Environment and land

Thailand’s Provincial Waterworks Authority (PWA) has begun rationing water in three provinces as the severity of the drought, expected to be far worse than last year, has started to affect tap water production. Ratana Kitchawan, the PWA’s director, on 20 January said three branches of the PWA are ...

The Department of Fisheries does not expect Thailand to be hit with a red card by the European Union, citing positive signals from EU representatives over progress in dealing with illegal fishing during their visit to the country this week. Esak Pakdeekong, the department’s deputy chief, said ...

Thailand’s Customs Department has launched a mobile app for anti-IUU activity to help track fishing routes from the catch to the processing plant. With the application, government officials will know where the catch was made, how it got to the factory and its final production process, director-general Kulit ...

Following the 19 January demolition of six homes in Village 1, a community on the southern shore of Phnom Penh’s Boeung Trabek reservoir, Municipal Governor Pa Socheatvong on 20 January addressed residents, promising a solution to a largely sceptical audience. Speaking on the afternoon of 20 January, Socheatvong said ...

The Thai government will step up efforts to reduce rubber plantations, particularly on encroached lands as part of measures to tackle the low rubber price.  Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said his administration will consider whether rubber plantations can be scaled down. Keep reading ...

Some rice farmers in Phitsanulok province are drilling wells in their dry riverbed to get around the Irrigation Department’s warning not to grow off-season crops due to the water shortage, insisting it’s the only livelihood they know. Keep reading ...

Amid indications that the incoming National League for Democracy government will take up the issue of land-grabs, the party’s Mandalay Region has begun compiling a list of farmland seized unlawfully in the region. “We are collecting data on farmland disputes. It will be up to the ...

A jade probe led by the government following several deadly accidents at mines in Kachin State has expanded its scope and is now being overseen by the Ministry of Home Affairs. The special investigative team, which was previously under the Ministry of the Environment, is looking into ...

Conserving water must be made an urgent national priority to cope with a water shortage crisis expected to hit Thailand after Songkran if precautions are not taken, a consultancy firm says. Water stocks in four major reservoirs which are the main sources of water in the Chao ...

The Lao government has given the green light for a Lao company to set up a special economic zone (SEZ) in Luang Prabang province, bringing the total number of SEZs nationwide to 13. The development is part of plans to create a new town in the ...