Economy and industry
Trouble on the Mekong
Two reports released last month by The Mekong River Commission (MRC), an inter-governmental organisation that works with the governments of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam to jointly manage the river’s resources, serve as a crucial health check on the state of Southeast Asia’s longest river ...
MARK TILLY
New dams on 3S rivers endanger survival of the Mekong
“It’s rare to see the birds these days, they’re gone. They lived off the fish, but most of the fish are gone too,” says Vuth Khat as he tours what used to be his village in the northeastern Cambodian province of Stung Treng and talks ...
Gerald Flynn, Phoung Vantha
Laos banks on new high-speed railway to draw tourists and investment
The men arrived in dark jackets, and the women in fine woven silk skirts. They filed into the gleaming railway station under a red sign that said “Vientiane” in Lao and Chinese. Then they set off. Laotian lawmakers took a test ride on their country’s first ...
Tan Hui Yee
NGO’s want all Mekong countries to follow Cambodia’s lead on dams
Ten NGOs in Cambodia, working on water governance issue in Cambodia, have lauded the government’s commitment not to have any more hydropower dams on the Mekong mainstream which was recently made during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26) in Glasgow, Scotland, the United ...
Son Minea
Another poor wet season endangers Cambodia’s biggest lake and its people
Climate change, unsustainable and illegal fishing and the proliferation of hydropower dams on rivers that feed Tonle Sap threaten the livelihoods of over one million Cambodians. Sarun Nong, a fisher on Koh Krabey, a small island in Cambodia’s Tonle Sap lake, takes another look at the fishing net ...
By Ate Hoekstra, The Third Pole
China could be preparing for 'water war' in Asia after completing serial dams in Tibet
Major floods in several parts of South and Southeast Asia this year are a wake-up call for countries such as India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Thailand among others. Experts said that such floods could become a regular feature and that countries in the region must get together ...
IANS
Destination Mekong aligns with other tourism leaders to sign the Glasgow declaration on climate action in tourism
Destination Mekong became a proud signatory of the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism at the COP26. As part of its efforts to play a leadership role in the global tourism community, Destination Mekong became a signatory and launch partner of the Glasgow Declaration on climate Action in ...
THEODORE KOUMELIS
Norway to partner with Vietnam to “awaken” offshore wind power potential
Norwegian Ambassador to Vietnam Grete Løchen and Commercial Counsellor Arne-Kjetil Lian recently have handed over the ‘Vietnam Supply Chain Study Report’ to Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien. The 70-page report provides an overview of the entire supply chain for Vietnam’s offshore wind industry, recommendations on ...
Sex workers have long been disapproved of in Thailand. Now they are calling for their billion-dollar industry to be recognised
It is hard to imagine, but Pattaya’s near-deserted “Walking Street” used to teem with revellers, as pulsating music filled the air and neon lights flashed until the early hours. Before the pandemic, the coastal city south-east of Bangkok was a buzzing party scene, and was once described by the Lonely Planet travel ...
South-East Asia correspondent Mazoe Ford and Supattra Vimonsuknopparat
Thailand agrees to buy electricity from Laos, ignoring NGOs’ concerns
Thai power authorities have agreed after a long delay to buy electricity from three hydropower projects in Laos, pushing aside objections from Thai NGOs who say the dams’ operations will harm the ecosystem along the Mekong River. The Nov. 5 decision by the Thai National Energy ...
eported by RFA’s Lao Service. Translated by Max Avary. Written in English by Richard Finney.