Environment and land
No bounce in Luang Namtha rubber price
The rubber price in Luang Namtha province has fallen continually since 2013 causing a large number of growers to plant other crops instead. The rubber price in the province is currently 3,000-3,500 kip per kilogramme, down from 4,000-4,500 kip per kg over the past year, an ...
Trash pact in crosshairs
City Hall has warned Phnom Penh’s sole waste management firm that it has just one more opportunity to lift its game before its oft-criticised contract comes under threat. Following a meeting on 12 January between Cintri and local authorities to review the firm’s performance, Ieng Aunny, deputy ...
Donors slash funding for MRC
As disputes multiply over the use of the Mekong, including over planned upriver dams in Laos contested by Cambodia and Vietnam, and a newly unveiled Thai plan to divert water to its drought-ravaged farms, the body tasked with mediating among the four nations is losing ...
Canal repair reduces Yangon water supply
Householders in 19 Yangon city townships are being urged to store water as repair work proceeds on the canal that supplies much of the city’s water. The city’s Irrigation Department will be working on the canal between the Ngamoeyeik dam and the city’s Nyaunghnapin pumping station ...
Dammed if they don’t: Mekong countries face crucial choice
In the wake of COP 21 and a new global climate accord, now is the time for the countries of the Lower Mekong Basin to redouble their efforts to protect the rice bowl of Southeast Asia. This region is among the world’s most vulnerable to climate ...
Wastewater problem growing in Vientiane
Few households in Vientiane have installed treatment systems for their wastewater before it is discharged into drainage channels and collects in the city’s ponds and marshes. As it seems that many home owners in Vientiane don’t care about wastewater treatment or the quality of the water ...
'No dodging' EIA on water plan
The development of two controversial water diversion projects would comply with an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study requirements, the Thai government insists. Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Gen Chatchai Sarikulya said on 12 January the government wants to study the prospects of diverting water from rivers forming a ...
Fish catches slowing as waters deteriorate
Cambodia’s coastal fish yields declined by 5 per cent in the past year, a coastal fishery administration officer said on 12 January. Nen Chamroeun, administration official in Sihanoukville, said fishermen switching to factory work and venturing onto the water less often were the main culprits for ...
El Nino likely to set new weather records: Experts
The impact of El Nino in 2016 will likely surpass last year’s record to become strongest ever in history, according to experts. Hoang Duc Cuong, Director of Vietnam’s National Centre for Hydro-Meteorology Forecasting, issued the forecast at a conference held late last week to review the national ...
Southern rubber growers in Trang to discuss demands
Leaders of rubber growers in the South met in Trang province on 12 January for a meeting with the provincial governor and to discuss their demands that the government help increase the price of rubber. About 30 representatives of southern rubber growers gathered at the Trang branch ...
