Environment and natural resources

A leading Thai geologist is warning that a huge new dam proposed in an earthquake-prone region of northern Laos poses a high risk of endangering the famed UNESCO-World Heritage city of Luang Prabang. The 1410-megawatt dam, expected to be Laos’s largest, is being developed by Thai ...

Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam have urged Laos to better assess transboundary impacts, and strengthen proposed measures to reduce any negative effect as it moves ahead with the construction of a dam. At a special joint committee session of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) earlier this week, ...

Neighboring countries have called on Laos to consider the cross-border environmental impacts of a hydropower plant it plans to build on the Mekong River. Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand expressed concern after the Mekong River Commission (MRC) completed a six-month consultation process for the Luang Prabang Dam project ...

A meeting was held in Hanoi on June 26 to review the project on support for preparing the readiness to carry out the international framework “Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation” (REDD+) in Vietnam Phase 2 (FCPF-2). The programme, from November 2016 to June 30, 2020, has been implemented ...

A new study from an international team of researchers has looked at how residents in Vietnam and Kenya perceive those forced to migrate because of extreme climates. The research team, including Dr. Quynh Nguyen from The Australian National University (ANU) say climate-induced migration is becoming more ...

Cambodia, Thailand and Viet Nam requested Lao PDR to conduct rigorous transboundary impact assessments and enhance proposed measures to mitigate potential adverse impacts from the 1,460-megawatt Luang Prabang hydropower project, as the Mekong River Commission concluded a six-month prior consultation process for the project. At a ...

Laos is pushing ahead with a hydropower project on the Mekong River, despite reservations aired by neighbouring countries over its potential to harm fisheries and farming downstream, the Mekong River Commission (MRC) said on Wednesday. The 1,400-megawatt (MW) Luang Prabang project will be Laos’s third and ...

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen released an open letter Thursday reporting a 73 percent increase in deforestation in 2019 at the Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary, compared to 2018, while criticizing the government’s ban on certain patrolling operations. The University of Copenhagen’s open letter used data ...

Water levels in Southeast Asia’s largest river may be at its lowest in a century. Low rainfall, high temperatures and poor dam regulations are contributing to a historic low at the Mekong, affecting lives, the region’s agriculture and fishing industries and leading to rapidly drying taps. Chinese ...

The Department of Climate Change under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment cooperated with the French Development Agency (AFD) in organising a seminar in Hanoi on June 24 to review the implementation of the national strategy and action plan on climate change and propose orientations to cope with ...