Environment and natural resources

Laos’ parliament has approved the concession agreement for a controversial dam project, with construction expected to begin before the end of 2015, media sources reported earlier this week. Keep reading ...

Nearly 100 experts on tourism gathered in a southern town of Laos on 4 September to discuss ways to promote the country’s eco-friendly tourism, a key to boosting its local economy. Under the theme of “Reinforcing sustainable Tourism in Laos,” the one-day workshop held in Pakse, offered ...

Forest loss in Cambodia has accelerated faster than any other country in the world since 2001, according to a leading resource-monitoring initiative. Satellite data released by Global Forest Watch suggest that Cambodia has experienced the highest rate of tree-cover loss in the world over the past ...

Governments and the private sector have become increasingly aware of opportunities for significant savings through energy efficiency. Within ASEAN, there is about US$43 billion in potential savings available if member countries adopt a technology intense strategy to drive efficiency. Thailand alone could save more than copy.1 ...

Seventeen laborers from Cambodia have returned home after they were trafficked to work in Thailand’s logging industry and had their pay withheld, forcing them to walk back to the border, a rights group said on 2 September. The 17 had been lured into Thailand with promises ...

A Vietnamese environmental watchdog group has reiterated its call for the permanent shutdown of a large residential project in Dong Nai province, just north of Ho Chi Minh City. Keep reading ...

Chinese border patrol officials seized 620 wild turtles and tortoises that were found alive in a shipment claimed to be frozen seafood from Vietnam, Xinhua News Agency said on 30 August. Keep reading ...

Inle Lake, one of Myanmar’s most well-known attractions, is framed in part by the lush-looking surrounds of the Shan mountain range. But on closer inspection, what appears to be the green of forest is mainly hardy bush and grass, dotted with a few small trees. Deforestation, particularly ...

Environment and agriculture ministry officials 26 August warned the authors of a new report accusing the government of colluding with timber magnate Try Pheap to illegally log the protected forests of northeastern Cambodia that they could be sued unless they made changes to the text. Keep reading   ...

Thai authorities destroyed more than 2 tons of seized and smuggled ivory on 26 August, in the latest move by the government to avoid possible economic sanctions over a perceived failure to tackle the illicit trade. Tusks from more than 200 dead African elephants and other ...