Environment and natural resources

Forests and forestry

Germany provides EUR 20 million for forest law enforcement, trade

The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development is providing about EUR 20 million and the Lao government is contributing the equivalent of EUR 4 million as non-cash benefits for the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) project from 2021 to 2026. An agreement ...

Viengdavanh Banphahaksa

Nearly 3K illegal burn sites identified across Kingdom

Illegal burning of rice stubble and land at the periphery of forests continues to occur throughout the Kingdom’s rural areas, especially in the north and northeast regions, according to officials who documented the activities on site. Wong Devorn, a civil servant and history professor, told The ...

Voun Dara

Myanmar’s troubled forestry sector seeks global endorsement after coup

In the midst of political chaos fomented by a Feb. 1 military coup of the government in Myanmar, the country’s forestry sector is seeking legitimization from the international community. A statement from the nationally privatized Myanmar Forest Products and Timber Merchants Association (MFPTMA), with an oddly ...

Mongabay.com

Exploring nine Ramsar sites of Vietnam

Vietnam became a member of the Convention on Wetlands, known as the Ramsar Convention, in 1989. So far, nine wetlands in the country have been recognised as Ramsar sites – wetlands of international importance. The Ramsar Convention, signed in Iran’s Ramsar city in 1971, is an international treaty that ...

Forests are needed to absorb carbon, but the overheating planet might soon flip a critical switch

New research shows that the fast warming of the planet could cause trees and plants to release more carbon than they absorb, a critical function reversal that would further accelerate climate change. By as early as 2040, given the current projections of global temperature rise, land ...

Jack Board

For border-crossing Thai tigers, the forest on the other side isn’t as green

Big cats require big home ranges. In February 2016, a young male Indochinese tiger (Panthera tigris corbetti) walked from Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary in western Thailand to Kayin state in Myanmar. After crossing mountains, rivers, roads and national borders over the course of its 170-kilometer (105-mile) ...

Carolyn Cowan

Time is up for illegal loggers in protected park

The Royal Academy of Cambodia (RAC) will start enforcing the law to arrest perpetrators and seize timber and bulldozers as there is still illegal logging at Preah Vihear province’s Techo Sen Russey Trep Park. RAC president Sok Touch said yesterday that his patience has been exhausted, ...

Buth Sela

The guardians of Siamese rosewood

“We bury a GPS tracker in the wood. We call them rabbits,” says Cheewapap Cheewatham, director of Thailand’s Forest Protection and Fire Control Bureau, part of the forestry department. He tells China Dialogue that they used to just impound as evidence cut rosewood they found ...

Ryn Jirenuwat, Tyler Roney

Lao PDR and World Bank sign $42 deal to reduce emissions from deforestation

The Lao PDR and the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) have signed an agreement to provide up to $42 million between now and 2025 to support the country’s efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+). A ceremony today marked the launch of this ...

Drones aid Thailand’s reforestation

Across the world, communities are fighting to restore tree cover. Biodiversity loss and efforts to mitigate climate change are driving forces for this renewed interest in forests. However, the high costs in developing economies and poor political resolve in wealthy nations continue to hinder reforestation ...

Alita Sharon

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