Environment and natural resources
Forests and forestry
Thailand: Southeast Asia’s Last Hope for Wildlife?
With wildlife populations in Indochina in rapid decline, Thailand is the last great hope for the region’s natural heritage, particularly for large carnivores such as tigers and leopards. In fact, many donor organizations feel that Thailand has already achieved mid-level development status, making it more ...
Samlot rife with land grabs
Authorities are facing mounting pressure to safeguard the Samlot Protected Area, where villagers and wealthy land-grabbers continue to trespass to start orchards and claim ownership of the plots. The area, which straddles Battambang and Pailin provinces, is jointly protected by the Ministry of Environment and ...
Mekong region faces even greater forest losses, WWF warns
Top environmental group says countries on mainland Southeast Asia need to ramp up their forest protection policies or face the threat of millions of hectares being lost to ‘development’ and infrastructure projects over coming decades. Read ...
Government rips into WWF report
The Ministry of Agriculture’s Forestry Administration spokesman Keo Omaliss hit back on Thursday at a World Wildlife Fund (WWF) report that claims the Greater Mekong will lose 30 percent of its forests by 2030 without drastic action. He said the claims do not accurately reflect ...
Greater Mekong region tries to stop devastation
The Greater Mekong region, once the world’s most densely forested area, has lost a third of its natural forest cover and will lose another third by 2030 unless action is taken immediately, according to a new World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) report. Keep reading ...
Project to boost conservation
The Mekong River Commission and the Japan International Cooperation Agency have launched a joint study on forest conservation and river basin management in the lower Mekong aimed at improving management and environmental conservation of the area. Keep reading ...
Myanmar one of several countries in danger of losing its ‘intact forest’ by 2030
Earth’s intact forests shrank by an area larger than Austria every year from 2014 to 2016 at a 20 percent faster rate than during the previous decade, scientists said 20 June as the UN unveiled an initiative to harness the “untapped potential” of the land ...
China Shuts Down Ivory Trade, Wildlife Trafficking Continues
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 ...
Civil society organisations discuss forest governance in Mekong region
Representatives from civil society organisations, government line agencies and donor organisations met in Vientiane yesterday to discuss the strengthening of non-state actors for improved forest governance in the Mekong region. Keep reading ...
Vientiane Times Reporter
Project launched to conserve natural resources in Mondulkiri
The European Union and WWF yesterday launched a $3.4 million project to conserve natural resources in Mondulkiri province. According to a press release issued yesterday, the EU and WWF have officially launched a project worth $3.4 million to support sustainable management of rich forest resources ...
Sen David