Environment and land
Myanmar’s lifeblood in peril
The Ayeyarwady River, dubbed the lifeblood of Myanmar and home to a threatened species of dolphin, is being suffocated by tonnes of plastic being dumped into it every day. It has been ranked the ninth most polluted river in the world, behind the Philippines’ Pasig ...
Kyaw Soe Htet
Water shortage a looming crisis for Viet Nam

According to experts at a forum on water resource management yesterday, Việt Nam is facing a severe water crisis. In a report by the International Water Association, a country with inland surface water output of less than 4,000 cu.m per head per annum can be considered as ...
Water resources projects on track: ONWR
The Office of the National Water Resources (ONWR) is planning to move forward with 100 water management projects worth Bt400 billion before the end of the year to boost available water up to 2.9 million cubic metres and cover the needs of 630,000 families nationwide, ...
Worrying days for the Mekong
Water levels at Southeast Asia’s largest river may be at its lowest levels in a century. Low rainfall, high temperatures and poor dam regulations are contributing to a historic low at the Mekong, affecting the region’s agriculture and fishing industries and leading to rapidly drying taps. Chinese ...
Jason Thomas
Missing Mekong waters rouse suspicions of China
By this time of year, the Mekong River should have been rising steadily with the monsoon rains, bringing fishermen a bounty of fat fish. Instead, the river water in Thailand has fallen further than anyone can remember and the only fish are tiny. Scientists and people living ...
Panu Wongcha-um
Severe Drought in Mekong Region Reduces Rice Planting in Laos

Lao farmers have planted rice on less than half the country’s cultivable land this year because of a persistent drought in the Mekong River region that has seen severely reduced water levels and the delay of seasonal monsoon rains, which have yet to begin. Growers have ...
Record Mekong water shortage raises concern over Chinese dams
By this time of year, the Mekong River should have been rising steadily with the monsoon rains, bringing fishermen a bounty of fat fish. Instead, the river water in Thailand has fallen further than anyone can remember and the only fish are tiny. Scientists and people living ...
Vietnam braces for severe impact of Mekong River’s record low water levels
The Mekong River’s water level during this year’s early flood season, from June to July, is among the lowest on record, according to the Mekong River Commission (MRC), with experts warning of impending consequences on the upcoming dry season in Vietnam. Water levels in the Mekong ...
Dawei SEZ stands better chance with Japanese participation, officials say
The governments of Myanmar, Japan and Thailand will be meeting over the troubled Dawei special economic zone (SEZ) project that has stalled since 2013 for lack of funding. Ministers will form a Joint Cooperation Committee to discuss how Japan can be more involved in developing ...
Chan Mya Htwe
Waste: A matter that needs to be resolved
When Cambodians discovered there were 83 shipping containers filled with rubbish disguised as recyclable plastic waste shipped from the US and Canada, they were outraged. With waste management already a problem throughout the country, the last thing Cambodia needed was waste from another country. “Cambodia is not ...