Dead sea turtle in Thailand shines spotlight on environmental impact of Loy Krathong festival
Last month, a dead sea turtle was washed ashore in Chonburi. It was identified as a female endangered green sea turtle aged about 20. An examination by the Sea Turtle Conservation Centre in the Thai coastal province later showed its intestines were full of nylon string ...
Pichayada Promchertchoo
The Precarious State of the Mekong
The author Tucker Elliot wrote in “The Rainy Season” about the volatile nature of the Mekong: “No matter the border, the Mekong has been an indiscriminate giver and taker of life in Southeast Asia for thousands of years. It’s a paradox like civilization’s other great rivers – ...
Nicholas Muller
Global Survey Sees Seven Out of Ten People Wanting to End Plastic Pollution
Ahead of next week’s inaugural negotiations on what will be included in the UN’s plastics treaty, WWF and Plastic Free Foundation release an Ipsos survey showing that an average of seven out of 10 people polled across 34 countries believe that the treaty should create ...
Phontham Visapra
Flooding thwarted by dams, Mekong Delta flood-resistant houses stand unused for decades
Around 100 flood-resistant houses built in the Mekong Delta have not been used for two decades as upstream dams have disrupted the eagerly awaited flooding season. One afternoon in November, Nguyen Thi Diem, 32, and her husband took advantage of the sunny weather to fix the ...
Hoang Nam
UN Warns of Growing Criminal Threat from Mekong Region Casinos, SEZs
The unchecked growth of freewheeling business enclaves and casinos in and around Laos is opening new money laundering and drug trafficking options for crime networks using the country to push spiraling volumes of narcotics across Asia, the United Nations warns. As China and Thailand tighten their ...
Zsombor Peter
From Thailand to the Mekong Region, Netflix and Purin Pictures Expand Reach of Second Short Film Camp
Twelve teams of directors and producers from Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar have been selected to take part in a ten-day filmmaking workshop this December. This is the second year running that Netflix is a major sponsor of the Short Film Camp led by Purin ...
Netflix
Will the Mekong River Really Become the Next South China Sea?
In recent years, the fate of Southeast Asia’s great river – the Mekong – has attracted growing international scrutiny. The Mekong faces many challenges, from the impacts of climate change and saline encroachment in its delta, to dam developments on the headwaters of the river ...
Sebastian Strangio
Record high tide inundates Mekong Delta capital
Water levels along the Hau River, a Mekong branch, rose to 2.27 meters, breaking the 2019 record and plunging Can Tho City in chaos. Commuters drive through floodwaters on Nguyen Trai Street in Can Tho’s downtown district of Ninh Kieu at 9 p.m. on Wednesday. Tides on ...
Cuu Long, Nguyen Anh
Student contributions sought for better monitoring of Mekong River
A competition has been launched to challenge university students to design technology to monitor the Mekong’s water level, rainfall, soil moisture, and water quality. The River Monitoring Technology Competition, launched by the Mekong River Commission (MRC), is for students in the four regional countries of Cambodia, ...
Minh Nga
Can Mekong Stingrays Tell the Chinese Dam Story Well?
Can a giant stingray in the Lower Mekong be used to craft a good narrative about Chinese upstream dams? It can, according to an unsigned Khmer Times article in June 2022 about a 300-kilogramme stingray found in Cambodia’s Stung Treng province. The article quoted Zeb Hogan, ...
HOANG THI HA