Environment and natural resources

The U.S. is increasing scrutiny of Chinese dams along the Mekong River, its latest move aimed at helping Southeast Asian nations push back against Beijing. The ‘Mekong Dam Monitor,’ funded by the U.S. government and run by for-profit consultancy Eyes on Earth and the Washington-based Stimson Center gathers ...

Losing their natural habitat and food source, red-crowned cranes no longer call a national park in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta home. For three decades, Tram Chim National Park in the reed fields of Dong Thap Muoi in Dong Thap Province has been famous as a natural habitat ...

Your Excellency; First of all, I am Saw Paul Sein Twa, the Chairperson of the Salween Peace Park in Mutraw District, Karen State, Kawthooeli, Eastern Myanmar, which recently was awarded the 2020 Equator Prize. I work closely with local Indigenous Karen people and walk with them as ...

A U.S.-funded project using satellites to track and publish water levels at Chinese dams on the Mekong river was announced on Monday, adding to the superpowers’ rivalry in Southeast Asia. The 4,350-km (2,700-mile) waterway – known as the Lancang in China and flowing south through Myanmar, ...

A series of reports this year show that protected forest areas across Cambodia are under increasing threat from land grabs and deforestation. As Cambodians struggle with the economic impacts of COVID-19, journalists and advocates report that illegal logging and land development continues, from central Cambodia’s Prey Lang Forest to the Cardamom Mountains ...

Ministerial delegates from the Mekong River Commission (MRC) Council have now approved a list of strategic documents, charting a new course for it and strengthening its efforts to balance environmental protection and economic development in the Mekong Basin. The MRC Council represents the highest level of ...

The Natural Resources and Environment Sector Working Group (NRESWG) plans to accelerate implementation of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment’s priority projects affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The group also aims to ensure the alignment of ongoing and future activities through the NRESWG platform, as ...

Irrawaddy dolphins can be seen in three major rivers in Southeast Asia: the Ayeyarwady (Myanmar), the Mahakam (Indonesian Borneo) and the Mekong. In Myanmar, the dolphin is known for its close relations with local fishers as they often help to drive shoals of fish towards ...

Over a hundred participants from various sectors, which have been working on development issues in the Mekong Basin, attended the two-day seminar held in Chiang Rai’ Chiang Khong district, where has been one of the locations which have long suffered from development projects in the ...

After almost two decades of campaigning against hydro-dams and water projects built on the Mekong River, local civic groups and conservationists finally launched the “Mekong People’s Forum,” with the hope of moving their campaign to a policy level. The forum was held on Dec 1–2 in ...