Environment and natural resources
Another poor wet season endangers Cambodia’s biggest lake and its people
Climate change, unsustainable and illegal fishing and the proliferation of hydropower dams on rivers that feed Tonle Sap threaten the livelihoods of over one million Cambodians. Sarun Nong, a fisher on Koh Krabey, a small island in Cambodia’s Tonle Sap lake, takes another look at the fishing net ...
By Ate Hoekstra, The Third Pole
Vietnam reconsiders methane-emitting rice amid climate crisis
At the United Nations COP26 summit in Scotland, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh joined 109 countries in pledging to reduce methane emissions by 30 percent by 2030. To meet the commitment, the Southeast Asian nation will need to look at rice – one of the ...
Govi Snell
Thailand endorses projects for the conservation of marine mammals
The government is proceeding with conservation and management efforts for marine mammals by enforcing regulations that are in line with international practices, to prevent negative effects on Thai seafood exports. Deputy Prime Minister Gen. Prawit Wongsuwon presided over a meeting of the National Fishery Committee, which gave an endorsement to urgent projects ...
Pattaya Mail
The Greater Mekong region: A hotspot of wildlife and crime
Did you know that illegal logging can be five times as lucrative as selling the world’s most well-known soda? In 2020, the Coca-Cola company reported $33 billion in revenue. The global illegal timber trade, in comparison, generates up to $152 billion a year — accounting for up ...
Sheryl Lee Tian Tong
Climate change adaptation compromised, Mekong Delta faces manmade disaster
Anthropogenic drivers in the Mekong Delta will limit opportunities to adapt to climate change even as it dominates threats to the region in coming years, a new report warns. The Mekong Delta has long historical experience of dealing with water- and climate-related factors which can threaten ...
Viet Anh
Mangrove forest threatened
THE mangroves in Cai Gio District hold a deep, dark secret. They are the only ones to have recovered from chemical warfare. Formed in the large delta at the estuaries of three rivers – Dong Nai, Sai Gon and Vam Co – the Can Gio mangroves ...
ASEANPLUS NEWS
As Warming and Drought Increase, A New Case for Ending Big Dams
As the hydroelectric dam industry tries to reposition itself as a climate change solution, more and more evidence shows that climate change actually undermines the case for hydro dams. Gone are the days when hydropower was considered the predominant engine of the world economy, leading a ...
JACQUES LESLIE
ASEAN peatlands: Critical in mitigating the climate crisis
Peatlands are one of the most important ecosystems on Earth for capturing and storing carbon. The Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is playing a key role in efforts to ensure their protection, delegates attending an event on the sidelines of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow ...
ROBERT FINLAYSON
COP26 deforestation-ending commitment must hold leaders accountable (commentary)
It is a commendable goal to end and reverse deforestation within a decade, one which if met would protect both people and the planet, but this is a crisis now. The Amazon is hurtling towards a “tipping point” beyond which it may be lost. In ...
Steve Trent
Vietnam targeting carbon emission neutrality by 2050, minister says
Vietnam is targeting carbon emission neutrality by 2050, the country’s industry and trade minister said on Monday, joining scores of countries that have pledged to halt emissions by mid-century or thereabouts in order to stop global warming. Nguyen Hong Dien, speaking at a roundtable on the ...
Editing by Martin Petty and Sanjeev Miglani