AsiaNews.IT
Water scarcity threatens the country
About 39 people died from extreme weather phenomena in the past week. Every year at least 9,000 Vietnamese die from poor sanitation and 250,000 are hospitalised because of contaminated water. Prolonged drought has damaged crops. For farmers, the pandemic has complicated the situation even more. Vietnam ...
Tran Hung
Mekong water level drops putting 60 million people at risk
The level of the Mekong River has fallen to “abnormal” levels, threatening the livelihoods of 60 million people living along its lower course. The river starts in China and winds its way for 4,350 km, crossing Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. It is vital for the ...
Tran Hung
Deforestation and greater risk of flooding set off environmental alarms in Vietnam
The recent, devastating floods highlight the fragility of the country’s natural environment. Deforestation, expanded farming, timber harvesting, and hydroelectric dams are the main culprits. In four years, 7,300 hectares of forest have been lost. So far, about 800 large, medium and small plants have been ...
Nguyn Hung
Dams upstream of the Mekong damage 70 million people
Construction of dams on the Mekong continues. The river is 4,000 kilometers long, rising on the Tibetan plateau and flows through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. The stretch of this river that flows through the Chinese territory is 2,130 km. It’s called Lan-ts’ang River. Chinese ...
Nguyen Hung
COVID-19 can fuel more anti-Chinese resentment than Mekong dams
The pandemic is likely to make life worse for Thai fishermen as well as Vietnamese and Cambodian farmers. Restrictions resulting from the virus could limit food supply. The food security of 60 million people in the lower part of the Mekong River is in danger. The ...
Mekong Delta water shortages threaten 180,000 households
The region has suffered from drought since 2016. Five provinces have declared a state of emergency earlier this month. In most places, the Mekong is between 0.1 and 1 metre above the Eastern Sea level. Lack of rain, water use and more dams have increased ...
Peter Tran
Threatened by deforestation, Cambodia loses 26 per cent of its forests in 43 years
Growing demand for timber as construction material, fuel and charcoal is devastating Cambodia’s forests. In 1975, the latter covered 73 per cent of the country’s surface; last year it was down to only 46.84 per cent. Cambodia’s forests – evergreen, semi-evergreen, deciduous and dry dipterocarp forests, ...
Ground subsidence and sea level rise threaten Mekong Delta and millions of people
The Mekong River Delta is lower than previously thought. Ground subsidence and rising sea levels threaten the lives of more than 21 million people who inhabit the region as well as Vietnam’s food security since the latter grows 56 per cent of the country’s rice. The ...
Victims pray for 500 homes seized and demolished in Ho Chi Minh City
The victims of land seizures in the Lộc Hưng Garden (Vườn Rau Lộc Hưng) area have been meeting every night since the start of the Marian month to recite the rosary and ask for the Virgin’s solace. Between 4 January and 11 May, the authorities in Ward 6 ...
Minh Trang
