Environment and natural resources

Bangkok’s future hangs in the balance. Rising sea levels, unchecked development, groundwater extraction, and rapid urban population growth has left millions vulnerable to natural disasters — scientists warn the city itself may not survive the century. New analysis by the Nestpick 2050 Climate Change City Index says ...

A top-ranking Chinese official declared that the country is releasing more water from its dams on the upper Mekong River in order to aid drought-stricken downstream neighbors.  The announcement from Foreign Minister Wang Yi, made at a meeting of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation group, comes as the beleaguered ...

Amid an ongoing drought and low water levels, the state of the Mekong River is a topic that is animating discussion along the watercourse, with sights often aimed squarely at the Xayaburi Hydroelectric Power Plant. To help clear the waters, the project owners invited regional ...

With her initiatives and great efforts to help protect the environment, Nguy Thi Khanh has become the first Vietnamese Climate Breakthrough Project awardee. Born in Bac Giang, near a thermal power plant which emits smoke all year round, Khanh witnessed many people suffering from cancer and ...

The number of the endangered Irrawaddy dolphins found in Myanmar this year has increased to 79, the highest in a decade, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society of Myanmar (WCS). The numbers include seven calves aged three months or younger. The Irrawaddy dolphins can also be found ...

The construction of more ports along the Mekong River has been planned with an aim to improve the transport of agricultural products along the river. Sun Chanthol, Senior Minister and Minister of Public Works and Transport, said that two more ports would be constructed – one ...

Can Tho is the latest to fall to the relentless flow of seawater into Mekong Delta rivers. The city is nearly 100 kilometer from the sea. A saline meter used at Cai Cui port in Cai Rang District on Wednesday read 3,500 parts per thousand (ppt), ...

Parched fields, cracked earth and dry water channels are nothing unusual in the Mekong Delta, which is facing yet another drought this year. Hai Phuong wakes up at 4:30 a.m. every day and makes his way to the field.  The 45-year-old in Tran Hoi Commune, Tran Van ...

Dam operations upstream combined with a drought have caused a severe drop in water levels along the Mekong River, on which tens of millions of people rely for their livelihoods through fishing or farming, say Thais who live by the banks of the great waterway. BenarNews ...

The water is so clear on the Mekong River in northeastern Thailand that the sunlight pierces through to the riverbed, transforming the waterway into a glinting, empty aquarium. It is beautiful but it means death. At this time of year in Thailand, this stretch of the ...