Environment and natural resources
Alcohol banned at national parks after complaints of trash and drunk tourists
Alcohol is now banned at national parks after tourists allegedly got drunk at a waterfall and others left a load of trash by their campsite. The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation has updated other park rules to make sure parks are kept ...
Caitlin Ashworth
In the Shadow of Riches, Fishers Face Eviction, Desperately Low Waters
Yan Khouvry was out fishing till 7 a.m. on Tuesday morning. He had set out late morning on Monday and plied the waters near Koh Dach all day and night. He returned with just two fish. Later on Tuesday morning, around 10 a.m., he was preparing ...
Mech Dara and Michael Dickison
Autumn yellow takes possession of central Vietnam's Ru Cha mangrove forest
Two HCMC-based lensmen visited Thua Thien-Hue Province in early September to capture the beauty of Ru Cha mangrove forest turning yellow during the seasonal transition. Lying around 15 km from downtown Hue, Ru Cha is a tiny islet on Tam Giang Lagoon. The islet was formed ...
Huynh Phuong
Tonle Sap Bottleneck comparison - September 2019 vs 2020
Prior to 2020, the 2019 wet season was one of the driest on record. The annual reversal of the Tonle Sap in Cambodia was severely delayed in 2019 but low rainfall plus upstream dam regulation (mostly from China’s 11 mainstream Mekong dams) have totally erased ...
Brian Eyler
Dams in the upper Mekong river transform nutrient release downstream
Hydropower is the world’s largest source of energy generation. It is commonly assumed that hydropower reservoirs retain nutrients, and this nutrient reduction significantly reduces primary productivity, fishery catches and food security downstream. An international research team, including Prof. Jef Huisman from the University of Amsterdam, ...
Jef Huisman
Last Group of Families Displaced by Laos’ Nam Theun 1 Dam Accept Compensation
More than a hundred families in central Laos’ Bolikhamxay province who were displaced by the Nam Theun 1 dam have decided to accept compensation, putting an end to a standoff that lasted 17 months, sources in Laos told RFA. Disputes over compensation by displaced villagers have ...
RFA’s Lao Service. Translated by Max Avary. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
Elephant shot dead, head ripped off ‘for ivory’ at Narathiwat national park
Sipo Waterfall National Park officials believe a carcass of a headless elephant that was found in the park in Narathiwat was the ghastly work of ivory traders. On September 14, park officials were notified of the appalling incident by the Ban Chue Ko village headman in ...
Covid and the climate crisis in SE Asia
‘A global reset”, “a sick planet”, “health security” are huge, heavy phrases that have been swirling in the global psyche for most of this Covid-19-marked year. They speak of the “must-do-something” type of issues that weigh on the minds of people everywhere, including in Southeast ...
JOHANNA SON
Water agency seeks input on Moon River Basin plan
Nakhon Ratchasima: The Office of the National Water Resources (ONWR) yesterday kick started public consultations to draw up a water-management plan for the Moon River Basin. The plan is urgently needed to tackle severe drought and floods in 10 northeastern provinces, it says. The first consultation, which ...
PRASIT TANGPRASERT
OPED: Plastic waste still an issue
When it comes to policy on waste management and recycling, the Prayut Chan-o-cha administration is generally deemed to be progressive. The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry in 2018 made a landmark decision to slap a ban on the importation of plastics and electronic waste which ...