Environment and land

Activist ban ‘spurs forest crimes’

While Ministry of Environment officials claim they and relevant departments implement forest protection and conservation measures responsibly, forest protection activists have expressed frustration over their inability to participate in patrols where illegal logging took place. The activists complained they are barred from forest protection efforts and ...

Soth Koemsoeun

Vietnam can cut pesticide use significantly without productivity loss: expert

The Vietnam Plant Protection Association (VNPPA) has called for a 30 percent cut to deal with long-standing pesticide overuse in the country. It says cutting pesticide use by 30 percent will not impact agricultural productivity. Truong Quoc Tung, standing deputy chairman of VNPPA, said recently that Vietnam ...

Phuong Lam

Fishermen without fish as Cambodia's river reversal runs late

Crucial water flows to the Tonle Sap, Southeast Asia’s largest lake, have been delayed for a second consecutive year according to river experts, severely disrupting fishing and threatening the food supply of more than a million people. The river reversal vital for Tonle Sap Lake may ...

Prak Chan Thul; Writing by Panu Wongcha-um and Martin Petty, editing by Ed Osmond

Thailand to allow use of 'economically valuable trees' as collateral for financial loans

Owners of 58 types of ‘economically valuable trees’ will be able to use them as collateral when applying for loans at financial institutions under a new policy, Government spokesperson Narumon Pinyosinwat said on her Facebook page. “This policy was proposed by the Ministry of Commerce as ...

THE NATION/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

Laos weather bureau official dispels Mekong flood concerns

There is no need for immediate public alarm about potential flooding of the Mekong River despite widespread reports of floods in neighbouring countries, especially China, a sector official has confirmed on Monday. The official from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment’s Meteorology and Hydrology Department, ...

Tiger, pangolin farming in Myanmar risks ‘boosting China demand’, conservationists warn

Conservationists have warned a sudden change in Myanmar’s law allowing the commercial farming of tigers, pangolins and other endangered species risks further fuelling demand in China for rare wildlife products. The Southeast Asian nation is already a hub for the illegal trafficking of wildlife, a trade ...

Agence France-Presse (AFP)

NGO formed to protect natural resources and raise awareness

The Ministry of Interior announced the creation of the Lover Environment and Society Association in a July 9 announcement. The president of the new association, Chum Huot, said he wanted to raise awareness of human rights and protect Cambodia’s environment. The association, which is an NGO dedicated ...

Long Kimmarita

Illegal industrial park intrudes on southern Vietnam forest land

Inspectors have identified 41 factories built on 72 ha of land allocated for forest cultivation in Dong Nai Province ten years ago. The factories all belong to Phuoc Tan Industrial Park (IP) in Bien Hoa Town of Dong Nai that borders Ho Chi Minh City. The violation ...

Phuoc Tuan

Thailand accepts World Bank’s climate change grant

In addition to several projects and agreements approved in the Cabinet meeting yesterday, the government has agreed to accept a 5 million dollar U.S. grant from the World Bank to reduce emissions of hydrofluorocarbon gas (HFC), which is one of the greenhouse gases affecting the ...

National News Bureau of Thailand

Lao Capital Residents Fight Land Grab, Reject Offered Compensation

Residents of the Lao capital Vientiane are resisting seizure of their land by a Lao-China joint venture building an expressway, saying they had been promised earlier their land would not be taken, and calling offers of compensation unacceptably low, Lao sources say. The project, a 13-km ...

RFA’s Lao Service. Translated by Max Avary. Written in English by Richard Finney.

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