Environment and natural resources
Pollution and waste
Locals on polluted Ba riverside thirsty for clean water
Since the day the An Khe – Ka Nak hydropower plant was put into operation, it has been taking away water to generate electricity, depleting and polluting the lower course of the Ba River. Things got worse recently when the river section which runs across Krong ...
HCM City needs over $22m to control air pollution
The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Natural Resources and Environment has built a project on an air quality observation center in the phase 2016-2020, which will need a total fund of VND495 billion (U$22.18 million) to build 27 automatic and 200 semiautomatic observation stations.Keep ...
Ten Vientiane industrial plants discharging unclean water
The Ministry of Natural Resource and Environment of Laos has confirmed that 10 industrial plants in Vientiane are discharging unclean and untreated water, some of which contains potentially harmful chemicals. Director General of the ministry’s Department of Pollution Control, Mr Khamphanh Nanthavong, addressed the issue on ...
Vietnam tells Taiwan firm to dig up waste pipe amid "red tide" disaster
Vietnam has told owners of a Taiwanese-built steel plant to dig up a controversial waste pipe, even after it found no evidence tying its discharge to mass fish deaths that have triggered health fears and public anger. Environment Minister Tran Hong Ha declared illegal the waste ...
Fish die en masse along coast in central Vietnam
A report released by Quang Binh Province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said toxic substances in water were the cause of mass fish deaths in the locality in the past week. The Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha on 20 April asked relevant ...
Project to reduce chemical risks to environment launched
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in collaboration with the UN Development Programme on 14 April launched the “Vietnam Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP) and Sound Harmful Chemicals Management Project”. The project is expected to provide technical support for the development of new regulations and technical ...
Experts urge action to end mass fish kills
Massive fish die-offs in many regions across the country recently have raised a big question about how local authorities should mitigate water pollution in aquaculture breeding areas.Last month, more than 1,000 tonnes of fish raised in cages along the Cai Vung River in the southern ...
Hanoi air pollution ‘hazardous’
Hanoi air pollution is at hazardous levels, threatening the health of those with respiratory diseases and endangering public health in general, according to Air Quality Index statistics.The index is published on the website and provides real time air quality and pollution monitoring of cities worldwide. Keep ...
Rough seas impede oil spill cleanup
Thailand’s Marine Department on 27 February said it had not been able to clean up the oil spill from the capsized cruise liner Ocean Dream off Koh Nok in Chon Buri’s Si Racha district due to high winds and waves impeding their operations. In a press statement, the department ...
Transport largest source of air pollution
Yangon’s traffic congestion is a major factor in fouling the city’s air, experts say. Speaking at an air quality seminar, Dr Than Htut, a retired head of the Occupational Health Unit, said it was the most important of three major causes of air pollution, the ...