News

Widespread illegal logging and the repression of environmental activism are among the grave threats to Cambodia’s Prey Lang rainforest, Amnesty International said today, one year after authorities banned environmental defenders from entering the Prey Lang wildlife sanctuary. Recent images and remote sensing data reviewed by Amnesty ...

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today approved a US$57 million project to help Lao PDR promote sustainable forest management, improve protected area management, and enhance livelihoods opportunities in eight provinces across the country. Project funding comes from the World Bank’s International Development Association, ...

Authoritarianism in Laos is at the root of illegal land grabs, land grievances, and ongoing human rights violations. The upcoming elections in Laos are unlikely to change this. International business stakeholders, however, can do more to support local communities and uphold fundamental human rights. The Lao ...

Half of Myanmar Press Council’s members resigned last week, saying they are unable to protect press freedom, uphold media ethics, or protect the safety of fellow journalists. The 15 resignations on the press council come in response to directives issued by Myanmar’s military to news outlets ...

For Bernard Kervyn, the pandemic has made poverty alleviation an even more challenging task in countries along the Mekong River. Kervyn, regional director in Vietnam and Cambodia for the nonprofit organization Mekong Plus, said the outbreak has led to a 30 percent rise in the number ...

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Tuesday said his administration won’t use force against ethnic Karen villagers living in Phetchaburi’s Kaeng Krachan National Park as past governments did. Instead, this government will take care of those living in Bang Kloi by ensuring they have proper jobs and ...

Cambodia has declared that it is committed to clearing all anti-personnel landmines by 2025, despite challenges that lie ahead, but its leaders say this target can only be reached with the full participation of all stakeholders and the continuous support of its development partners. Prime Minister ...

Water levels in some sections of the Mekong River have only increased slightly in the last seven days though China has claimed consistent excess outflow from the Jinghong dam. The outflow at Jinghong hydrological station rose from 786 cubic meters per second on February 15 to ...

China’s water relations with Southeast Asian neighbors are under strain after Beijing held up the Mekong River’s flow at one of its large dams upstream, precipitating a sudden drop in volume for downstream countries that share the region’s longest body of water. “The water levels dropped ...

Fresh evidence of apparent forest clearing and burning in the deep jungle of Kaeng Krachan National Park has been presented to the public to substantiate claims and the forest suppression operation by forest officials, while Karen supporter groups have condemned the latest suppression move and ...