News
ASEAN air chiefs unite with RTAF to ‘clear the air’ in Thailand pollution battle
The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) is gearing up to join forces with its ASEAN counterparts to combat air pollution, specifically honing in on the issue of fine particulate matter PM2.5. This announcement took flight during the annual ASEAN Air Chiefs Conference in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, which concluded ...
Atima Homtientong
Report: Forest encroachment for maize cultivation increased in Lower Mekong
Industrial-scale maize cultivation to produce animal feed, one of the two main reasons behind annual smog in the three Lower Mekong countries, has grown on a massive scale, satellite data analysis has revealed. More than 11.8 million rai (4.7 million acres) of forested area in the ...
Subel Rai Bhandari for RFA
New Thai government must show more responsibility with the Mekong
Around this time of year when the rainy season begins, people living on the banks of the Mekong River along the Thai-Lao border always feel a little less stressed because rising water levels mean more fish and food to support their survival. Until the mid-1990s, these ...
Titipol Phakdeewanich
Thai investment in Laos hydropower reveals dire disconnect in the Mekong
Over the past year, the pace of hydropower development along the mainstream of the Mekong River in Laos has picked up, fuelled by long-term funding agreements. Chinese and Thai hydropower project investors have been signing Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), which usually cover a 30-year period, ...
Ming Li Yong
Ratify enforced disappearance pact now
As of last year, according to UN figures, there were nearly 80 unresolved cases of enforced disappearances in Thailand. Considering the country now has a law in place against enforced disappearances, in force since earlier in the year, how should we prevent and remedy these ...
VITIT MUNTARBHORN
Mekong water level falling
NAKHON PHANOM: The level of the Mekong river is falling and water can now be drained more quickly out of thousands of rai of flooded rice fields, authorities in this northeastern border province said on Monday. The river was receding by 10-20 centimetres per day. It ...
PATTANAPONG SRIPIACHAI
Ancient alligator species identified in Thailand
Scientists have discovered a previously unknown alligator species with a distinct skull structure that thrived in ancient Thailand about 230,000 years ago, offering additional insights into the evolutionary history of Asian alligators, according to a new study. The creature in question shares a close evolutionary relationship ...
Subel Rai Bhandari for RFA
El Nino will expose Thailand’s lack of defense against climate change: experts
Although the rainy season has begun in Thailand, the threat of prolonged drought and water shortages is hovering on the horizon because of El Nino. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which monitors sea temperatures at over 200 locations, forecasts that El Nino – ...
Thai PBS World
Thailand battles marine pollution with 507 tonnes of waste collected in 2020
Marine pollution issues have impinged on Thailand‘s coastal regions, with increasingly alarming statistics emerging, according to updates from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. Throughout last year, there were reports of 22 oil spill events within the Gulf of Thailand, and an astonishing 507 tonnes of various waste ...
Mitch Connor
Villages and academic collaboration gathers crucial data on Mekong River dam projects’ impact
In a collective stance against two prospective dam projects along the Mekong River, villagers from five communities, researchers, as well as a Thai university, have teamed up. The collaboration aims to gather comprehensive data regarding their local economy, natural resources, and potential downstream impacts. The participation from within ...
Nattapong Westwood