Environment and land
Rain causes river bank collapse in Chai Nat

Heavy rain that hit parts of Sankhaburi district of Chai Nat province on night of 9 November caused the bank of the Noy river to collapse, damaging a riverside road and pulling down many houses. Hardest hit were villages in tambons Don Kam, Bang Khut and Pho Ngam. Keep ...
Lao Government, stakeholders raise awareness of corporate social responsibility
Government officials and stakeholders met in Vientiane on 9 November to discuss and promote understanding of corporate social responsibility (CSR), especially in the land and natural resources sector. The meeting was organised by the Investment Promotion Department under the Ministry of Planning and Investment in collaboration with ...
Luxury timber goes to Vietnam en masse

While crowds gathered in Phnom Penh to watch Cambodia’s Independence Day parade, a different sort of procession drew the attention of villagers in Ratanakkiri province on 9 November, with hundreds of motorbikes flooding across border checkpoints loaded with luxury timber. The spectacle, which on a smaller ...
Vietnam, Japan produce carbon-free rubber
Vietnamese and Japanese researchers have developed technologies to reduce proteins in natural rubber, thereby permitting the production of high-performance rubber materials and alleviate the environmental burden caused by natural rubber processing. The scientists presented their research results at a session during the International Rubber Conference held ...
Laos on international unregulated logging list
A consultation workshop on the Forestry Legality Compendium held in Vientiane on 6 November revealed that Laos is one of many countries still on the list of those where unregulated logging takes place. Laos is listed because internationally it is considered that some aspects of forest management ...
New slaughterhouse regulations aim to curb disease

Following the opening of Cambodia’s first modern abattoir last month, a new draft law to regulate animal produce and slaughterhouses was announced on 6 November, along with the establishment of a “National Butchers’ Day” to be recognised annually on 8 January. The 22-chapter law, revealed by ...
Vietnam's longest river is 'seriously' polluted: authority

Vietnam’s environment police on 6 November warned of worsening pollution in the Dong Nai River, the southern region’s main water supply that has been being exposed to multiple sources of contamination. Speaking at a meeting, Duong Van Linh, deputy chief of the Department of Environment Police under ...
Japan extends support for water supply management in Laos
The Japanese government has provided further support to improve the operations of water supply state enterprises in Vientiane and the provinces of Luang Prabang and Khammuan. The Department of Housing and Urban Planning, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, and the Public Enterprise Bureau, Saitama ...
Villagers protest against waste recycling plant

Villagers in Lat Bua Luang district of Ayutthaya province are again protesting that a foreign-owned recycling factory in their locality is causing severe pollution, and say their complaints have been ignored for years. Keep reading ...
Iceland offers Vietnam support in renewable energy, fishing

Iceland President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson said on 5 November his country would like to support and share its experience with Ho Chi Minh City in producing renewable energy and using high technology for fishing and food processing. Keep reading ...