Environment and land

Interior Minister General Anupong Paojinda said on Tuesday that he had ordered an investigation into allegations that some sand-mining boats on the Mekong River had dug up sand outside of the areas allowed under their permits.Keep reading ...

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) signed an agreement on 13 November for a $10 million grant as additional financing for a project that will enhance Lao PDR’s sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) capacity, and improve ...

There is increasing worry in Southeast Asia about the impact on regional seafood production from Chinese plans to dam and widen the Mekong River under its “One Belt, One Road” scheme. Published at the recently concluded Congress of China’s Communist Party, the plan calls for a ...

Arabica could hold the key to escaping poverty for farmers in Vietnam’s province Quang Tri, but is it a sustainable option?[] The Mekong Institute (MI), an intergovernmental organization that supports sustainable economic and social development in the Greater Mekong Sub-region, came up with an initiative to ...

China’s international rivers are becoming a focal point for contests over control of natural resources—and potentially international conflict.China, in its powerful position as headwater nation, continues to actively promote hydropower development domestically and internationally. When downstream nations rely on un-dammed rivers for fisheries and irrigation, ...

Rather than ecologically harmful dams, Cambodia should explore solar power to fill its energy gap.[] One such project is the proposed Sambor Dam, to be located on the Mekong River’s mainstream at Sambor town, Kratie province, Cambodia. This would be one of eleven large hydropower dams ...

When Pope Francis visits Myanmar and Bangladesh he will have a chance to see firsthand the huge environmental challenges that threaten the wellbeing of tens of millions of people. Here we look at how frequent natural disasters and environmental abuses have made both Bangladesh and ...

In the rainy season, shrubs and small trees are submerged in the Sesan River. The Sesan runs from east to west from Vietnam’s central highlands across the northern Ratanakiri region of Cambodia where it flows into the great Mekong River. [] But this community in Cambodia’s northern ...

The Mekong Business Initiative (MBI) launched a new startup accelerator programme aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of the agriculture sector in the Mekong region, with specific focuses on international companies eyeing expansion and early-stage local agritech startups, the head of the initiative said yesterday.Keep reading ...

Nine critically endangered Mekong Irrawaddy dolphins, were born this year, but two of them died, the World Wildlife Fund has said. In a statement issued on Friday, the WWF said the population continues to be threatened by illegal fishing and hydropower dams.Keep reading ...