Environment and natural resources
Bangkok’s ‘Hazibition’ points finger at corporations for toxic haze in lower Mekong
Thailand’s clean air campaigners are staging an exhibition in Bangkok to show how industrial-scale maize cultivation to produce animal feed is partly responsible for the toxic annual smog in the lower Mekong region. “Hazibition,” an exhibition on haze pollution by environment group Greenpeace, started Tuesday at ...
Subel Rai Bhandari for RFA
Hundreds of newly discovered species under threat in Southeast Asia’s Mekong region
Nearly 400 species only just discovered in Asia’s Greater Mekong region could soon become extinct due to loss of habitat caused by human activity, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) warned in a report published Monday. The discoveries – including an orchid that looks like a “Muppet ...
Kathleen Magramo
Finding opportunity in Asia’s net-zero transition
The Asia-Pacific region is witnessing a surge in climate action, with nearly all countries in the region committing to achieving net-zero emissions, albeit with varying timeframes and specifics for implementation. One of the primary driving forces behind this growing momentum for climate action is the economic benefits it ...
Muyi Yang
Democratising data for more inclusive governance to strengthen conservation in the Mekong Basin
From 14-16 March 2023, the Sustainable Infrastructure Partnership, which aims to promote the stability, peace, prosperity, and sustainable development of the Mekong sub-region, hosted the Mekong Research Symposium in Chiang Rai, Thailand. The event brought together researchers, civil society organisations (CSOs), donors, and international non-governmental ...
IUCN
Jobs in green economy in hot demand as S’pore looks to become carbon services hub
As Singapore looks to establish itself as a carbon services and trading hub, jobs in the green economy to help businesses decarbonise and implement their net-zero strategies are now in hot demand. Firms looking to hire foreigners for certain roles in this sector will find it ...
Cheryl Tan
Myanmar crisis cited as a challenge to regional efforts to save Mekong River
Myanmar’s ongoing crisis was raised as a possible hindrance to regional cooperation to save the Mekong River, as other countries along the important waterway pledged on Wednesday to strengthen collaboration in efforts to conserve the water resource. At the quadrennial Mekong River Commission (MRC) Summit in ...
Tan Hui Yee
Pointing out culprits of Mekong’s problems is not our mission: MRC Secretariat CEO
The 4th Mekong River Commission Summit, held in Vientiane on 4-5 April 2023, saw heads of state and ministers from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam come together to discuss the sustainable development of Southeast Asia’s greatest river. At its conclusion, the four countries signed the ‘Vientiane Declaration’, in ...
Aron White, thethirdpole.net
Region told to rev up decarbonisation
Southeast Asia needs to accelerate decarbonisation of its global value chains (GVCs) as the region could face up to a 30% loss of GDP annually by 2100 due to climate change, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Speaking at a conference in Bali, ADB deputy ...
Sirinnaree Ongsakul
Cassava export boom leading to deforestation and poor air in Laos
Farmers are encroaching on national parks and protected forests in Laos, burning and clearing large areas to make room for cassava crops. The demand for cassava has seen it become the most profitable agricultural product in Laos, as demonstrated by the country’s February trade figures: cassava ...
Laotian Times/ANN
SE Asia’s COVID legacy is less wildlife trade, but more hunting, study finds
The COVID-19 pandemic, which began spreading in a seafood and poultry market in Wuhan, China, shone a spotlight on zoonotic diseases and the risks that markets selling wild meat can pose to human health. Following the outbreak, some countries like China temporarily closed down wet markets, while ...
Spoorthy Raman
