Environment and natural resources
PM tells committee to strengthen int’l climate change co-operatioន
The National Committee for Climate Change needs to enhance its international co-operation and learn from other countries’ experience to promote climate change response in Việt Nam, Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc said on May 18. At the committee’s eighth meeting in Hà Nội, the Ministry ...
ANZ distances itself from Cambodian partner
Australian financial institution ANZ has distanced itself from the Royal Group, its local partner in a Cambodian joint venture bank, following police reports linking the group to illegal logging activities. A report published by Cambodia’s National Police this week accused Royal Group, owned by prominent ...
Mekong Delta faces increased risk of landslides as sediment loss continues
Every year, 55 million tons of sediment is lost from the rivers in Mekong Delta, 90 percent of which is sand. Nguyen Huu Thien, an independent expert, said the Mekong Delta has been taking shape for the last 6,000 years thanks to alluvial accretion. But the ...
Police link Kith Meng to illegal wood racket
The National Police on May 16 published a brief but scathing report on business mogul Kith Meng, citing anonymous sources who accuse his company of using its license to log the reservoir of the nearly completed Lower Sesan 2 hydropower dam to launder timber. Mr. ...
Mass clam deaths reported in Kiên Giang
Some 282 tonnes of clams and 14,000 cage-raised fish died in the days between Saturday and Tuesday in Hà Tiên Town and Kiên Lương District in Mekong Delta province of Kiên Giang, Lê Thanh Hưởng, deputy chairman of People’s Committee of Kiên Lương District told ...
Laos, China to partner in water resources management
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and a Chinese company have inked an agreement on partnership in water resources management in Laos. The Minutes of Discussion were signed in Vientiane on May 11 between Director General of Water Resources Management Mr Chanthanet Boualapha and President ...
Government probing logging claims
The Ministry of Environment is investigating collusion between state officials and timber traders in the country’s east, Environment Minister Say Sam Al said on May 11, three days after a report exposed industrial-scale illegal logging backed by Vietnamese traders in Ratanakkiri province. The minister’s comments ...
Mineral exploration permits offered for protected Prey Lang
One of four new mining exploration permits, advertised publicly this week, is within the Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary map, coordinates reveal, sparking concern among activists and community members about the strength of the forest’s recently-acquired protected status. In the first public tender of fresh exploration ...
Wildlife charity land dispute rumbles on
Villagers representing 200 families embroiled in a land dispute with a wildlife charity have written to Koh Kong provincial hall asking for permission to farm on 500 hectares near where they live. The residents were awarded land certificates for their homes in Thma Baing district ...
Dugongs face extinction in Thailand
Dugongs in Thailand’s waters face extinction unless their habitat and food sources are protected, according to a recent study. One of the most gentle marine mammals, dugongs are facing a serious threat as recent research by the Marine and Coastal Resources Department showed that only ...
