Environment and natural resources
Win-win solution for forests, people
The forests are rapidly dwindling. But the people living in forest areas need to live off the land. Supporting them to practise sustainable or green farming saves both the forests and the locals’ livelihoods. Why then is this win-win solution only applied to some local ...
KANNIKA THAMPANISHVONG & NATTHAPORN BUTPHO
Activist ban ‘spurs forest crimes’
While Ministry of Environment officials claim they and relevant departments implement forest protection and conservation measures responsibly, forest protection activists have expressed frustration over their inability to participate in patrols where illegal logging took place. The activists complained they are barred from forest protection efforts and ...
Soth Koemsoeun
Fishermen without fish as Cambodia's river reversal runs late
Crucial water flows to the Tonle Sap, Southeast Asia’s largest lake, have been delayed for a second consecutive year according to river experts, severely disrupting fishing and threatening the food supply of more than a million people. The river reversal vital for Tonle Sap Lake may ...
Prak Chan Thul; Writing by Panu Wongcha-um and Martin Petty, editing by Ed Osmond
Thailand to allow use of 'economically valuable trees' as collateral for financial loans
Owners of 58 types of ‘economically valuable trees’ will be able to use them as collateral when applying for loans at financial institutions under a new policy, Government spokesperson Narumon Pinyosinwat said on her Facebook page. “This policy was proposed by the Ministry of Commerce as ...
THE NATION/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
Laos weather bureau official dispels Mekong flood concerns
There is no need for immediate public alarm about potential flooding of the Mekong River despite widespread reports of floods in neighbouring countries, especially China, a sector official has confirmed on Monday. The official from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment’s Meteorology and Hydrology Department, ...
Tiger, pangolin farming in Myanmar risks ‘boosting China demand’, conservationists warn
Conservationists have warned a sudden change in Myanmar’s law allowing the commercial farming of tigers, pangolins and other endangered species risks further fuelling demand in China for rare wildlife products. The Southeast Asian nation is already a hub for the illegal trafficking of wildlife, a trade ...
Agence France-Presse (AFP)
NGO formed to protect natural resources and raise awareness
The Ministry of Interior announced the creation of the Lover Environment and Society Association in a July 9 announcement. The president of the new association, Chum Huot, said he wanted to raise awareness of human rights and protect Cambodia’s environment. The association, which is an NGO dedicated ...
Long Kimmarita
Illegal industrial park intrudes on southern Vietnam forest land
Inspectors have identified 41 factories built on 72 ha of land allocated for forest cultivation in Dong Nai Province ten years ago. The factories all belong to Phuoc Tan Industrial Park (IP) in Bien Hoa Town of Dong Nai that borders Ho Chi Minh City. The violation ...
Phuoc Tuan
Thailand accepts World Bank’s climate change grant
In addition to several projects and agreements approved in the Cabinet meeting yesterday, the government has agreed to accept a 5 million dollar U.S. grant from the World Bank to reduce emissions of hydrofluorocarbon gas (HFC), which is one of the greenhouse gases affecting the ...
National News Bureau of Thailand
Big cat discovery in Kamphaeng Phet’s national park
In a Facebook post on Thursday (July 9), Kamphaeng Phet’s Khlong Lan National Park reported that camera traps set up in the park to track the population of tigers managed to capture the sighting of a black panther and leopard instead. “The appearance of the panther and ...