Phys.org
Research has helped underpin the formation of a nature reserve in Vietnam
Research by the University of Leeds and Utrecht University has helped secure the highest government protection for internationally-important Vietnamese forests. Over the past five years, conservation organization Viet Nature, and its partners World Land Trust, IUCN National Committee of the Netherlands (IUCN NL), Birdlife International ...
Maartje Kouwen, Utrecht University
Illegal trade with terrestrial vertebrates in markets and households of Laos
It’s not a surprise to anyone that numerous vertebrate species are being sold at different wildlife markets, but at the moment there is still no comprehensive understanding of how much people are involved in those actions in Laos (Lao PDR), nor what the impact on ...
Pensoft Publishers
New study reveals attitudes towards climate migrants
A new study from an international team of researchers has looked at how residents in Vietnam and Kenya perceive those forced to migrate because of extreme climates. The research team, including Dr. Quynh Nguyen from The Australian National University (ANU) say climate-induced migration is becoming more ...
Jess Fagan, Australian National University
Researchers reconstruct drought variability from teak tree rings in Southern Myanmar
Teak (Tectona grandis) is a tropical, deciduous, broad-leaved tree species indigenous to Southeast Asia. Despite its high dendroclimatological potential, only a few studies have analyzed the relationships between teak ring-width and climate variability in Myanmar. In a study published in Geophysical Research Letters, researchers from Xishuangbanna Tropical ...
Zhang Nannan, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Dams in the upper Mekong River modify nutrient bioavailability downstream
The number of hydropower dams has increased dramatically in the last 100 years for energy supply, climate change mitigation, and economic development. However, recent studies have overwhelmingly stressed the negative consequences of dam construction. Notably, it is commonly assumed that reservoirs retain nutrients, and this ...
Science China Press
NASA space data can cut disaster response times, costs
According to a new study, emergency responders could cut costs and save time by using near-real-time satellite data along with other decision-making tools after a flooding disaster. In the first NASA study to calculate the value of using satellite data in disaster scenarios, researchers at NASA’s Goddard Space ...
Jessica Merzdorf
Better protection sought for Thailand's helmeted hornbill
Time is running out for Thailand’s dwindling population of helmeted hornbills thanks to poaching of the exotic birds for the ivory-like casques atop their big red and yellow beaks. The species, known by the scientific name Rhinoplax vigil, is listed as “critically endangered” by the International ...
Busaba Sivasomboon
Study shows forest conservation is a powerful tool to improve nutrition in developing nations
A first-of-its-kind global study shows that children in 27 developing countries have better nutrition—when they live near forests. The results turn on its head the common assumption that improving nutrition in poorer countries requires clearing forests for more farmland—and, instead, suggest that forest conservation could be an important ...
Hydropower in Cambodia could threaten food security of region
Farmers and anglers in Cambodia depend on the Mekong River’s predictable seasonal patterns, but new dams for hydroelectricity are altering the hydrology of the river. These changes have the potential to threaten fish migration, livelihoods, and regional food security. Keep reading ...
Grain drain, Laos' sand mining damaging the Mekong

Grain by grain, truckload by truckload, Laos’ section of the Mekong river is being dredged of sand to make cement—a commodity being devoured by a Chinese-led building boom in the capital. But the hollowing out of the riverbed is also damaging a vital waterway that feeds ...