Biodiversity

Southeast Asia is a global biodiversity hotspot, and Indonesia and Malaysia are no exception, harboring some of the highest levels of species diversity in the world. Yet those two countries also supply more than 80 percent of the world’s palm oil, and it’s widely acknowledged ...

A Chinese-backed plan for Cambodia to build the Mekong River’s biggest dam would destroy fisheries that feed millions and worsen tensions with Vietnam, the downstream country with most to lose from dams on the waterway, according to a three-year study commissioned by the Cambodian government. Keep ...

Experts are questioning the touted benefits of an approved multimillion-dollar plan to prevent saltwater intrusion in a coastal province in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta region, highlighting fears of negative ecological and agricultural impacts. Keep reading ...

China deserves credit for shutting down the illegal trading in elephant ivory that has contributed in recent years to the killing of thousands of African pachyderms. But much credit should also go to international nongovernment organizations that have championed the elephants’ cause and raised public ...

Many elephants are being hunted for their skin across Asia and the problem is reaching a crisis point, said a report released yesterday by an international NGO that is dedicated to protecting the animals from extinction. Keep reading ...

The Mekong River ecosystem has been devastated from rising water levels during the dry season, as upstream dams in China discharge water to facilitate navigation in the river. Keep reading ...

Conservationists have found 20 nests of the critically endangered Asian Giant Softshell Turtle, containing a total of 663 eggs, in Mekong River sandbars in Kratie province, the Wildlife Conservation Society announced on Wednesday. Keep reading ...

Unquestionably, construction tycoon Premchai Karnasuta is the man of the moment. His name is on everyone’s lips, after he and three of his entourage were arrested and charged with poaching in Unesco’s World Heritage Thungyai Naresuan wildlife sanctuary on Feb 4.  []There are reasons to believe hunting ...

Laos’ reputation as having some of the most lush and diverse forests in the Mekong remains under serious threat after a December investigation by government officials found evidence of large-scale illegal logging operations in the southern Attapeu province, despite recent efforts to end the practice. ...

A crocodile lizard that has been turned into a cartoon character, a snail-eating turtle discovered in a Thai food market and a horseshoe bat that would not look out of place in a Star Wars movie are just three of the 115 new species discovered ...