Environment and natural resources
Thailand encourages South Korean investment in Mekong subregion development projects
THAILAND has reassured South Korea there will be plenty of opportunities for the country’s participation in development projects in the Mekong subregion, the Foreign Ministry said. Several development projects are planned for this year and the next that can be carried out under the Mekong-ROK cooperation ...
Hunting the hunters
On a cliff overlooking the southwest plains of Cambodia, there is a bullet-ridden casino. Built in the 1920s, when Bokor was a hill resort largely reserved for wealthy French colonials, during the 1970s and 1980s it became the front line in the battle between the ...
Hoi An faces pollution crisis
The first signs that Hoi An could be heading for an over-tourism crisis are surfacing on Facebook Page comments. Billed as one of Vietnam’s pristine World Heritage sites, Hoi An’s tourism success could backfire due to a failure to tackle pollution. The tiny lanes lined with wooded ...
BirdLife, Ratanakkiri provincial authorities meet VN firm over wildlife conservation
Ratanakkiri provincial authorities and BirdLife International Cambodia Programme have urged Hoang Anh Lumphat Co Ltd to preserve the habitat of endangered fauna species in a protected area and discontinue forest clearing. Hoang Anh Lumphat operates on an economic land concession (ELC) within Ratanakkiri province’s Lumphat Wildlife ...
EIA exposed – the campaign against Myanmar’s teak trade accused of making false allegations against innocent timber trader
A London-based campaign group which achieved international headlines by alleging massive corruption in Myanmar’s timber industry now stands accused of getting its facts wrong. The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) claimed in its report State of Corruption: the top-level conspiracy behind the global trade in Myanmar’s stolen ...
Xieng Khuang cracks down on illegal logging and corrupt officials
Authorities in Xieng Khuang province are investigating more officials allegedly involved in taking bribes in connection with the illegal timber trade which has caused great damage to the nation. The provincial Governor, Mr Bounton Chanthaphone, told a news conference, which was held as part of a ...
Somsack Pongkhao
Conference promotes cooperation to protect Mekong River
A conference on how to enhance cooperation in protecting the Mekong River via smarter water energy planning approaches and wide application of renewable energy throughout the Mekong region was held in Hanoi on June 28. The event was jointly organised by the Stimson Centre, the International Union for ...
The Waste Land
Sitting outside the recycling facility that houses her business and family, Kim Mouy, 51, who also goes by Mae Kamouy, watches over her workers as they churn through Phnom Penh’s trash. She is perched upon a wooden stump opposite an unstable heap of black plastic – ...
Evie Breese and Thim Rachna
Mekong Delta faces severe climate risks
Nguyễn Hữu Thiện, talks to the newspaper Thanh Niên (Young People) on the eco-system in the Mekong Delta and threats from climate change. How do you assess the importance of the Government’s Resolution 120 on Sustainable and Climate Resilient Development of the Mekong Delta in the regional development? The Government’s Resolution 120 ...
It’s not just melting glaciers that endanger the Mekong and its region
Recent reports of a rapid diminishment in the size of the glaciers that feed the great rivers of Asia, including the Mekong, have received wide coverage, not least because they are accompanied by striking visuals. What is happening at the other end of the river in the ...
Milton Osborne