Environment and land
Dawbon Bridge linking four townships in Yangon opens
The new Dawbon Bridge that links four townships in Yangon – Dawbon, Thaketa, Pazundaung and Mingalar Taung Nyunt – opened on Saturday, which was also Japan-Myanmar Friendship Day. Yangon Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein said the opening of the bridge would lead to faster development ...
Study shows forest conservation is a powerful tool to improve nutrition in developing nations
A first-of-its-kind global study shows that children in 27 developing countries have better nutrition—when they live near forests. The results turn on its head the common assumption that improving nutrition in poorer countries requires clearing forests for more farmland—and, instead, suggest that forest conservation could be an important ...
Living in fear along the Mekong
The collapse of a dam at the Xe Pian Xe Namnoy hydropower project in Laos was tragic. Immediate assessments say that 39 people died, many suffered injuries and thousands were left homeless, with their means of income lost for the foreseeable future. Beyond these numbers, ...
Pearson signs MoU with Thailand’s EEC
Digital education company Pearson has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor to develop and implement BTEC-based programs for learners in EEC provinces. Keep reading ...
Southeast Asia May Be Building Too Many Dams Too Fast
The disaster has brought into focus the ambitious agenda of Laos, one of the region’s poorest countries, to turn itself into “the battery of Southeast Asia” by building dozens of hydroelectric dams on the Mekong River and its tributaries and selling power to neighboring countries. ...
Waterways in Mekong Delta losing valuable alluvium
For a long time, saltwater in Mekong Delta was always considered an ‘enemy’ because it could not be used for rice cultivation. But it should be seen as a valuable natural resource which could help develop a sea-borne economy. Read more ...
Mekong region faces even greater forest losses, WWF warns
Top environmental group says countries on mainland Southeast Asia need to ramp up their forest protection policies or face the threat of millions of hectares being lost to ‘development’ and infrastructure projects over coming decades. Read ...
Laos dam collapse: Mekong River projects move forward despite promise to halt and review
Decision to continue work on two huge dams calls into question how serious the government is about reviewing numerous multibillion-dollar hydropower projects after last month’s disaster. Keep reading ...
Activists brace for new war on agri-chemicals
THE CALLS for a ban on the use of paraquat and two other farm chemicals seen as dangerous are growing louder again, as a government-appointed panel is set to discuss the issue at its first meeting tomorrow. Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha set up the panel ...
Tackling drug resistance on Asian farms with apps and a dictionary
In his first 12 years working as a vet in Bangladesh, Bikash Chandra Saha routinely prescribed antibiotics. Then he learned of the devastating impact of antimicrobial resistance on human health – and it revolutionized his treatment choices. The growing resistance of deadly diseases to antimicrobial drugs ...
