Environment and land
Lao officials fail to enforce government ban on timber exports
A recent ban on the export of raw logs imposed by the Lao government to increase the value of processed wood products is not being enforced in the country’s southern provinces because some national leaders are involved in timber smuggling, a civil society official with ...
Myanmar launches Thilawa industrial zone
Dignitaries from Myanmar and Japan on 23 September launched the first phase of a huge industrial zone on the outskirts of Yangon, as the long-isolated nation pushes to rapidly accelerate its industrialisation. Housing everything from children’s toy manufacturing to a car assembly plant and a deep-sea port, ...
Thai farmers plea for debt relief if second rice crop again banned
Farmers’ leaders have called for an interest-free debt moratorium of 5-10 years if the government bans the planting of a second rice crop for the third time this year. Thai Farmers Association chairman Wichian Puanglamjiak on 22 September said if the the government asks farmers to not to plant second-crop ...
Groups slam dam go-ahead
Advocacy groups on 21 September voiced their “strong disappointment” over the approval of the concession agreement for the controversial Don Sahong hydropower dam in Laos. Keep reading ...
Vietnamese rubber giant makes deal with Cambodian villagers
A “major breakthrough” has been reached in discussions between Vietnamese rubber giant Hoang Anh Gia Lai and 11 indigenous communities in Ratanakkiri province that have lost land and resources to the company’s plantations. During a three-day meeting with community representatives, NGOs and its own subsidiaries, the ...
Vietnamese environment group voices concerns over Mekong dam
An environmental watchdog based in Vietnam is asking the Laos government to reconsider the construction of a controversial hydropower plant along the Mekong River. The non-governmental organisation Vietnam River Network issued a press release on 18 September stating that the Don Sahong project, the second largest ...
Vietnam prepares for UN climate change talks in Paris
Vietnam is quickly finishing the Intended National Determined Contributions to participate in the 21st Conference of Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, set to be held in Paris this December. Countries across the global have committed to create a new international ...
Festive period likely to boost rice prices
Rice prices are forecast to increase by as much as 10% late this year and early next year thanks to year-end festive celebrations and lower supply. Chookiat Ophaswongse, an honorary president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, said rice prices were likely to rise by 8-10% ...
Vietnam expels Chinese man for illegal mass earthworm hunting
Quang Tri border guards have deported a Chinese man who had asked locals to help him hunt earthworms using an illegal chemical and promised to buy the crawl for a high price. Gan DeQiang, 40, was also fined VND16 million (US$712) for his violations, according to ...
Myanmar-China illegal timber trade still thriving: report
Timber extracted from Myanmar’s frontier forests is flowing into China in illegal transactions worth hundreds of millions of dollars a year, according to a report published on 17 September. The research, by the UK-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and partly financed by the UK, the European ...
