Environment and natural resources

A special exhibition highlighting the rich ecology surrounding the Mekong region and various uses of the biological resources, such as in skin care and cosmetic products, commemorating the 1st Mekong-ROK Summit in Busan that opened Wednesday for a monthlong run. “Life on the Mekong; Connecting People, ...

The swirling currents of the once mighty Mekong, shrunk by drought and increasingly crippled by dams point towards an unprecedented crisis of water governance along the more than 4,900 kilometers of southeast Asia’s longest river. “This is the worst ecological disaster in history of the Mekong,” declared ...

The stomach of a wild deer discovered dead in the Khun Sathan National Park in northern Nan province was found to contain seven kilogrammes of plastic waste, along with underwear. The office of the national park reported on Monday that park rangers found the adult deer ...

Forestry administration and other related authorities seized a large amount of illegal timber and a number of vehicles, including boats, used for transporting timber. Kratie province’s Sambor district Military Police commander Sum Sokunthea told The Post on Sunday that anti-natural resource crime forces had patrolled the ...

The building of large dams has increasingly run into opposition in established democracies but gained momentum in autocratic states, which often tout their benefits for combating droughts and water shortages. But, as the Mekong basin illustrates, giant upstream dams can contribute to river depletion and ...

On 6 November, the Mekong River Commission acknowledged that climate change had exacerbated this year’s wildly varying water levels on the Mekong – which saw the mighty river reduced to a trickle in parts, even during the rainy season. But the main contributor, it said, ...

Farmers along the Mekong have been told to expect a worse drought than the brutal water shortages that gripped the region before this year’s rains arrived.  Severe or extreme drought is forecast to affect Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam before the next wet season, threatening agricultural production. The Mekong ...

Up to 9.1 tonnes of potential plastic waste was being dumped into the Vu Gia-Thu Bồn River basin, one of nine largest river systems in Việt Nam, each day, equating to 2,600 tonnes each year. The information was included in a report on waste management released by ...

Thailand is joining hands with six other Asian countries to try and tackle the issue of marine pollution, amid increasing criticism about plastic use in the region. Under a project called “Rethinking Plastics: Circular Economy Solutions to Marine Litter”, Thailand — along with China, Indonesia, Japan, ...

Southeast Asian countries, among the world’s worst ocean polluters, need tougher regulations for plastic packaging to curb leakage, a United Nations report said on Wednesday. Southeast Asia is a major contributor to land-based plastic waste leaking into the world’s oceans, with more than half of it ...