Environment and natural resources
Authorities told to tackle water pollution to prevent deaths of aquatic animals
Dr Nantarika Chansue, head of the Veterinary Medical Aquatic Animal Research Centre at Chulalongkorn University, said on October 12 it was too late to do anything about the recent deaths of giant freshwater stingrays but authorities could work to restore the water quality in the ...
Kayah residents protest planned Pwunchaung dam
About 500 residents of Bawlakhe township, Kayah State, on October 11 protested plans to build a dam on Pwunchaung Stream, as water and soil examination continues. Transparency and environmental impact are the major concerns for the protestors, who already sent letters to the president and state ...
Shark fin trade swims on, despite ban
Pungent piles of dried fish meat fill tiny shops on the ground floor of Phnom Penh’s Phsar O’Russei as the latest catch flops in metal basins. Hanging from some stalls are bags of half-meter long, leathery, dried shark fins—destined for expensive bowls of a soup ...
Gov’t, Vietnam exchange blame on logging
Cambodian conservation officials spoke publicly for the first time on October 10 about what they described as nearly three years of corrupt practices by their Vietnamese counterparts in facilitating the multibillion-dollar illicit trade in Siamese rosewood. But their complaint comes amid allegations from Hanoi that ...
China downplays reports of sharing river waters with India
Playing down official media reports mooting a mechanism to share Brahmaputra river waters with India, China on October 10 said Beijing and New Delhi have “effective” cooperation to share data of the river flow and it is willing to continue it. “China and India have appropriate ...
Khanh Hoa leader opposes China’s election in so-called ‘Sansha’ city
Chairman of the People’s Committee of central Khanh Hoa province Le Duc Vinh has rejected China’s election of deputies to the People’s Congress in the so-called ‘Sansha’ city. In a statement posted on Khanh Hoa province’s e-portal on October 10, the official affirmed that Truong Sa ...
Stakeholders hope capacity building continues once programme ends
Officials, experts and beneficiaries of a Norwegian assistance programme hope target communities continue the capacity development founded by the project once the support ends. They expressed this desire at the closure of support provided by Norwegian Church Aid, which has been implemented in 11 provinces of ...
Scoring palm oil buyers on their sustainability commitments
2015 was supposed to be a big year for the palm oil industry — the year it proposed to reach a “tipping point” and begin predominantly producing and trading palm oil that was not responsible for the destruction of forests, abuses of human rights, and ...
Illegal waste imports reach alarming level
Mismanagement and legal loopholes have both lent a hand to enterprises to illegally import prohibited waste. The National Assembly’s Standing Committee convened a meeting on September 13 discussing the amendment of the Technology Transfer Law. At the meeting, National Assembly’s Chair Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan asked: “Will ...
PM welcomes new WB Country Director in Vietnam
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc congratulated Ousmane Dione on his appointment as new Country Director for the World Bank in Vietnam at a reception at the Government’s headquarters in Hanoi on October 4. He said the WB is important to Vietnam and bilateral relations are being ...
