Experts urge action to end mass fish kills
Massive fish die-offs in many regions across the country recently have raised a big question about how local authorities should mitigate water pollution in aquaculture breeding areas.Last month, more than 1,000 tonnes of fish raised in cages along the Cai Vung River in the southern ...
Thai Government adjusts water plan to battle drought
Thailand’s Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry has adjusted its water distribution plan after the water in 10 main dams across the country receded to critical levels. Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Chatchai Sarikulya said on 2 March the water discharge plan of each dam has been tweaked to cope with ...
Volunteer vessel to monitor for migrants in Andaman Sea
A ship, two rescue boats and a fleet of drones will be deployed in the Andaman Sea on 3 March to comb for migrants and monitor for smuggling vessels – and respond in case of a crisis. The Migrant Offshore Aid Station was launched by an ...
Locals ask court to cancel coal permits
Residents in Thailand’s Nakhon Laung district in Ayutthaya province have asked the Central Administrative Court to withdraw the operating permits given to 51 coal and fertiliser companies and 26 piers on the Pasak River. They argue they have failed to protect the communities’ health and environment ...
Mekong 'gravity' study under fire
A feasibility study on a proposal to build a tunnel diverting water from the Mekong River to the drought-stricken Northeast region will be wrapped up by year-end and will determine whether the multi-billion baht project is economically viable, a senior irrigation official says. Somkiat Prajamwong, director of the Project ...
Bangkok faces water test as drought looms
Bangkok’s Metropolitan Waterworks Authority (MWA) will test lower-water-volume distribution for 24 consecutive hours in some areas this week as it braces for an imminent drought crisis. The test will run from 9pm 24 February till 9pm 25 February. “We need to make preparations for any emergency and any ...
Mekong reels from drought, saltwater
Drought and saltwater intrusion have worsened in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta this year, threatening rice crops and the daily life of residents. Le Thanh Hai, deputy director of the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, said: “Saltwater intrusion [began in] November 2015, one and half months ...
Water shipped to parched Banteay Meanchey locale
At least 600 families in the remote Svay Chek district of Banteay Meanchey province are being threatened by a shortage of drinking water that began earlier this month, a provincial official said on 16 February. The water in the wells and rivers has been drying up ...
The Mekong river: Damned if you do
The Mekong watershed nurtures extraordinary biodiversity, with new species of plants and animals discovered every year. It has also nurtured humans. Tens of millions of people—much of the population of Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam—depend on the Mekong. Planners think the Mekong has a gift to give: hydropower. ...
Cambodian CSOs seek Lao dam discussion at summit
Frustrated by Laos ploughing ahead with its controversial Don Sahong dam despite past promises to consult neighbouring countries, Cambodian civil society representatives have called on Prime Minister Hun Sen, US President Barack Obama and ASEAN chair Le Luong Minh to raise the issue at next week’s ...
