Forbes
Accelerating Mini-Grids In Myanmar And Expanding Energy Access To Villagers
Only 50% of households in Myanmar, one of the poorest nations in Southeast Asia, are connected to the public grid. Five years ago, the government set a goal of electrifying 100% of the country by 2030. With that in mind, in June, Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship, together ...
Anne Field
Solar Power Can Help Halt Dramatic Decline Of Migratory Fish
A report issued last week revealed that, worldwide, migratory freshwater fish have declined by 76% since 1970. This result joins a growing and dispiriting list of dramatic declines for biodiversity and wildlife. However, it also highlights a continuing threat to food security for many regions of the world. Freshwater fish provide the primary ...
Jeff Opperman
Vietnam To Counter China With Asean Backing On Mekong River Region
Vietnam took over the rotational chair of Asean, or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, in January 2020, so it’ worth noting that Hanoi’s second foremost foreign policy priority after the South China Sea is reportedly the Mekong River region. While the South China Sea, ...
Thitinan Pongsudhirak
Mekong Nations Promise Cooperation But Skip Disputes Over Damming The River
South Korea embraced the five Southeast Asian nations on the Mekong River in a seemingly bold plan for developing the river in the interests of “people, peace and prosperity” but glossed over the dangers facing its existence. Yes, South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in declared “the development ...
Donald Kirk
ASEAN Can Lead Sustainable And Inclusive Economic Development, Here's How
Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are gathering for their 35th summit in Bangkok this week to chart a course for the region’s economic future. As we’ve argued before, Southeast Asia is re-emerging as a theater for major powers to exert geopolitical ...
Deepali Khanna
Crocodiles Are Not Geckos: The Realities Of Run-Of-River Hydropower
Too often, proponents of a specific dam apply this faulty logic and tell decision makers that a crocodile is really just a gecko. For example, the debate on the Xayaboury Dam on the Mekong River in Laos—a massive dam that, in terms of environmental and ...
Jeff Opperman
Seizing Opportunity In Southeast Asia's Energy Market
There has been an almost never-ending stream of negative news about Southeast Asia’s energy market, once one of the globe’s most active. A decade of political unrest in Thailand, creeping nationalization in Indonesia, conflict in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, and territorial disputes in Vietnam’s offshore market ...
Southeast Asia Could Have A $200B Internet Economy With Improved Skills & Leadership
The Southeast Asian startup scene is strong and getting stronger. Across the region, companies are emerging in fintech, edtech, insurtech, blockchain and many other areas. In 2017, Southeast Asian startups received $7.86 billion in investor funding, which is triple the investments seen the year before, ...
Xi Jinping To China's Private Sector: Go Home, The New Silk Road Is Not For You
In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced something called the Belt and Road Initiative, which was to be a trillion-dollar framework to guide Chinese foreign investment, infrastructure development, trade, and other international forays. What this initiative actually consists of still remains vague, what its benchmarks ...
The 5 worst places to be an internet user in Southeast Asia
The power of the internet has been in the spotlight in the last few weeks thanks to the U.S. election – but while American netizens have to contend with fake news and annoying status updates, in many parts of the world just sharing an opinion can ...