Environment and natural resources
Commentary: The Laos dam collapse, and the hidden costs of the Mekong's hydroelectric plans
Beyond concern for the undoubted human costs of the collapse of a dam in Laos, this event once again focuses attention on the long-term effect of the massive expansion of hydropower in the Mekong Basin. Keep reading ...
Southeast Asian nations grapple with worsening plastic trash crisis
China, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam are dumping more plastic into oceans than the rest of the world combined. Are Southeast Asian nations doing enough to tackle the ever-growing plastic pollution problem? []The website Mekong Eye says that Southeast Asia’s Mekong region is “the world’s single ...
Cambodia to evacuate 25,000 people downstream of collapsed Laos dam
An estimated 25,000 people are being evacuated from a northern Cambodian province following extensive flooding due to the collapse of a massive hydropower dam in neighboring Laos. Authorities in Stung Treng province are attempting to evacuate towns and villages downstream from the dam, which has ...
Flood alert as Mekong water rises
Residents in Nakhon Phanom were on Thursday warned to brace for possible flooding after the water level in the Mekong River rose to 11 metres, two metres away from overflow, due to downpours caused by tropical storm Son-Tinh. Keep reading ...
Programme helps raise Mekong Delta’s resilience to climate change effects
The Integrated Coastal Management Programme (ICMP) in the Mekong Delta region has brought about marked economic benefits to targeted localities, heard a conference in Can Tho city on July 24. The programme was launched in 2011 at a cost of 23 million EUR (26.9 million USD) ...
Addressing development along the Mekong river
Pou Sothirak, executive director of the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace, sat down with Khmer Times’ COO Kay Kimsong to discuss the Mekong river and Cambodia’s role in its conservation in light of China creating the Global Centre Mekong Study (GCMS) to conduct academic ...
How a Frenzied Race to Harness the Mekong Turned Deadly
Stretching from its headwaters in the high-altitude Tibetan Plateau to its endpoint in the delta marshes of Vietnam, the mighty Mekong River is one of the world’s great ecosystems. For Laos, it represents so much more: the energy source behind an ambitious hydro-power buildout and ...
Lao dam collapse will not affect Mekong Delta: expert
The Xe Pian – Xe Namnoy hydropower dam in southern Laos, which collapsed on the night of July 23, will not affect Vietnam’s Mekong Delta region, according to Associate Professor Le Anh Tuan, head of the Climate Change Research Institute under the Can Tho University. Keep ...
Environment Hazards of Intensive Shrimp Farming on Mekong Delta
Vietnam either has to change the way it approaches shrimp farming or face the loss of hundreds of hectares of land. Shrimp farmer Nguyen Manh Hung lost his entire farm to erosion in 2016 after a series of ravaging droughts and floods. He and his ...
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 ...
