Environment and natural resources
Forests and forestry
Pristine bay in Phuket under threat from marina developers
A marina developer has plans to turn one of Phuket’s few remaining mangrove forests into a new gateway for luxury yachts and cruises post the Covid-19 pandemic period. In Ao Kung, a quiet bay in the northern part of bustling Phuket island, Sujirtra Thothip stood in ...
Wanpen Pajai
Cambodian people urged to help end snaring and wildlife trafficking
The Cambodian government and wildlife conservationists have urged the people to help end the snaring crisis and combat wildlife trafficking. They called upon all Cambodians to stop buying, selling, and consuming wildlife as this would bring an end to the notorious practice of snaring wild animals. According ...
New Straits Times
Warning of ecological disaster over Malaysia forest plantations
When Sia Beng Hok goes to check his rubber and batai (Moluccan albizia) trees, he makes sure he has a rifle on the backseat of his four-wheel drive. His plantations – all 5,000 hectares (19sq miles) of them – sit on forest reserve land in Kelantan ...
Yao-Hua Law
Mangroves in the Mekong Delta: growing opportunities or going under?
The Mekong Delta is home to the largest expanse of mangroves in Viet Nam but is also highly vulnerable to the twin effects of the climate crisis and coastal development, given its proximity to Ho Chi Minh City. The Delta is facing a high risk of ...
PHAM THU THUY
The Buddhist monks blessing trees to prevent deforestation
Wrapped in orange robes, occasionally with ornaments nestled into the roots and incense burning at the foot, such trees seen across Thailand could be confused for an art installation. Instead, their decoration is a signifier that the trees have been blessed by a Buddhist monk ...
Rebecca L. Root
Conservationists look for ‘divine intervention’ from forest development
A two-lane dirt road truncates the northeastern tree line of Phnom Tamao Forest, marking the start of a housing complex on private land bordering the protected area. Dozens of boundary markers cemented underneath the tree canopies of the forest indicate the plans for land exchange deals ...
ANTON L. DELGADO
Hundreds of environmental and customary land activists were killed, why is being a 'very dangerous' activist?
The killing of a prominent indigenous expert and a British journalist in Brazil is yet another safety issue for environmental and land activists around the world. Bruno Pereira, former head of Brazil’s indigenous organization Funai, and British journalist Dom Phillips were previously declared missing while reporting ...
Large-scale logging in Cambodia’s Prey Lang linked to politically-connected mining operation
The early onset of Cambodia’s wet season had seen the rain fall thick over Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary, turning freshly cut paths through the forest into a near-impassible slick of churned-up mud. But the torrential weather had done little to deter local loggers, who rode ...
Gerald Flynn|Andy Ball|Vutha Srey
Hundreds of endangered baby giant turtles released into Cambodian river
Hundreds of critically endangered baby giant turtles were released into Cambodia’s Mekong River to mark World Turtle Day on Monday. Cantor’s giant softshell turtles have all but vanished across their former territory in Vietnam and Thailand thanks to poaching and illegal trade, and were only rediscovered ...
AFP
Environment ignored as Myanmar struggles with coup
When Myanmar’s military staged a coup more than one year ago and seized power from a democratically-elected civilian government, not only did it undo a decade of opening up the country that brought a degree of freedom and prosperity to ordinary citizens, it also condemned ...
Thin Lei Win