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Countries that rely on large hydropower dams for their electricity suffer higher levels of poverty, corruption and debt than other nations, a study has found. The study by the University of Sussex and the International School of Management in Germany compared the security, political governance, economic development and ...

Lao villagers moved by government order from their homes 10 years ago to make way for a showcase hydropower project have new houses, schools, and clinics in their resettlement areas, but are still left without access to fishing areas or adequate land to farm, sources ...

Việt Nam aims to develop its horticultural industry by learning from the Netherlands’ innovative horticultural techniques and its expertise, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Speaking at a conference on “HortiFuture Vietnam” held in HCM City on Thursday, Deputy Minister Lê Quốc Doanh ...

The Mekong Butterfly had a heart-to-heart talk with 6 people of the Mekong — they are from 6 different communities in Thailand located on the Mekong riverbank. Despite informal atmosphere, topics of the discussion were very earnest around problems they have been facing from irregular ...

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue on Thursday criticized Vietnam’s move to ban imports of glyphosate-based herbicides, saying the decision would have “devastating impacts on global agricultural production.”  Vietnam’s government said in a statement that the toxic level of herbicides containing glyphosate had long been of ...

Around 100 policies and documents related to ethnic minority groups in the Mekong Delta have been implemented to develop essential infrastructure and production, reduce poverty and improve the living standards of local residents. According to Hung Thi Somaly, an official from the Government’s Committee for Ethnic ...

A $1 billion finance facility to support investment in ‘green’ infrastructure across southeast Asia was announced last week in Thailand. The new facility aims to serve as a spur for private capital and will provide loans and necessary technical assistance for sovereign sustainable transport, clean energy, ...

I was on a 3-month bike ride across five countries of Myanmar, Laos, Thailand , Cambodia and Nepal, to challenge the everyday use of plastic through an activity called Plogging – a mix of jogging and picking up trash.  Dwarfed by the five-feet jumble of trash ...

The water tastes salty and the rice barely grows in the coastal villages of the Ca Mau peninsula at the southern tip of Vietnam’s Mekong River delta. Thi Tran, a young woman who farms 2 acres (0.8 hectares) of rice and vegetables while her husband works ...

Steel magnolia is a term that comes to Ms Moe Thuzar’s mind when talking of Aung San Suu Kyi. “Daw Suu wouldn’t be Daw Suu without that steely inner core that has been a mainstay of her survival,” says the Myanmar Studies Programme co-coordinator at ...