Environment and land
Mekong countries agree to conduct plastic waste study
Government officials and researchers from Mekong river countries on Wednesday agreed to assess plastic waste pollution in the region and take action to reduce it. The agreement was made by 50 government officials and researchers from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam during a meeting in Vientiane ...
Pech Sotheary
Cabinet gives nod to new anti-dust law
The cabinet has approved a draft ministerial law on construction as it steps up efforts to reduce harmful levels of ultra-fine particles of dust. The current law, enforced since 1983, is too old to be applied to modern building methods in line with safety and environmental ...
Hydropower dams cool rivers in the Mekong River basin, satellites show
Hydropower dams, which use flowing water to turn a series of turbines to generate electricity, provide a source of energy that doesn’t rely on fossil fuels. But they also disrupt the flow of rivers, and impact the fish and people that live there. Scientists have been ...
Sarah McQuate
Thailand's Biofuel Policies Addressed among Prime Reasons for Present Toxic Haze
Beneath the haze is the culmination of issues related to social equality, sustainability and corporate responsibility as well as the fragmented policy approaches that need effective and collaborative policy interventions At the moment, Bangkok seems to be at ease, having a short break over the weekend ...
May Thazin Aung, Benjaluck Denduang / SEI
Upgrading aging irrigation system will be a win for farmers and govt
Myanmar’s food future hinges on ensuring access to water, especially in times of worsening drought. This is especially true in the central dry zone – the country’s most water-stressed region. Rainfall is often highly erratic, and many areas have been seeing less and less in recent years. ...
Petra Schmitter
Mekong Delta takes measures to reduce saltwater intrusion
Though saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta was predicted to come earlier and with higher level of salinity than that recorded in the 2015-2016 dry season, the damages to farming areas are expected to be less serious as authorities and farmers have taken measures to ...
Government of Viet Nam
Harnessing Salween River: Settlement through confrontation or cooperation?
Myitsone Dam project is well known for its controversial impact on Myanmar’s political landscape, as it involves on and off pressure from China to restart the project in line with the signed contract as soon as possible. But what is less prominent is the controversy over ...
Sai Wansai
New oil pipeline in northern Thailand may worsen flooding
A pipeline stretching from central to north-east Thailand promises to “promote Thailand as an energy hub in the region” and “increase energy security”, according to the Ministry of Energy. Construction began in mid-2019, despite local communities objecting that the largely Chinese-financed project could worsen flooding ...
Guardians of the forest: six rifles and one bullet a day
In late 2012, a fire threatened to engulf the community forest of Huai Hin Kao village in Nong Khai’s Pho Tak district. Twenty local men followed the village chief’s call to help tackle the flames that came dangerously close to the community. “I learned afterwards that ...
Quảng Trị to plant 60,000ha of forests by 2030
The central province of Quảng Trị had over 110,000ha of forests for production as of early this month, 22,000ha of which have received Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) forest management certifications. Quảng Trị is one of the top localities nationwide in terms of forestation certified by the FSC. ...