Environment and land
New fisheries office inaugurated in Kep
The Fisheries Administration (FA) plans to strengthen its presence in Kep province with the opening of a new cantonment there, officials announced in an official ceremony on 3 December morning. The move comes after what conservationists say has been a steady increase in illegal trawling in Kep ...
Vietnam coffee industry in trouble as prices plunge
Despite efforts to reduce costs and increase yields, Vietnam’s coffee exports have faced a difficult year, delegates heard at a seminar in Ho Chi Minh City on 2 December. “The international coffee market has seen unexpected trends and seriously impacted Vietnamese exports,” Deputy Minister of Agriculture ...
Mandalay gold rush cancelled
The gold rush has been cancelled, the authorities have announced. The 1000 or so hopeful gold miners who flocked into the village of Kyauk Pha when cable-layers thought they had struck lucky will just have to, well, flock off again. Keep reading ...
Vietnamese ignore health risks, catch fish from dioxin-polluted lakes for sale
Fish buyers never know that fish may have been caught illegally, from lakes heavily contaminated by extremely dangerous chemicals. Bien Hoa airbase, which is around 30 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City, is one of the sites with the severest and longest lasting dioxin pollution in the ...
11 primate species in Vietnam are critically endangered: study
A new study by global primate experts found Vietnam in a dire situation with an increase in critically endangered species, several of which are endemic to the country. Experts assessed the threat of extinction for 182 kinds of primates in South China, South and Southeast Asia, ...
Critics doubt Thai PM's climate pledge
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on 1 December declared in front of the world community that Thailand would slash greenhouse gases by 20-25 per cent within 15 years, but critics panned the plan, saying it was just for show, as it looked unrealistic. Prayut told the two-week-long United Nations climate-change ...
PV Oil Laos marks anniversary
A ceremony to celebrate the 5th anniversary of Lao PetroVietnam Oil (PV Oil Laos), a subsidiary of the PetroVietnam Oil Corporation (PV Oil), was held in Vientiane on 30 November. The event was attended by Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos Nguyen Manh Hung and Vice President of ...
Parasite blamed for fish deaths in Sihanoukville
Fish farms in Sihanoukville have lost an estimated 100 tonnes of fish to an aquatic parasite infestation in the past five days, Fishery Administration officials said on 1 December. The parasite, known as “marine velvet” or Amyloodinaum Ocellatum, feeds on fish tissue – giving it a ...
Cambodian MPs revisit Vietnam border pond issue
Cambodia National Rescue Party lawmakers Mao Monivann and Son Chhay visited a disputed area on the border between Ratanakkiri’s O’Yadav district and Vietnam on 30 November and urged the government to take action over several ponds allegedly dug by the Vietnamese in Cambodian territory. Keep reading ...
Myanmar navy seizes close to 50 unlicensed trawlers
The Myanmar navy has seized 49 trawlers caught illegally fishing in Myanmar waters since 2013, parliament heard on 30 November. Deputy Minister for Livestock, Fisheries and Rural Development U Khin Maung Aye told MPs eight of the boats were from Thailand and the rest were local. ...
