Environment and natural resources
The Mekong doesn't need more destructive dams
On 11 May, the Mekong River Commission (MRC) announced that the proposed Sanakham hydropower project in Laos will undergo the MRC’s Prior Consultation process. Sanakham is the sixth mainstream dam to be submitted for Prior Consultation. The proposed Sanakham dam is expensive, unnecessary and risky — ...
SAVE THE MEKONG COALITION
Southern Myanmar’s indigenous groups say the UN should scrap $21 million conservation plan
Myanmar’s Tanintharyi Region is among the most vibrantly biodiverse places in Asia. The southern tail of kite-shaped Myanmar, Tanintharyi encompasses hundreds of islands in the Myeik Archipelago, mangrove-lined coast, evergreen forests and the mountainous spine that forms the Thai-Myanmar border. The region holds some of Southeast ...
Skylar Lindsay
Green consumption campaign to feature many new initiatives
The 2020 Green consumption campaign will take place from June 6 to 30 with many new initiatives and environmental projects, announced its organiser on June 3. The campaign is the 11th of its kind to be hosted by the Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Saigon) Newspaper ...
CSOs express concerns on Lao’s Mekong hydro project
Five civil society organisations (CSOs) in Cambodia working on the Luang Prabang hydropower project in Laos said in a press statement on Tuesday that it should be delayed because Lao authorities have insufficient details concerning the transboundary impact assessment and don’t have concrete measures to ...
Soth Koemsoeun
Mekong River offshoot erodes like a drill
A sediment-poor Mekong River branch cutting through An Giang Province is causing erosion due to rapid water flow. A three kilometer section of Hau River, a branch of the Mekong, is straitened by half in width when passing through An Giang’s Chau Phu District. Besides this natural ...
Cuu Long
Vietnam drafts new law to protect environment
Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Trần Hồng Hà has said amending the Law on Environment Protection is urgent to ensure the country’s sustainable development. Presenting a draft for a new law to the National Assembly (NA) on Tuesday (May 26), he said the current law ...
Cambodian firm accused of creating a ‘monopoly in the timber business’
A surge in deforestation alerts from Cambodia’s Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary has raised fresh concerns over the role of a controversial timber firm in illegal logging. The 34,000-hectare (17,000 acre) Think Biotech concession was approved in 2012 under an agreement between Cambodia and South Korea aiming ...
DANIELLE KEETON-OLSEN
Investigation exposes European firms exploiting loophole to import Myanmar teak
Investigators have uncovered a scheme by European timber traders to evade E.U. laws by supplying Myanmar teak to the continent’s marine sector, including for decking on superyachts. The investigation by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) was based on documents obtained from the Croatian agriculture ministry. The documents detailed ...
Campaigners in Myanmar’s Tanintharyi region oppose $21m conservation project
Campaigners in the Tanintharyi region of southern Myanmar have urged international donors to support community conservation efforts, rather than what they see as a top-down approach that excludes indigenous groups. Supporters of the Conservation Alliance of Tanintharyi (CAT) are opposing a $21 million development project, called Ridge ...
Daniel Quinlan
Asia's plastic-polluted rivers pose a problem for Australia. So scientists are turning to drones
It’s one of 10 rivers in the world that collectively contribute up to 95 per cent of plastic in the ocean. Running for more than 4,000 kilometres, the Mekong River flows through six countries, starting in China and making its way through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia ...
Amy Bainbridge
