Environment and natural resources
Laos on international unregulated logging list
A consultation workshop on the Forestry Legality Compendium held in Vientiane on 6 November revealed that Laos is one of many countries still on the list of those where unregulated logging takes place. Laos is listed because internationally it is considered that some aspects of forest management ...
Vietnam's longest river is 'seriously' polluted: authority
Vietnam’s environment police on 6 November warned of worsening pollution in the Dong Nai River, the southern region’s main water supply that has been being exposed to multiple sources of contamination. Speaking at a meeting, Duong Van Linh, deputy chief of the Department of Environment Police under ...
Japan extends support for water supply management in Laos
The Japanese government has provided further support to improve the operations of water supply state enterprises in Vientiane and the provinces of Luang Prabang and Khammuan. The Department of Housing and Urban Planning, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, and the Public Enterprise Bureau, Saitama ...
Villagers protest against waste recycling plant
Villagers in Lat Bua Luang district of Ayutthaya province are again protesting that a foreign-owned recycling factory in their locality is causing severe pollution, and say their complaints have been ignored for years. Keep reading ...
Indonesia fire haze hit Cambodia last month
Despite the Cambodian government’s uncertainty last month, US satellite imagery has confirmed that haze from Indonesian peat fires that has bedevilled the region did in fact reach Cambodia in October, with haze from local forest fires likely to succeed it as the dry season progresses, ...
Water situation in Thailand remains critical
The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives has urged everyone in Thailand to use water wisely. Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister General Chatchai Sarikalaya said although the amount of water in the Chao Phraya and Mae Klong Rivers combined is higher than expected by 570 million cubic meters, ...
EU and Myanmar strengthen cooperation on climate change
The European Union and Myanmar has committed to strengthening cooperation on climate change ahead of the adoption of a new global climate deal in Paris this December according to an EU press release on 2 November. Keep reading ...
Mekong dams 'a grave threat to river'
Experts are warning that the Lower Mekong Basin may soon face depleting fish stocks, further erosion of the coastline and rising salinity that will make rice fields uncultivable. The facts are stronger than ever,” said Marc Goichot, an expert on sustainable hydropower and river basin management, ...
Lao forestry officials dismiss WWF report about illegal logging
Lao forestry officials dismissed a recent WWF report which exaggerated the scenario of illegal logging in Laos, a senior official in charge at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has confirmed. Deputy Director General of the Department of Forest Inspection under the Ministry of Agriculture and ...
Lat Krabang locals suffer canal stench
Desperate residents along Khlong Prawet Burirom have threatened to take their grievance over a severely polluted canal to the highest levels of government. Suchin Kummanee, head of the Sangkharacha community in Lat Krabang district along Khlong Prawet Burirom said almost 20,000 residents in 20 communities ...
