Environment and natural resources
Grain drain, Laos' sand mining damaging the Mekong
Grain by grain, truckload by truckload, Laos’ section of the Mekong river is being dredged of sand to make cement—a commodity being devoured by a Chinese-led building boom in the capital. But the hollowing out of the riverbed is also damaging a vital waterway that feeds ...
As clouds head for the poles, time to prepare for food and water shocks
A changing climate means less rain and lower water supplies in regions where many people live and much of the planet’s food is produced: the mid-latitudes of the Northern and Southern hemispheres, including the U.S. Southwest, southern Europe and parts of the Middle East, southern ...
Land used for palm oil could double without damaging forests, say researchers
The area covered by palm oil plantations worldwide could double without damaging protected areas or sensitive forests, Austrian researchers said on Tuesday (July 26).Researchers from the Austria-based International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) studied satellite maps from South-east Asia, Africa and Latin America to ...
Vietnam busts illegal transport of 18 bear legs from Laos
Police in the central province of Thanh Hoa seized 18 frozen bear legs transported aboard a bus by its driver without a license Tuesday.The limbs, weighing 38 kilograms in all, were identified as belonging to red-listed sun bears, news website VnExpress said.Dinh Hong Phuong, 47, ...
Rosewood exports to Vietnam achieved with fake signatures: official
housands of cubic metres of endangered Siamese rosewood were sent to Vietnam in 2014 with export permits bearing the Photoshopped signature of a retired Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) secretary of state, a ministry official said yesterday.The trade in Siamese rosewood was internationally ...
Laos builds third hydropower dam, threatening Mekong River in VN
Vietnam needs to find solutions to the increasing number of hydropower dams being built in regional countries, according to Dr Vu Trong Hong, chair of the Vietnam Water Resources Association, and former Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. Laos is preparing to build the ...
Disney carbon deal follows past emissions credit failure
A $2.6 million deal by Walt Disney Company to preserve nearly 300,000 hectares of eastern Cambodian forest through the purchase of carbon credits will need to overcome past failures to succeed, critics said on 25 July. The carbon trade aims to counter 365,000 tons of emissions ...
ASEAN deadlocked on South China Sea after Cambodia blocks statement
Southeast Asian nations failed to find common ground on maritime disputes in the South China Sea on July 24 after Cambodia stuck to its demand the group make no reference to an international court ruling against Beijing in a statement, diplomats said. ASEAN is now facing ...
One man’s fight to save the lake
In a bamboo stilt house surrounded by kayaks, bicycles and other trappings of nature tourism, Zwe Zaw Zaw Hein is teaching village children about the value of their local environment. The 22-year-old is one of around 30 young people involved in an eco-tourism initiative called Inn ...
Government, plantation managers trade blame
The managers of some of Cambodia’s most controversial agribusiness plantations on 21 July blamed their many land disputes on the government, accusing officials of failing to educate communities about the benefits of their giant farms. Rights groups blame economic land concessions for some of Cambodia’s worst problems, ...
