Environment and natural resources

Myanmar’s military regime will hold further timber auctions on June 23 and 24 as it seeks to raise hard currency to fund its coup. Myanma Timber Enterprise (MTE), the state-run entity which controls Myanmar’s timber sales, held three separate auctions in late May in which nearly ...

As dam-building projects continue to proliferate along Southeast Asia’s vital Mekong River, experts in a recent online discussion panel agreed that the area is fast becoming overloaded with them, dredging up far-reaching issues ranging from international friction and industry “water grabs” to widespread ecological disasters ...

Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh joined students at the Faculty of Architecture, Lao National University, to plant 90 rosewood trees to mark National Arbour Day on June 1. This is a part of the government’s plans to plant 35 million trees over 36,950 hectares this year and ...

Cambodia’s government has granted permission for a new special economic zone (SEZ) and coal-fired power plant within the lush Botum Sakor National Park in coastal Koh Kong province. The SEZ would create another loosely regulated industrial area within a biodiverse primary forest. Late last year, Koh ...

An illegal company that was not identified was stopped by authorities from filling in a protected flooded forest area in Banteay Meanchey province. Some villagers in Preah Netr Preah district’s Rohal commune said that in less than one year, 300 hectares were cleared and filled and ...

To the untrained eye discerning between evergreen and deciduous tree mosaics of the Andaman archipelago can be tough in the wet season but the patches clearly stand out in the dry season in the volcanic ridge-arc islands. In the dry season between January and April, ...

Once a hunter, he has laid down his rifle and become an active wildlife protector in Kim Bang District in the northern province of Ha Nam. In 1994, he accompanied expert Le Van Dung to investigate the Delacour’s langur population in Kim Bang forest. During the journey, they saw ...

The Mekong River’s depth in Chiang Rai’s Chiang Saen district is expected to drop by about 1.3 metres today, as a dam in China’s Yunnan province reduced its discharge rate last week, a river monitor warned. According to a warning on Saturday by the Mekong Dam ...

A $15 million project to enhance cross-border groundwater management and strengthen water security in the Lower Mekong Basin is being developed by Cambodia and Vietnam, with a focus on improved governance and sustainable utilisation of the Cambodia-Mekong river delta transboundary aquifer. “The project will benefit both ...

Scientists confirm that the lush green mangrove forests in Vietnam are now threatened by the devastating impacts of climate change in combination with human disturbances, accelerating the degradation of these fragile ecosystems. Some have suggested that the tidal forest’s extensive root systems and ability to adapt ...