News

Commentary: What can Southeast Asia do about all this COVID-19 waste?

For the last couple of years, virtually every news feed or broadcast has included images of mask-clad people or health workers suited up as protection from COVID-19.  While the images might be ephemeral, those masks and personal protective equipment (PPE), along with used test kits and ...

JJ Rose

Building Resilience across Southeast Asia

Climate change and myths about natural disasters Because we are powerless to prevent natural disasters from occurring, catastrophes become extraordinary experiences that must be learned, understood, and lived with as a normal part of daily life. When calamities strike, there is a chance of injury, death, crop ...

Wanwalee Inpin

Time for America to Play Offense in China’s Backyard

As the Biden administration begins its second year in office, it is evident that its focus on the Indo-Pacific and geopolitical competition against China remains uneven. There are two small but strategically important countries that have been all but ignored by the administration so far: ...

Derek Grossman

As Warming and Drought Increase, A New Case for Ending Big Dams

As the hydroelectric dam industry tries to reposition itself as a climate change solution, more and more evidence shows that climate change actually undermines the case for hydro dams. Gone are the days when hydropower was considered the predominant engine of the world economy, leading a ...

JACQUES LESLIE

Xi-Asean summit boosts China’s plan to upgrade Southeast Asia ties to comprehensive strategic partnership

China’s long-held plan to upgrade ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to a higher tier of diplomatic recognition could come to fruition during next month’s special summit between President Xi Jinping and the bloc’s leaders, observers have said. The prime ministers of Malaysia and Singapore signalled their readiness to participate ...

Bhavan Jaipragas

Mangrove restoration done right has clear economic, ecological benefits

In the green and dimly lit mangrove forests of West Papua in Indonesia, towering Rhizophora trees loom more than 40 meters (130 feet) overhead into the canopy, their tangled roots taller than a human. Oceans away in the Caribbean, mangroves of the same genus reach a maximum ...

Sheryl Lee Tian Tong

Forest fires linked to tens of thousands of avoidable deaths

Setting fire to forest and agricultural land in Southeast Asia to prepare it for cultivation or grazing contributes to an estimated 59,000 premature deaths a year, say scientists. Their analysis reveals that the greatest health impact from the burning, which releases tiny particles into the air ...

University of Leeds

COVID-19 Has Resulted in Massive Southeast Asian Job Losses

Southeast Asian nations have suffered “unprecedented” employment losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Labor Organization (ILO) said today, suggesting that the region faces a long road out of its current Delta-variant maelstrom. While the year 2020 marked the high-water mark of the COVID-19 pandemic ...

Sebastian Strangio

Interview: How will plans to protect 30% of Earth work for Southeast Asia?

In May, Campaign for Nature announced that Southeast Asian nations were showing growing support for the goal of protecting 30% of the planet’s land and oceans by 2030. Dr Zakri Abdul Hamid is ambassador for the campaign, which is a partnership between the Wyss Campaign for ...

Tyler Roney

Southeast Asia losing tigers as deadline looms to double population by 2022

Tigers once roamed throughout the dense forested interior of mainland Southeast Asia and several islands of Indonesia. Positioned at the pinnacle of the food chain, tigers maintain ecosystem balance, and by protecting them, we can preserve entire biodiverse landscapes. However, the long-term survival of this flagship ...

Carolyn Cowan

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