Environment and natural resources
Govt proceeds with planned Mekong hydro project
The government has informed the Mekong River Commission that it will proceed with the planned development of a new Mekong hydropower project in Pakbaeng district, Oudomxay province. The MRC Secretariat said on its website that it has received notification from the Lao government that Laos ...
The hydropower paradox: is this energy as clean as it seems?
In July, UN Secretary Ban Ki-Moon highlighted the role of hydropower in boosting the use of renewable energy globally, when he visited a nonprofit institute in China that helps emerging nations develop and build hydropower plants. Many countries consider hydroelectricity a clean source of power ...
Radical reform of ‘outdated’ environmental laws urged
Academics and legal experts on November 9 called for radical reforms of decades-old environmental laws, with public participation to ensure the rights of all citizens to live in healthy surroundings. The call was issued as the Law Reform Commission and the Good Governance for Social Development ...
Ministry plans wildlife corridors to boost Cambodia's biodiversity
Cambodia’s Ministry of Environment gathered a network of government and civil society representatives on November 8 to begin planning the creation of a biodiversity conservation corridor that would make it easier for wildlife to thrive. Biodiversity corridors connect isolated conservation areas with strips of vegetation to ...
Eight countries agree on irrigation scheme
Eight countries signed a ministerial declaration in Chiang Mai on November 6 to cooperate on improving irrigation systems among member countries to ensure food and water security. A high-level advisory group on “Partnerships for Agriculture Water Management” was established by the Chiang Mai Declaration to facilitate improved ...
Funding a priority at COP22 climate conference
A Cambodian delegation arrived in Morocco on November 7 for the start of the COP22 international climate change conference armed with reasons why the country should receive international funding to fight global warming. “We will deliver a statement at COP22, and one of the points is ...
Fish experts to confer on enhanced regional fisheries productivity
Lao and international fish experts are set to discuss ways to promote greater fisheries productivity in the region to push for food security, at an upcoming conference scheduled to take place in Vientiane. The International Fishway Conference scheduled to take place from November 14-17 will ...
Attempts to curb electric fishing failing
Poachers are defying the law and risking imprisonment by continuing to use electric-shock methods to stun and catch fish, conservationists say. They say the practise is inflicting serious damage on the ecosystems of the Ayeyarwady River. The use of batteries to stun fish, as well ...
Fierce competition for plastics sector
Plastic firms in Việt Nam face fierce competition and risk being acquired by foreign companies, experts said on November 2 at a conference in HCM City. Phạm Văn Bắc, deputy head of the construction ministry’s department of building materials, said the plastic industry had the potential ...
Irrawaddy dolphins functionally extinct in Laos: Survey
The population of critically endangered Mekong River Dolphins – Irrawaddy Dolphins – in the Cheuteal trans-boundary pool between southern Laos and northern Cambodia has shrunk by 50 percent this year and the population is functionally extinct in Laos. World Wildlife Fund survey teams from Laos and ...
