The 97km that frustrate China's mastery of the Mekong
Ninety-seven kilometres of rocks in Thai waters stand between Beijing and dominance over the Mekong, a mighty river that feeds millions as it threads south from the Tibetan plateau through five countries before emptying into the South China Sea. China has long wanted to dredge the ...
AFP
Green algae, blue water add to fears over health of Southeast Asia's Mekong
When the normally murky brown Mekong River turned a brilliant blue late last year, villagers in northeastern Thailand were surprised. Then, this week, unusually large patches of green algae appeared, clogging up nets and making it almost impossible to fish. Both the Mekong’s strange colour and the ...
Panu Wongcha-um and Kay Johnson
Salty water in Bangkok is new 'reality' as sea pushes farther inland
Thai authorities are trucking drinking water to parts of Bangkok and urging residents to shower less as a worsening drought and rising sea levels have increased salinity, a growing risk faced by many Asian cities, climate researchers said. Bangkok’s water authority said the capital’s tap water ...
Rina Chandran
Vietnam calls for fair, sustainable use of Mekong River resources
Vietnam has asked all riparian countries of the Mekong River to act together in using its water and other resources in a fair and sustainable manner. “We believe that along with the legitimate interests in utilizing the water resources of the Mekong River for development, countries ...
Viet Anh
Lao Villagers Displaced by Dams Struggle to Survive in Resettlement Sites
Hundreds of Lao families displaced by Chinese-backed dam projects and now living in resettlement villages are facing hardships due to poor housing and a lack of work, with many still waiting for compensation promised for fields and orchards lost when they were forced to move, ...
Overcoming barriers to fighting wildlife crime
ildlife trafficking, like drug and human trafficking, is often a trans-boundary crime. Animal parts and products, non-timber forest products, and living creatures heading to the pet trade find their way across borders every day, passing fluidly between jurisdictions and human societies. Given legal and language barriers, ...
Mia Signs
The Mekong: the good, bad and ugly sides to the ‘Danube of the East’
To Tibetans, it’s known as Dza Chu, or the River of Rocks, and to the Chinese it’s the Lancang Jiang, the Turbulent River. The Lao refer to it as the Mother of Waters, in Cambodia it’s the Great Water and by the time it reaches ...
Tim Pile
Cabinet approves water command centre
The cabinet is expected to approve the formation of a water management command centre on Tuesday, spokeswoman Narumon Pinyosinsawat said on Sunday. The command centre is sanctioned by Section 24 of the 2018 Water Act, which calls for the set-up of a central coordinating unit to ...
Mekong sandbanks obstruct cross-border boat services
The lowest level of water in the Mekong river in several decades has caused sandbanks to emerge, obstructing boat services across the border between Thailand and Laos, according to a local report. The low level of water has been caused by many factors including drought and ...
Pattanapong Siripiachai
The Mekong Delta: an unsettling portrait of coastal collapse
Some environmental disasters present themselves over years; others come with a bang — or a splash. The latter happened one day in August, when residents of Binh My, a commune in Vietnam’s lush Mekong Delta, heard a loud cracking sound. They went outside to watch ...
John Reed