Environment and natural resources
Illegal timber seized at temple, man arrested
A man was arrested and a quantity of illegally cut timber logs seized at a temple in Sai Yok district of this western border province on Monday. Sawit Jiamjiraporn, the Sai Yok district chief, led a team of administrative officials and defence volunteers, to search Nong ...
PIYARAT CHONGCHAROEN
500kg ganja found on Mekong riverbank
A drug suppression team of the Mekong Riverine Unit seized 500 kilogrammes of compressed dried marijuana left on the bank of the Mekong river in That Phanom district late on Tuesday night. R/Adm Jaraskiat Chaiyaphan, commander of the Nakhon Phanom MRU, said a team on routine ...
PATTANAPONG SRIPIACHAI
With Myanmar’s press muzzled, experts warn of surge in environmental crimes
In the wake of the Feb. 1 military coup, Myanmar’s new regime leaders escalated their forceful crackdown on nationwide protests with sweeping restrictions on the media, severely curtailing independent journalism in particular. Authorities have stripped at least seven local media outlets of their licenses, enforced strict ...
Carolyn Cowan
Thailand cited as one of the ten most flood-affected countries in the world
“Climate Risk Country Profile – Thailand” outlines rapid onset and long-term changes in key climate parameters, as well as the impact of these changes on communities, livelihoods, and economies—many of which are already underway. The publication is part of a series of climate risk country profiles ...
Asian Development Bank and Headline Editor
Wet-season dam operations hit Mekong ecology and communities
In early July 2021, Chinese dams began restricting the flow of the Upper Mekong. Researchers and activists say the consequences downstream are unknown and potentially severe. As China celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party on 1 July, the Jinghong dam in Yunnan Province began restricting ...
Tyler Roney, The Third Pole
Washington gets serious about the Mekong
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris launched a mission impossible this week to restore her country’s shaky credibility as a trusted ally. “The reason I am here is because the United States is a global leader, and we take that role seriously,” a straight-faced Harris said on her ...
Kavi Chongkittavorn
Measures sought to control tiger trading, conservation in Vietnam
The People and Nature Reconciliation (PanNature) on August 24 organised a seminar looking back on the captivity, trading, rescue and conservation of tigers in Vietnam after the recent seizure of 17 tigers in Nghe An province. The tigers were found being raised illegally in the basements ...
VNA
Mondulkiri population of Asian elephants now an estimated 300 strong
Wildlife researchers from the Mondulkiri provincial Department of Environment and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-Cambodia) have recently completed collecting 85 Asian elephant dung samples for analysis to identify population size and migratory patterns. It is estimated that about 300 elephants live in the protected ...
Voun Dara
ASEAN, Mekong River Commission produce water security solutions
ASEAN and the Mekong River Commission (MRC) have come up with three solutions to help riparian countries address their water security challenges. The solutions, relating to policy, technology and partnerships, were highlighted at the ASEAN-MRC Water Security Dialogue held last week, the commission announced in a ...
Minh Nga
Deforestation surge continues amid deepening uncertainty in Myanmar
Carved out of the of the narrow isthmus that connects the Malay Peninsula to the rest of mainland Southeast Asia, Myanmar’s southern Tanintharyi region rises from the Andaman Sea in the west to the forested Tenasserim Hills that border Thailand in the east. While much of ...
Carolyn Cowan