Environment and land
Vietnam blocks Chinese apple imports over island dispute
China’s apple exporters will have to come up with new, non-controversial packaging if they want to resume sending the fruit to Vietnam, authorities said on 22 October. Keep reading ...
Thai Union enforces strict ethics for tuna supplies
Thai Union Group, the world’s largest tuna canner, has stopped receiving supplies from about 1,200 fishing boats in Thailand over the past one to two years as part of its strictly-enforced code for responsible sourcing and conduct. As part of its global rebranding launched on 18 September, the ...
Xayaboury province bans further investment in banana farms
Xayaboury province will impose restrictions on banana farms following reports which suggested that farms in several provinces had used harmful chemicals which leaked into the soil and threatened local livelihoods. Governor of the northwestern province, Mr Phongsavanh Sitthavong, recently informed the media that Xayaboury would allow ...
Mekong dams will wipe out fisheries, study says
Preliminary findings from a soon-to-be released report have reinforced dismal projections for the future of Cambodia’s fisheries if 11 planned mainstream hydropower dams are built on the Mekong River. Presented on 21 October at the Greater Mekong Forum on Water, Food and Energy in Phnom Penh, the ...
China aims to develop border area with Laos
China has announced that it will invest US$31.4 billion in the Mengla economic zone in Yunnan province of the country, which shares a border with Lunag Namtha and Phongsaly provinces in northern Laos. The investment will cover more than 240 projects in such fields as transportation, ...
Food and Drug Administration to test drinking water, cooking oil
The Myanmar Food and Drug Administration is taking action against peddlers of dirty “purified” water and fake peanut oil. Officials said for the safety of the public the FDA will be testing products consumed daily, going ward by ward to take samples. “First, we will take ...
The strongest El Nino in decades is going to mess with everything
It has choked Singapore with smoke, triggered Pacific typhoons and left Vietnamese coffee growers staring nervously at dwindling reservoirs. In Africa, cocoa farmers are blaming it for bad harvests, and in the Americas, it has Argentines bracing for lower milk production and Californians believing that ...
Leaked WWF report: illegal logging in Laos 'a worst-case scenario'
Forests in Laos are disappearing at a ferocious rate under the impact of rampant illegal logging which accounts for 90% or more of the industry, with lucrative export markets in Vietnam and China. Keep reading ...
YCDC searches for more water as households run dry
Only 60 percent of Yangon’s water needs are being met, officials say. The Yangon City Development Committee is hunting for fresh sources, even as work proceeds to fix leaky pipes that lose half the water they are supposed to carry. The search for water security is part ...
Indonesia destroys Thai, Vietnamese trawlers
Photos from Indonesia on 21 October show the Indonesian navy blowing up fishing boats it seized from Thailand and Vietnam. Keep reading ...
