News
Record drug haul in Malaysia
Customs officials in Malaysia have seized a record amount of crystal methamphetamine, worth 18 million dollars. It was concealed in a shipment from Myanmar. [] The UN Office on Drugs and Crime recently warned that the production of methamphetamine has reached an alarming level in the ...
Meth spreading across region as supply spikes
The Golden Triangle’s methamphetamine problem is spreading beyond the Mekong region, with high volumes of the drug being seized in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Figures revealed yesterday show that from 2008 to last year, meth tablet seizures in the region increased from 50 ...
Ban the plastic bottle
Pressure is mounting on hotel chains to join campaigns that will reduce the use of plastic in the hospitality and tourism industry. The Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office’s executive director, Jens Thraenhart, confirmed in his weekly despatch to travel partners that the blight of plastic pollution would ...
Secure access to land critical to achieve an end to hunger
Addressing fairly the challenges of land tenure for hundreds of millions of people in Asia and the Pacific is a critical step that policy makers must take if the region is to meet the 2030 deadline for zero hunger and eradication of poverty, the Food ...
Green growth strategies in Southeast Asia
Across the globe, the paths of economic growth and development are on an unsustainable trajectory, risking the natural assets and environmental services upon which long-term economic growth and human well-being are dependent on. Addressing natural capital depletion, pollution, the loss of biodiversity, and climate change ...
Prawn to be wild: Mekong giant river shrimp output up
After a long period of decline, the last two years have seen an increase in output of giant river prawns in the Mekong Delta. Giant river prawns are resilient to disease, easy to raise, and require little capital. They also offer high and stable profitability and ...
70th joint patrol on Mekong River completed
The 70th joint patrol on the Mekong River with law enforcers from China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand was completed on Friday. Ten vessels and more than 160 law enforcers participated in the mission which started on Tuesday.During the joint patrol, the personnel held a seminar on ...
Mekong forum highlights technology application in agro-aquaculture
A forum discussing ways to enhance application of technologies in agriculture and aquaculture production take place in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on May 25. The Mekong 2018 Forum was jointly organised by the Department of Technology Application and Development of the Ministry of ...
China’s Mekong charm offensive
Since Chinese President Xi Jinping took over power in 2012, Southeast Asia has become a focal point of China’s geopolitical ambitions. Instead of the clandestine and illegal tactics seen under Mao Zedong, the current strategy combines two major approaches: building Chinese-led institutional mechanisms and buying ...
Six Mekong nations call for accelerated action to eliminate malaria before 2030
The governments of Cambodia, China, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam have together called for accelerated action to eliminate malaria in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) by 2030. Signing a joint Ministerial Call for Action at the World Health Assembly in ...