Environment and natural resources
Mekong Delta takes measures to cope with saltwater intrusion
Saltwater intrusion has occurred on a large scale in the Mekong Delta, forcing local authorities to take measures to protect agricultural production and ensure water supply for household use, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Saltwater intrusion has affected many provinces like Tiền ...
‘No fish’: How dams and climate change are choking Asia’s great lake
For more than half a century, January meant prime fishing season for Pang Bin. He took his wooden boat out into Cambodia’s largest lake, his catches and their sales sustaining his family for much of the year. This month, the 75-year-old decided to call it quits, ...
Shashank Bangali
River deltas are changing shape
Deforestation and damming have altered the shape of river deltas across the globe, contributing to a net 54 square kilometres of land gained per year over the past three decades, according to a study published in the journal Nature. These landforms are home to hundreds of millions of people, ...
Natalie Parletta
Recognition of Public Health Threats from Live Animal Markets Called for in the Wake of Human Coronavirus Outbreak
Closing live animal markets that trade in wildlife, strengthening efforts to combat trafficking of wild animals, and working to change dangerous wildlife consumption behaviours are all needed, said the leading wildlife conservation group, WCS. With the outbreak of the Wuhan Coronavirus, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) ...
Bungling govt is losing the PM2.5 war
Almost a month since hazardous ultra-fine PM2.5 dust particles began shrouding the capital, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha finally flexed his muscles this week by pledging to ban vehicles emitting black smoke from entering the city. “If dust levels exceed 100 microgrammes per cubic metre [µg/m³], the ...
Anchalee Kongrut
Courts charge Stung Treng men for transporting illegal timber
Stung Treng provincial police on Sunday sent one of seven men detained over the transportation of illegal timber to court. Provincial police chief Mao Dara said the Vietnamese man was sent to the provincial court after being accused of transporting nearly 200 pieces of beng timber ...
Soth Koemsoeun
Water supply department riding wave of international cooperation
The Department of Water Supply under the Ministry of Public Works and Transport is targeting an expansion of projects across the country this year after racking up achievements in the sector during 2019. To achieve its goal to develop provincial water supply and sanitation systems, the ...
Sangkhomsay Bubphanouvong
Beijing sets sights on mighty Mekong as passage to South China Sea
Ninety-seven kilometers of rocks in Thai waters stand between Beijing and dominance over the Mekong, a mighty river that feeds millions as it threads south from the Tibetan Plateau through five countries before emptying into the South China Sea. China has long wanted to dredge the ...
Aidan Jones
Thailand to Air Concerns with River Commission over Drought, Chinese Dams in Mekong
Thailand will raise concerns about its current drought during a Mekong River Commission meeting expected next month, the Thai water-resources chief said, as local farmers complained that dams in China were choking the waterway on which millions depend for their livelihoods. Somkiat Prajamwong, director of Thailand’s ...
Illegal logger becomes dedicated forest ranger
Điểu Long used to be one of the most notorious illegal loggers in the southern province of Bình Phước. He joined a gang of illegal loggers at the age of 15 to hunt wild animals or chop down trees in Bù Gia Mập National Park. But now, ironically, Long ...