Environment and natural resources

Forests and forestry

New forestry law has harsher penalties for encroachers and illegal loggers

Forest encroachers caught clearing land or burning trees, in any of Thailand’s national parks or gardens, in order to occupy the land, will soon face jail terms of up to 20 years and/or a fine of as much as two million baht under the new ...

MARD gathers ideas for timber regulations

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) is calling for ideas to create a draft decree that establishes a system of regulations ensuring Việt Nam’s legal timber and wood products qualify for import and export. The ideas are expected to come from relevant ministries and sectors, experts and ...

Timber mischief in Vietnam

In the Southeast Asian region, loss of area under natural forests is largely driven by natural resources extraction and demand for more land for production of food and other commodities. Earlier in 2018, progress tracking of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development goals for Southeast Asia revealed ...

Sheith Khidhir

Increasing ecosystem carbon is good for species, says new study

It is widely assumed that land uses that increase carbon in biomass and soil to mitigate climate change also benefit biodiversity. But that might not always be the case. Until recently, there was no clear picture on what the most likely carbon-boosting strategies, such as ...

Gloria Pallares

Making Yangon a green city

As Myanmar develops and urbanises, buildings, roads and bridges that meet international standards alone will not do. It is also important to systematically grow and preserve trees and green spaces in the city. The example of modern buildings together with parks is a popular trend in developed ...

Myat Moe Aung

Timber Company in Cambodia Continues to Collect Wood From Protected Forest Areas

A timber company in Cambodia is ignoring environmental protection laws by transporting felled trees by night from protected forests in the country, activists said on Monday. The Oeun Sovann Company, operating out of Kampong Thom province, has not been punished or stopped from ignoring conservation laws, ...

Cambodia’s sanctuaries under threat

Cambodia’s Beng Per Wildlife Sanctuary is symbolic of the country’s poor forestry management. Around 2,000 square kilometres (sq km) – around three times the size of Singapore – is lost to illegal logging in Cambodia every year where wildlife sanctuaries – despite their name – ...

Jason Thomas

Activist ‘victim’ of NCPO’s forest policy

Nittaya vows to keep fighting for land rights as Court slaps her with four months in jail, Bt40,000 in fines. THE APPEALS Court yesterday upheld a guilty verdict and jail term against a land-rights activist over forest encroachment. But in the eyes of many, Nittaya ...

Chularat Saengpassa

Study examines forest loss in Mekong region

Dramatic forest degradation and loss in the Greater Mekong region have both their causes and potential solutions rooted in forest governance, according to a recent publication by researchers from the Center for People and Forests (RECOFTC), the University of British Columbia, and WWF. (The full ...

Karen Mo

Press Release: The EU and Vietnam implement and Agreement on combating illegal logging and promoting trade in legal timber

On May 8th, 2019, the Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Viet Nam and Viet Nam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development held a joint meeting to announce the completion of the process of approval and ratification of a Voluntary Partnership Agreement on Forest ...

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