News
‘Hungry river’ phenomenon to blame for severe erosion of Mekong River banks in Laos
Upstream dams and sand mining have caused significant erosion along the Mekong River in western Laos, according to experts, devastating riparian communities in the impoverished Southeast Asian nation with high waters and powerful currents. But residents of those communities say they believe that other issues are to ...
RFA Lao; Translated by Max Avary for RFA Lao. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
Thailand tiger rescues hold no guarantee of safety
Rambo paced anxious circles in his cage as it became clear he was subject to special attention. The Bengal tiger was about to be moved from the shuttered Phuket Zoo to a new home: a rescue centre in central Thailand. As the zoo closed, its 11 ...
WANPEN PAJAI
Indigenous woman sentenced to jail for encroachment
The Supreme Court has sentenced an indigenous Karen woman to 2 years and 8 months in prison for encroaching on National Park land despite pleas that the piece of land was passed down through her family. Wansao Phungam is an indigenous Karen woman who lives in ...
Prachatai
Rains quell fire risk around Cambodia’s Tonle Sap, but the future looks fiery
The roots of the forests surrounding Cambodia’s Tonle Sap lake spend half the year submerged in water. But in the past five years, they’ve been catching fire in the arid heat of the dry season. The government has rolled out plans to respond to these ...
Danielle Keeton-Olsen
Incomes dry up for farmers on Cambodia’s huge lake
Life has never been easy for farmers along Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake – the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia – and now water shortages, soil degradation and the rising costs for chemicals have added to their hardships. “Each season, the most challenging problems we farmers ...
Sao Phal Niseiy
What Vietnam can learn from Thailand’s fight against illegal fishing
Illegal fishing activities conducted by Vietnamese vessels have spiked during the first six months of 2022, with most boats caught encroaching into the waters of Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing has long been a conundrum for Vietnam. In October 2017, the country was issued ...
THƯ NGUYỄN HOÀNG ANH
Money flows: Who's investing in Laos, and what problems do they present?
A nation disadvantaged by geography, Laos has turned to intense infrastructural development and foreign direct investments to accelerate economic growth. As the landlocked nation opens its doors to foreign money, who is it inviting, and what troubles lay ahead? Once an ancient kingdom and a hub ...
Pei Ying Loh & Zenn Wong
Mekong Delta lands $26 million aquaculture investment
Due to take place in Hòn Đất district of Kiên Giang province in 2023–2026, it is budgeted to cost VNĐ624 billion (US$26.6 million) – enough to provide infrastructure like irrigation works, roads and power supply systems. The project is set to include shrimp/rice farming and production ...
The Fish Site
Four years after Laos’ worst dam catastrophe, survivors still live in limbo
Four years after a dam collapse that caused Laos’ worst flooding in decades, survivors who lost everything say they are tired of waiting for the government to provide them with new homes and arable land. On the night of July 23, 2018, billions of cubic feet ...
RFA Lao; Translated by Max Avary. Written in English by Eugene Whong
Three busted for illegal fishing practices
Police in Pursat continued to crackdown on illegal fishing practices as the country moves towards the total suppression of fishery crimes and fishing malpractice. Police from the Bakan District Police Inspectorate of Pursat Provincial Police said yesterday that they arrested three fishermen at Ta Chan Dam ...
Khmer Times