Environment and land
ELCs bring no benefits to local communities: study
A study looking at economic land concessions in Ratanakkiri province has found that, contrary to the oft-repeated government narrative, they have brought almost no benefits to local communities. Speaking at a launch event for the study yesterday, one of the researchers behind it, Dr Neth ...
Deeper water expected to yield more fish
Just weeks ahead of the main fishing season on the Tonle Sap river, which supplies the majority of the fish used in the Kingdom’s traditional cooking sauce, prahok, government officials are predicting a better catch this season as water levels have recovered from last year’s ...
Don Sahong dam ‘no problem’, says premier
Just weeks after Laos announced its plans to begin constructing a third mainstream dam in the Lower Mekong River region, Prime Minister Hun Sen used a bilateral meeting with his Laotian counterpart to signal that the controversial Don Sahong dam will no longer receive opposition ...
Minister eyes commission to manage Thanlwin River
A Union minister is trying to launch a new tripartite commission for management of the Salween/Thanlwin River with a stated aim of avoiding disputes concerning water resources. Minister for Transport and Communication U Thant Sin Maung said the Thanlwin River Commission should include representatives from ...
CA$11.9M initiative to boost ASEAN SMEs
Canada is working with ASEAN to deliver an ambitious five-year, CA$11.9 million initiative through a partnership with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the region.Keep reading ...
Banned rosewood trade up
Despite the presence of a blanket ban by the Cambodian government on all trade in Siamese rosewood since 2013, exports of the precious timber to Vietnam increased in the third quarter of this year, according to Vietnamese customs data compiled by US-based NGO Forest Trends. ...
Sea waters become polluted as waste discharge increases
The sea waters off Ninh Thuan province are in danger of becoming polluted as big volumes of domestic garbage from thousands of local people are discharged into the sea every day. Large landfills have arisen in the coastal areas of Ca Na, Phuoc Diem and Phuoc ...
Changing Mekong currents compound dam anxieties in Southeast Asia
Several factors are disrupting the terrain for investment in large hydropower dams, and governments should take note. The government of Laos officially submitted the Pak Beng Dam to the Mekong River Commission in mid-November and has begun preparatory work around the future dam site. While ...
Over 470 hydropower projects to be cut
The Ministry of Industry and Trade removed 471 hydropower plant projects from its power development plan after reviewing the plan in accordance with a National Assembly resolution passed in 2013. According to the ministry and the people’s committees of provinces nationwide, the projects are mostly small ...
Salinization threatens Vietnam’s Mekong Delta
Saltwater has intruded into a large section of a major river in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, threatening the livelihoods of local residents. Saline water has spread to some 20 kilometers of the Tien (Front) River, with locals now bracing themselves for an extended drought and further ...
