News
Upgrading aging irrigation system will be a win for farmers and govt
Myanmar’s food future hinges on ensuring access to water, especially in times of worsening drought. This is especially true in the central dry zone – the country’s most water-stressed region. Rainfall is often highly erratic, and many areas have been seeing less and less in recent years. ...
Petra Schmitter
Harnessing Salween River: Settlement through confrontation or cooperation?
Myitsone Dam project is well known for its controversial impact on Myanmar’s political landscape, as it involves on and off pressure from China to restart the project in line with the signed contract as soon as possible. But what is less prominent is the controversy over ...
Sai Wansai
Victory on the Upper Mekong: Thai Cabinet Terminates Rapids Blasting Project
In a momentous win for the Mekong River, this week the Thai Cabinet formally called for cancellation of the Lancang-Mekong Navigation Channel Improvement Project, popularly known as the Mekong “rapids-blasting” project.The cabinet decision is the culmination of decades of campaigning by Thai Mekong communities and ...
Pianporn Deetes
Myanmar Shows Why Fixing The Plastic Crisis Is So Darn Complicated
Golden earrings swing from San San Thwin’s ears as she serves customers in her grocery store in Mingalun village, 90 miles from Myanmar’s commercial capital Yangon. This is what she has done almost every day for 30 years, but there has been a striking change ...
Sara Perria
The disease burden on the Thai-Myanmar border
IN 2019, more than 1.3 million people in Southeast Asia were infected with dengue fever. The cyclical epidemic was exacerbated by poor state health infrastructure and constraints on access, as well as climate change and the increased movement of goods and people. In this context, and ...
Laure Siegel
Myanmar Shows Why Fixing The Plastic Crisis Is So Darn Complicated
Golden earrings swing from San San Thwin’s ears as she serves customers in her grocery store in Mingalun village, 90 miles from Myanmar’s commercial capital Yangon. This is what she has done almost every day for 30 years, but there has been a striking change ...
Sara Perria
Thailand firm to build new urban centre with construction ministry
The construction ministry inked a deal with a Thai firm to build a US$1 billion “smart city” in northeastern Yangon. The JV agreement – signed last Friday – would pave way to more than 30,000 new jobs and US$60 million in direct tax, the two sides ...
What Xi wants in Myanmar may not be what he gets
If there were any doubts around China’s thinking about where to direct its money and influence in Southeast Asia, they were dispelled by the recent announcement that Xi Jinping would visit Myanmar on 17 and 18 January, the first state visit by a Chinese leader ...
Michael Sainsbury
Mandalay disaster response team to work with other groups in the north
The Mandalay Disaster Response Team has joined forces with other charitable groups in northern Myanmar to strengthen its ability to respond to emergencies in the region and neighbouring areas. The organisation was formed in 2016 with members of more than 20 charitable groups to assist people displaced ...
Khin Su Wai
Myanmar authorities stop 17 illegal gold mines along Ayeyarwady River
U Kyaw Myint Than, director of the Directorate of Water Resources and Improvement of River System said the illegal gold mines were discovered in Thabeikkyin township during an inspection on the area on Monday. The general administration department, police force and the officials from the Ministry ...
Kyaw Ko Ko