Environment and natural resources

Dam operations upstream combined with a drought have caused a severe drop in water levels along the Mekong River, on which tens of millions of people rely for their livelihoods through fishing or farming, say Thais who live by the banks of the great waterway. BenarNews ...

The water is so clear on the Mekong River in northeastern Thailand that the sunlight pierces through to the riverbed, transforming the waterway into a glinting, empty aquarium. It is beautiful but it means death. At this time of year in Thailand, this stretch of the ...

Vietnam and three Mekong neighbors will join hands to assess plastic waste leakage into the river system in a bid to fight plastic pollution in the region. Fifty government officials and university researchers from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam gathered to discuss assessment methodologies to study ...

Government officials and researchers from Mekong river countries on Wednesday agreed to assess plastic waste pollution in the region and take action to reduce it. The agreement was made by 50 government officials and researchers from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam during a meeting in Vientiane ...

The cabinet has approved a draft ministerial law on construction as it steps up efforts to reduce harmful levels of ultra-fine particles of dust. The current law, enforced since 1983, is too old to be applied to modern building methods in line with safety and environmental ...

Hydropower dams, which use flowing water to turn a series of turbines to generate electricity, provide a source of energy that doesn’t rely on fossil fuels. But they also disrupt the flow of rivers, and impact the fish and people that live there. Scientists have been ...

 Beneath the haze is the culmination of issues related to social equality, sustainability and corporate responsibility as well as the fragmented policy approaches that need effective and collaborative policy interventions At the moment, Bangkok seems to be at ease, having a short break over the weekend ...

Though saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta was predicted to come earlier and with higher level of salinity than that recorded in the 2015-2016 dry season, the damages to farming areas are expected to be less serious as authorities and farmers have taken measures to ...

A pipeline stretching from central to north-east Thailand promises to “promote Thailand as an energy hub in the region” and “increase energy security”, according to the Ministry of Energy. Construction began in mid-2019, despite local communities objecting that the largely Chinese-financed project could worsen flooding ...

In late 2012, a fire threatened to engulf the community forest of Huai Hin Kao village in Nong Khai’s Pho Tak district. Twenty local men followed the village chief’s call to help tackle the flames that came dangerously close to the community. “I learned afterwards that ...