News
China’s Mekong plans threaten disaster for countries downstream
Thirty million people depend for a living on the Mekong, the great Asian river that runs through Southeast Asia from its origins in the snowfields of Tibet to its end in the delta region of Vietnam, where it fertilizes one of the world’s richest agricultural ...
Richard Bernstein
Solar, wind advances offer Mekong countries alternatives to dams, coal: Experts
Mekong Region countries like Cambodia should reconsider their plans to expand hydropower dams and coal plants, as the costs of alternative energy sources, such as solar power, are rapidly falling, a U.S. think-tank said, while improved regional grid connections can also ease growing energy demand.Experts ...
Nem Sopheakpanha, Seourn Vathana, and Sun Narin
Climate-resilient measures needed to address threats to Mekong Delta: experts
Increased investment in climate-resilient housing, mangrove regeneration and early warning systems is urgently needed to ensure the sustainable development of the Mekong Delta, experts said yesterday at an international conference held in Cần Thơ. Experts at the conference agreed that the Mekong Delta is facing existential ...
Bồ Xuân Hiệp
Spread of malaria resistance spurs debate on fighting disease
News that resistance to artemisinin combination drugs – the frontline response against malaria – is spreading has spurred debate on whether a new approach is needed to counter the disease and other serious threats to human health. Artemisinin drug-resistant P falciparum C580Y mutant malaria parasites have now ...
Jim Pollard
Myanmar govt to redistribute vacant land
The Myanmar government is developing a plan to redistribute vacant or fallow plots of land to rural landless people willing to farm the land.The Union Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation Dr. Aung Thu told The Irrawaddy on Monday the government had obtained US$4.19 million ...
Htet Naing Zaw
$64b GMS action plan
Cambodia as a member of the six-nation Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) endorsed a five-year action plan framework that includes $64 billion in projects to help the sub-region achieve inclusive growth and sustainable development. Keep reading ...
Sum Manet
New ADB-Lao PDR strategy to support inclusive, sustainable growth
The Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Board of Directors has endorsed a new 4-year country partnership strategy (CPS), which is expected to deliver $421 million in assistance through 2020 to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR).The new CPS will help the country achieve more inclusive ...
The Financial News Staff
Faulty construction, heavy rain cause dam to flood Lao villages
Hundreds of thousands of cubic feet of muddy water have flooded eight villages in central Laos’ Xaysomboun province after the reservoir of a dam upstream burst its banks last week following heavy rain, damaging infrastructure, farmlands, and water supplies. Keep reading ...
RFA's Lao Service News Staff
Chinese dam discharge affects Mekong in Chiang Rai
The volume of water in the Mekong River has risen rapidly following discharges from a dam in Yunnan province in southern China, but the impact on the actual water level is in dispute. Keep reading ...
Chinpat Chaimon
Lower Mekong dam decision to be appealed
The Rak Chiang Khong conservation group will file an appeal against the Administrative Court’s dismissal of its complaint against Thai authorities involving the Pak Bang dam, the third dam planned along the Lower Mekong River, as they are worried about its potential impacts. Keep reading ...
The Nation News Staff