Environment and natural resources

CHÀM ISLANDS, Vietnam – Local fisherman Huynh Tan Loc now earns his living mostly from home-stay and food services or night-fishing on a boat rather than regular fishing. Loc, 56, and his wife can earn VND350,000 (US$15) per night from renting out a room, excluding food, ...

An international team from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam visited the Tennessee and Cumberland River Systems last week at the invitation of the United States in support of water development in the Lower Mekong River Basin. The U.S. State Department sponsored the sharing of information ...

Forests in the vast Asia-Pacific region are facing a serious threat as primary forest cover is now only 19 percent of total forest area – the lowest level of any region worldwide, a major gathering of forestry stakeholders heard today. Some 2,000 delegates are participating in Asia-Pacific ...

Laos has agreed in principle to provide data and information about water resources and management plans involving the Mekong River directly to Thai authorities to assess the water situation and take action to prevent floods in eight northeastern provinces. Somkiat Prajamwong, secretary-general of the Office of ...

Changes in river morphology including floods, erosion, and landslides are affecting ecosystem habitats and the lives and livelihoods of communities living along Myanmar’s rivers. SERVIR-Mekong is using satellite-based monitoring tools to support Myanmar agencies and communities to manage the risks better. Last year in Myanmar, floods ...

As one of Thailand’s foremost marine conservation photographers, Sirachai “Shin” Arunrugstichai sees on a daily basis dead baby sharks discarded as trash by fishing trawlers, tourist speedboats crushing coral, and dead whales cut open and full of plastic. “We are prostituting our resources for others to ...

Forest cover is expected to increase to 68 per cent of the country’s land area by 2020, slightly below the target of 70 per cent, the latest report on the matter suggests. A 2015 survey revealed that forest cover stood at 58 percent. With an annual ...

The Government of Myanmar today announced its vision for the country’s environmental protection and climate action, launching two new policies that will guide Myanmar’s environmental management and climate change strategy. Myanmar is widely considered one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to the impacts ...

The loss of forestlands is disastrous for the indigenous Koi people of south east Asia. The Chom Penh forest provides their homes, their food and their income. Many in this region make their living from selling resin from the trees that surround them. But their ancestral ...

Students in Cambodia experience climate change firsthand. For the second time in four years, school hours had to be reduced across the country, due to record heat waves in the dry season. Now those students are becoming part of the effort to find solutions, a ...