Aid and development
Online workshop on physical inspection of timber shipments in the Lower Mekong Region hosted by the CITES Secretariat
The Lower Mekong Region is home to around 100 CITES-listed tree species. These include CITES Appendix-II timber-producing species of rosewoods (genus Dalbergia), yew trees (genus Taxus spp.), and agarwood (genus Aquilaria), some of which are highly valuable for international trade. This has made some of these species a target ...
PM to present net-zero goal at COP26
Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha will attend the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in the United Kingdom next week where he will formally announce Thailand’s new pledge to achieve carbon neutrality by 2065. Natural Resources and Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa said Thailand’s delegates to the ...
PRATCH RUJIVANAROM
China's Xi launches $232 mln biodiversity protection fund for developing countries
Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the launch of a 1.5 billion yuan ($232.47 million) fund on Tuesday to support biodiversity protection in developing countries, as talks continue on a new post-2020 global pact to tackle species loss. Xi was virtually addressing the COP15 biodiversity summit in ...
David Stanway; Writing by Kanupriya Kapoor; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan
End Poverty — Build a More Resilient Economy in Lao PDR
October 17 is the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, or End Poverty Day as it is often known, one of the most important days on the calendar for people working in governments and development agencies all over the world. Let me be clear: poverty ...
Korea Forest Service Discusses Forest Cooperation with 4 Mekong Region Countries
The Korea Forest Service held the 9th meeting of the Korea-Mekong Forest Cooperation Committee on Oct. 14 and discussed ways to strengthen forest cooperation to jointly respond to climate change with four countries in the Mekong region — Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam. The online meeting ...
Jung Suk-yee
Asia: Malaria in the Greater Mekong subregion
According to 2nd Quarter 2021 data from the World Health Organization (WHO) Mekong Malaria Elimination Program published October 1, the Greater Mekong subregion (GMS) reported 12,454 malaria cases from April to June 2021. The data shows Plasmodium falciparum and mixed cases were down 69 percent from the same ...
NEWS DESK
Greenwashing Big Hydropower
Despite being linked to several disasters, the Asian Development Bank has reaffirmed its commitment to large hydro developments. Rishika Pardikar speaks to people holding it to account. Large hydropower projects, which use moving water to create electricity, can have destructive consequences for the environment – despite their seemingly ...
Rishika Pardikar
Countries Have $385 Billion In ‘Hidden Debts’ To China, Study Finds
A new study found under-reported debts of at least $385 billion owed by different countries to China in the past two decades, and that one-third of projects under the Belt and Road Initiative have run into major implementation problems. The hidden debts, which slipped through the ...
Reported by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.
UN Says Poverty in Myanmar at Worst Level in 20 Years Following Coup
The UN’s top humanitarian official in Myanmar said on Thursday the country’s people are living in “a severe crisis,” with a level of poverty not seen for at least 20 years. In a virtual briefing for UN correspondents, Andrew Kirkwood said the number of people in ...
THE IRRAWADDY
China Joins Lower Mekong River Countries to Study Impacts of Climate Change, Dams
China and the countries of the lower Mekong River are teaming up for their largest joint study yet of the impacts climate change and hydropower dams are having on one of Asia’s great waterways, and how to cope with the growing threats from floods and ...
Zsombor Peter