Environment and natural resources
Developing river economy in Mekong Delta should be focused: Experts
According to experts, the Mekong Delta has a dense network of rivers, creeks, and canals, with a length of about 26,550 km of natural rivers; thereby, it is convenient for the development of waterway traffic and river economy. On August 1, the Academy of Politics Region IV in ...
The Buddhist monks blessing trees to prevent deforestation
Wrapped in orange robes, occasionally with ornaments nestled into the roots and incense burning at the foot, such trees seen across Thailand could be confused for an art installation. Instead, their decoration is a signifier that the trees have been blessed by a Buddhist monk ...
Rebecca L. Root
‘Hungry river’ phenomenon to blame for severe erosion of Mekong River banks in Laos
Upstream dams and sand mining have caused significant erosion along the Mekong River in western Laos, according to experts, devastating riparian communities in the impoverished Southeast Asian nation with high waters and powerful currents. But residents of those communities say they believe that other issues are to ...
RFA Lao; Translated by Max Avary for RFA Lao. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
Thailand tiger rescues hold no guarantee of safety
Rambo paced anxious circles in his cage as it became clear he was subject to special attention. The Bengal tiger was about to be moved from the shuttered Phuket Zoo to a new home: a rescue centre in central Thailand. As the zoo closed, its 11 ...
WANPEN PAJAI
Rains quell fire risk around Cambodia’s Tonle Sap, but the future looks fiery
The roots of the forests surrounding Cambodia’s Tonle Sap lake spend half the year submerged in water. But in the past five years, they’ve been catching fire in the arid heat of the dry season. The government has rolled out plans to respond to these ...
Danielle Keeton-Olsen
Tonle Sap, Mekong water levels continue to rise amid flood warnings
The water levels of the Mekong and Tonle Sap has risen and is likely to continue to rise after more than a month of persistent rainfall, raising flood alerts in various parts of the country. Chan Yutha, Spokesman and Secretary of State of the Ministry of ...
Khmer Times
Ecotourism Community Builds Mangrove Walkway
Teuk Chob Khnar Por ecotourism community in Seam Reap is building a kilometer-long wooden walkway across the mangrove forest to boost tourism but is short of funds and manpower. The area in Khnar Por commune has freshwater mangrove trees growing on 98 hectares out of 1,022 ...
Po Sophea
Thailand’s rich freshwater biodiversity under threat
The Thai government has taken efforts to tackle climate change by building a large number of water retention projects. But they could threaten the country’s freshwater biodiversity unless new sustainable solutions are taken into consideration. In a remote forest in Thailand’s western Ratchaburi province, a team ...
Pratch Rujivanarom
After Lao rivers run red, authorities order iron mine to stop production
Authorities in Laos have ordered a Vietnamese mining company to suspend its operations after it polluted local waterways, causing two rivers to run red, local media reported. The Company of Economic Cooperation in Vietnam (Coecco) runs a mining operation in the Boualapha district of Laos’ southern ...
RFA Lao
Conservationists look for ‘divine intervention’ from forest development
A two-lane dirt road truncates the northeastern tree line of Phnom Tamao Forest, marking the start of a housing complex on private land bordering the protected area. Dozens of boundary markers cemented underneath the tree canopies of the forest indicate the plans for land exchange deals ...
ANTON L. DELGADO