Environment and natural resources
Thailand's famed 'Rose of the North' is wilting
This 700-year-old city nestled in a green valley of northern Thailand has long enjoyed a story-book reputation for its myriad Buddhist monasteries and charming wooden homes, the delicate manners of its citizens and a tranquillity hardly ruffled by its temple bells. More than 10 million tourists ...
Denis D. Gray
China winning new Cold War on the Mekong
When the state tabloid China Daily ran a paid advertisement in the New York Times extolling the virtues of Beijing’s proliferating dams in Laos, the piece sparked a new cold war controversy. Entitled “Employment on hydroelectric project in Laos delivers better lives”, the piece stated that ...
Where does your plastic go? Global investigation reveals America's dirty secret
What happens to your plastic after you drop it in a recycling bin? According to promotional materials from America’s plastics industry, it is whisked off to a factory where it is seamlessly transformed into something new. This is not the experience of Nguyễn Thị Hồng Thắm, a ...
Erin McCormick, Bennett Murray, Carmela Fonbuena, Leonie Kijewski, Gökçe Saraçoğlu, Jamie Fullerton, Alastair Gee, Charlotte Simmonds
$1.9bn proposed to help Vietnam’s Mekong Delta cope with climate change
Vietnam’s Ministry of Planning and Investment is expected to propose pouring an additional investment worth VND45 trillion (US$1.9 billion) into ongoing efforts to boost development in the Mekong Delta and to help the region cope with climate change. The financial assistance will be spent over the ...
Vietnam's Cham Islands successfully protect biodiversity
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, ...
International team visits Tennessee for water development initiative
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 ...
Leon Roberts
Robust and coordinated action needed to save Asia-Pacific’s forests – new UN FAO report
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 to give data to prevent Isan floods
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 ...
Perspectives: Dancing rivers of Myanmar – mapping moves from space
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 ...
Karthikeyan Matheswaran, Thanapon Piman, Rajesh Daniel
Thailand 'Prostituting its Resources,' Says Top Nature Photographer
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 ...
Asaree Thaitrakulpanich
