Toxic wait must end
The change in the composition of the National Hazardous Substances Committee (NHSC), which regulates use of three harmful farm chemicals — paraquat, glyphosate and chlorpyrifos — could add complications to a move to have the trio banned. The new composition under the Industry Ministry permanent secretary ...
Japan pouring US$17.8 million into Luang Prabang water supply upgrade
The Japanese government is funding a grant aid project worth US$17.8 million to improve the water supply system in Luang Prabang city, under a grant agreement signed in Vientiane on Thursday. The agreement was signed by the Director General of the Department of International Cooperation of ...
‘Our River Was Like a God’: How Dams and China’s Might Imperil the Mekong
ON THE MEKONG RIVER — When the Chinese came to the village of Lat Thahae, perched on a muddy bend of a Mekong River tributary, they scrawled a Chinese character on the walls of homes, schools and Buddhist temples. No one in this isolated hamlet in ...
Hannah Beech
Threat to the Mekong River is Critical, Critics Say
It is starting to appear that nothing can save the 800,000 sq. km Mekong River basin, which provides vital sustenance for as many as 100 million people, from environmental depredation from dams all along the 4,350 km length of the mighty river that feeds it. Over ...
Thai marine biologist pleads for dugong conservation plan
A top marine biologist has urged Thailand’s government to speed up conservation plans for the dugong, an imperiled sea mammal, after their death toll for the year in Thai waters has already climbed to a record 21. Thon Thamrongnawasawat said on his Facebook page that the ...
Busaba Sivasomboon
Freshwater dolphins in the Mekong are benefitting from better protection
Irrawaddy dolphins are curious creatures in more ways than one. They are curious by nature and look curious too. Instead of having long bottle-like nostrums like their relatives living in the seas, these freshwater mammals sport snub noses with bulging foreheads. They look a bit ...
Darunee Sukanan
Start of Latest Mekong Dam Draws Fears of River's 'Tipping Point'
Critics of the 1,285-megawatt Xayaburi hydropower dam in northern Laos fear recent upgrades to the controversial project won’t be enough to save the Mekong River from a critical tipping point when it starts churning out electricity at full throttle next month. After seven years of construction, ...
Zsombor Peter
Mekong River flooding expected next week
The much anticipated annual flooding season in the Mekong Delta is set to arrive in the next few days, much later than usual. The Mekong River Commission (MRC) reports that the floods have reached Thailand and Laos now, and should reach Cambodia in the next few ...
Minh Nga
Myanmar youths to join ASEAN environmental meet
Five Myanmar university students have been chosen to represent the country at a regional youth meeting on the environment, the Environmental Conservation Department said. The Environmental Forum of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus three (China, Japan, and South Korea) will be held on Thailand’s Phuket ...
Myat Moe Aung
Mekong water levels close to emergency
Authorities urged residents living along the Mekong River in Stung Treng, Kratie and Kampong Cham provinces to be vigilant as water levels rise perilously close to meriting an emergency declaration. On Sunday, water levels in Stung Treng province were just 20cm shy of an emergency declaration ...
Khouth Sophak Chakrya
