Environment and land
Mekong Delta's largest waste water facility opens
A new waste water treatment plant, the largest of its kind in the Mekong Delta, was put into operation on Saturday in Tra Noc Industrial Park in Can Tho, Vietnam. At the completion of the first phase of the project, the new waste water treatment facility can ...
SEZs seek to boost Thai-Laos partnership

Thailand and Laos have pledged to raise bilateral trade to US$8 billion over the next three years, driven mainly by underlined partnerships through special economic zones (SEZs). Thailand plans to develop SEZs in 10 provinces, six of which have been designated in the first phase ...
Krabi EIA on hold for clean tech study
The tripartite panel considering the fate of the coal-fired power plant proposed for Krabi must reach a conclusion before the project’s environment and health impact assessment is considered, says the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (Onep). Raweewan Bhuridej, Onep’s acting secretary-general, yesterday ...
Rubber oversupply causes price slump in Laos

As rubber plantations mature and the trees are ready to be tapped, Lao growers stand to face a substantial loss amid a slump in the rubber price on the world market. A respected Lao researcher says poor assessment of the market prior to planting the trees ...
Gold prices unchanged at B18,200

Thailand’s Gold Traders Association have announced buying prices at 17,843.32 baht per baht weight for gold ornaments. Keep reading ...
Decline in price of rubber leaves Cambodian farmers scrambling

As of last year, rubber trees occupied more than 357,000 hectares in Cambodia, with more than 90,000 hectares old enough for cultivation. Now, some farmers are regretting their choice of cash crop, after a rough three years in which rubber prices have plummeted. “It’s good for ...
Crop inundation feared

As talk of El Niño-inspired droughts shaped much of the conversation ahead of this year’s late-blooming rainy season, recent torrential rains in some areas of the Kingdom have given way to new fears of crop inundation and damage. On Tuesday, the Ministry of Water Resources and ...
Laos, destination in illegal ivory trade, so far eludes global crackdown

When the authorities in Thailand recently intercepted huge stashes of ivory stuffed inside shipments of beans and tea leaves, the seizures were described as groundbreaking international police work. But there was a major omission in the operation, which took place over the past four months and uncovered ...
Myanmar Government trumpets pledges from China

Amid accusations that it caved in to Chinese pressure, the government has been at pains to show that its release in a presidential amnesty last week of 153 Chinese illegal loggers was accompanied by a number of pledges it has managed to extract from Beijing. The ...
PNG frees Myanmar and Cambodia ‘slaves’ from fishing boat
Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O’Neill yesterday pledged his nation’s support in tackling human trafficking as he confirmed the seizure of a boat carrying alleged slaves from Myanmar and Cambodia. Mr O’Neill said the eight people were rescued from the fishing boat Blissful Reefer. Keep reading ...