Land
Thailand penalizes peasants, not real climate offenders
A recent decision by a Thai appellate court against 14 residents of Ban Sapwai, a village in the northeastern province of Chaiyaphum, proves again that peasant women are bearing the brunt of false climate-change solutions. Instead of committing to the goal of mitigating climate change by phasing ...
Suluck Lamubol
Dawei SEZ stands better chance with Japanese participation, officials say
The governments of Myanmar, Japan and Thailand will be meeting over the troubled Dawei special economic zone (SEZ) project that has stalled since 2013 for lack of funding. Ministers will form a Joint Cooperation Committee to discuss how Japan can be more involved in developing ...
Chan Mya Htwe
EEC megaproject draws flak from residents
The Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) is a well-known flagship megaproject of the military government. The project aims to turn most of the land in the three provinces of Chachoengsao, Chon Buri and Rayong into industrial zones. When completed, the project is expected to change the face ...
Sonthanaporn Inchan
Dawei Road could endanger forests and wildlife - Report
Myanmar’s lush rainforests and at least nine globally-threatened species are facing significant risks if the Dawei-Htee Khee road project (“Dawei Road”) continues without a comprehensive biodiversity protection plan, conservation experts warned. In the report entitled ‘Nature in Peril: The risk to forests and wildlife from the ...
Myanmar economic zone reimagined as export hub to India
Plans for an economic zone in southern Myanmar will be reworked by Japan into an export base to such markets as India, Nikkei has learned, in an attempt to kick-start the stalled project as China expands its economic influence in the Southeast Asian country. The new ...
Takashi Tsuji
Plight of citizens PUSHED ASIDE by progress
Looking from the West to the East, the North to the South, large-scale development continues apace across Southeast Asia, leaving a toll on people whether or not it is linked to ambitious plans proposed in Asean frameworks. On June12, Cambodian villagers had travelled a long distance and across the border ...
Piyaporn Wongruang
Mekong SEZs commit to promoting ‘decent work’ for women migrant workers
During the Mekong Migration Network (MMN) and Asian Institute of Technology’s (AIT) workshop, Jobs in SEZs: Promoting Gender-Sensitive Policies in the Mekong Region, representatives of governments, special economic zone (SEZ) management bodies, and civil society from Myanmar, Cambodia, and Thailand, committed to promoting decent work ...
Cambodia for sale
This week, Cambodia has come together in mourning for the deaths of 28 people trapped in the wreckage of an illegal development in the coastal city in Sihanoukville. The collapse came at the height of more than a decade of unchecked and often unregulated development ...
Cathy Scott-Clark, Adrian Levy, and Peter Harris
Kokko Chinatown project sparks concerns in Tak
Border towns are often labelled as remote villages without modern infrastructure or amenities. However, recent economic policies such as the development of special economic zones and foreign investment have led to the urbanisation of these rural areas. A clear example of this can be seen in Mae ...
Assawin Pinitwong
High-speed rail project mired in land issues
The high-speed train project to link up three major airports is still mired in land expropriation and eviction problems concerning 20% of the land required for construction despite it being expected to begin operation in five years. If the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) fails to ...