Environment and land
More Lao Fishermen Arrested in Thailand After Entering Illegally on Way Home
More Lao fishermen have been arrested in southern Thailand for illegally entering the country as they tried to return home from Malaysia, where they had been working in the fishing industry for years, the fishermen and local officials said. Like an earlier group arrested on Dec. ...
BenarNews
Thailand enforces strict laws to reduce smog in Bangkok and big cities
Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon has ordered relevant organizations to enforce laws strictly to reduce smog and ask operators and people to cooperate. Lt Gen Kongcheep Tantrawanit, spokesman of the deputy prime minister, said the order responded to the high levels of particulate matters 2.5 microns ...
Pattaya Mail
U.S. Steps Up Scrutiny of Chinese Built Dams on Mekong Basin
The U.S. is increasing scrutiny of Chinese dams along the Mekong River, its latest move aimed at helping Southeast Asian nations push back against Beijing. The ‘Mekong Dam Monitor,’ funded by the U.S. government and run by for-profit consultancy Eyes on Earth and the Washington-based Stimson Center gathers ...
Philip Heijmans
Endangered crane absent from Vietnam's Ramsar site
Losing their natural habitat and food source, red-crowned cranes no longer call a national park in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta home. For three decades, Tram Chim National Park in the reed fields of Dong Thap Muoi in Dong Thap Province has been famous as a natural habitat ...
Hoang Nam
Open letter to Aung San Suu Kyi to address water contamination issue
Your Excellency; First of all, I am Saw Paul Sein Twa, the Chairperson of the Salween Peace Park in Mutraw District, Karen State, Kawthooeli, Eastern Myanmar, which recently was awarded the 2020 Equator Prize. I work closely with local Indigenous Karen people and walk with them as ...
Saw Paul Sein Twa
Chinese dams under U.S. scrutiny in Mekong rivalry
A U.S.-funded project using satellites to track and publish water levels at Chinese dams on the Mekong river was announced on Monday, adding to the superpowers’ rivalry in Southeast Asia. The 4,350-km (2,700-mile) waterway – known as the Lancang in China and flowing south through Myanmar, ...
Kay Johnson, Matthew Tostevin
Angkor sells out: Cambodia turns a blind eye to vanishing forests
A series of reports this year show that protected forest areas across Cambodia are under increasing threat from land grabs and deforestation. As Cambodians struggle with the economic impacts of COVID-19, journalists and advocates report that illegal logging and land development continues, from central Cambodia’s Prey Lang Forest to the Cardamom Mountains ...
Editorial
Preah Vihear park dwellers receive land to relocate
The Preah Vihear Provincial Authority has decided to provide 10ha to 31 families in exchange for relocating from the Techo Sen Russey Treb Park – which is currently under the management of the Royal Academy of Cambodia – to prevent them from continuing to clear ...
Nov Sivutha
Newly thought out strategy for the Mekong
Ministerial delegates from the Mekong River Commission (MRC) Council have now approved a list of strategic documents, charting a new course for it and strengthening its efforts to balance environmental protection and economic development in the Mekong Basin. The MRC Council represents the highest level of ...
Jason Boken
Construction of highway connecting Dawei SEZ, Htikhee to commence next year
The construction of a 140-kilometer two-lane highway connecting the Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ), in Tanintharyi Region to the Htikhee at the Thai border will commence in mid-2021, according to the Dawei SEZ Management Committee. When complete, it will take travellers from the SEZ about 2.5 ...
Chan Mya Htwe