widespread flooding across the region, especially in Vietnam, left hundreds of thousands of residents temporarily displaced. In Vietnam alone, at least 90,000 people were forced from their homes during the first several weeks ...
Zachary Frye
Mekong Delta localities plant trees, build natural embankments to prevent erosion
More people in the Mekong Delta are planting trees and building embankments made of natural materials to prevent erosion along rivers and canals. The delta, which has a dense river and canal network, has faced increasing erosion along rivers and canals in recent years because of human activity and climate change. In Hau ...
VNA
With someone taking out the trash, Hanoians breathe a sigh of relief
Nguyen Thanh Quang is looking forward to resuming his morning habit of cycling around his neighborhood in Hanoi’s Dong Da District. He had been staying at home all day after uncollected trash piled up on several streets, the resultant stink exacerbating the capital’s long-standing air pollution ...
Long Nguyen
After Mekong Data Deal, Experts Call for More Upstream Information, Transparency
While welcoming China’s decision to share hydrological data with Mekong nations, experts said the next step would be to expand the information shared and to make this data accessible to citizens and communities who most need it. The Mekong River Commission (MRC) and China’s Water Resource ...
Aun Chhengpor/VOA Khmer
Cabinet okays Mekong MOUs
The cabinet has approved two draft memorandums of understanding (MOU) that will set in motion the effective management of water resources for countries connected to the Mekong River, says the Office of National Water Resources (ONWR). The MOUs will establish international cooperation under the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation ...
MONGKOL BANGPRAPA
Waste not, want not
Thailand has become one of the world’s largest garbage dumps after China banned waste imports, including electronics and plastics, from foreign countries in 2017. As a result, waste from many countries that was originally shipped to China is now being redirected to countries in Southeast ...
SUWITCHA CHAIYONG
Happy eco-campers: protecting wildlife in Cambodia
The path to Preak Tachan ranger station, in Botum Sakor national park, Cambodia, snakes through dense, silent forest. It crosses bubbling rivers and clearings where luminous butterflies flit around gargantuan hanging vines and tall wild grasses. It’s The Lost World, Indochina-style. I half expect a ...
Duncan Forgan
My Son Sanctuary landscape protection zone established
A landscape protection zone for the My Son Sanctuary, a world cultural heritage site in the central province of Quang Nam, has been set up to preserve both historical and cultural relics and biodiversity there. It covers more than 1,160ha of land, including over 1,100ha of natural forests, in Duy Phu ...
Japan helps Cambodia on environment issues
Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi announced on Wednesday that Japan will provide Cambodia with assistance to improve its urban areas, combat plastic litter in oceans, and fight terrorism. The commitment was revealed during a phone conversation between Motegi and Minister of Foreign Affairs and ...
Niem Chheng