News
Fears grow that dam across Mekong River in Laos could harm World Heritage site of Luang Prabang
LUANG PRABANG, Laos (AP) — Landlocked Laos doesn’t have the famous beaches of its neighbors to attract tourists, but instead relies on the pristine beauty of its mountains and rivers and historical sites to bring in visitors. The crown jewel is Luang Prabang, a UNESCO World Heritage Site where legend ...
DAVID RISING
The Threat of a Dam Disaster in Luang Prabang
Building a huge dam just upstream from a legendary UNESCO World Heritage site in an earthquake prone region poses serious risk to the local population and the town of Luang Prabang, warns a leading Thai earthquake specialist. Dr. Punya Churasiri, formerly the earthquake expert at Chulalungkorn University’s geology ...
Tom Fawthrop
Hydropower vs Heritage: Will Laos Lose Luang Prabang?
The Lao government’s high-risk plan to install a massive dam on the Mekong River, perilously close to the renowned UNESCO World Heritage site of Luang Prabang, shows a disregard for its legal obligations to protect the renowned site, according to conservation experts. Minja Yang, the former ...
Tom Fawthrop
Don't touch the Mekong
[] A collection of shoals, reefs and islets off Chiang Rai province is the only serious block for 500-tonne Chinese riverboats past Thailand and all the way down to Luang Prabang in Laos. Beijing is once again applying economic and diplomatic pressure on Prime Minister ...
Bankok Post staff
Locust outbreak spreads further across northern provinces
The yellow-spined bamboo locust outbreak is expanding in northern provinces despite the best efforts of surveillance teams at central and local level to control the insects with chemical spraying. The locust population currently is expanding in 750 locations, involving 309 villages in 24 districts of ...
Mekong tourism forum to promote sustainable tourism among GMS
Around 350 representatives of states, international organisations and the private sector from the Greater Mekong Sub-region, Asia Pacific and the UN World Tourism Organisation are currently attending a tourism forum in Luang Prabang province. The Mekong Tourism Forum was officially opened on June 7 by the ...
Work to start on road link to Dien Bien Phuin next two years
It could be another two years before authorities start building a road from Luang Prabang province to the Vietnamese border at Dien Bien Phu province despite the funding commitment by Vietnam. A senior official in charge of the proposed project at the Ministry of Public ...
China steps in to help control locust plague
The locust invasion in the north has reached plague proportions and despite a chemical spraying campaign their numbers are continuing to grow in Huaphan, Luang Prabang, Oudomxay, Phongsaly and Xieng Khuang provinces. In an attempt to stop the pests destroying all crops in their path, ...
Vietnamese PM’s visit spurs further cooperation
The first official visit to Laos by Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has proved fruitful as the two governments have inked deals worth millions of dollars. The two-day official visit from April 26-27 was Mr Phuc’s first as Vietnam’s Prime Minister and coincided with ...
Clean, organic agriculture production set to expand
Expanding clean agriculture production to supply market demands together with improved international market access can serve to catalyse growth in the Lao organic produce sector, an audience including the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry was told on April 20. Director General of Department of Agriculture, ...
