Environment and land

Yangon’s traffic congestion is a major factor in fouling the city’s air, experts say. Speaking at an air quality seminar, Dr Than Htut, a retired head of the Occupational Health Unit, said it was the most important of three major causes of air pollution, the ...

The Thai government has begun the process of setting up a system of “catch certification” that can help to trace fishing activity from start to finish to upgrade the fishing industry. The move is part of Thailand’s attempts to standardise the Thai fishing industry and fight allegations ...

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc directed the south-central region and Central Highlands to take measures to prevent droughts at a meeting with local authorities in Ninh Thuan province on 22 February. He urged the localities to examine water reservoirs and build plans for water usage, ...

The tonnage of Cambodia’s agricultural exports increased by over 20 per cent last year, led by a surge in shipments of dried cassava chips, according to the latest Ministry of Agriculture data. Total exports of 66 raw and semi-processed agricultural products – chiefly cassava, rice and ...

With Myanmar’s deadly jade industry increasingly under international scrutiny after hundreds of scavengers were buried in landslides, the Amyotha Hluttaw is taking the infamously unregulated extractive industries sector to task. The illegal plundering of natural resources will be put to an end, according to National League for ...

Bangkok’s Metropolitan Waterworks Authority (MWA) will test lower-water-volume distribution for 24 consecutive hours in some areas this week as it braces for an imminent drought crisis. The test will run from 9pm 24 February till 9pm 25 February. “We need to make preparations for any emergency and any ...

Vietnam needs to create policies to promote investment in agriculture to build a farming sector to compete internationally, as the country integrates into the global economy. Investments in agriculture remain modest, although the sector involved nearly 70 per cent of the country’s population, while contributing some ...

Ho Chi Minh City will need VND13.5 trillion (US$602.678 million) more for its programme to improve water bodies, which started in 2001 with the aim of cleaning up all canals, the People’s Committee has said. Chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong said the money would be used for ...

Tak and Songkhla will be the next provinces with government-developed special economic zones (SEZs) after the one in Sa Kaeo is finished. The SEZ in Songkhla’s Sadao district has been designated for rubber processing, while the one in Tak’s Mae Sot district will be for agricultural processing, ...

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has ordered relevant ministries and Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta provinces to prioritise the fight against drought and saltwater intrusion which have severely affected agriculture and fisheries and caused a crippling water shortage. Speaking at a seminar in Can Tho City ...