Environment and natural resources
Logging is rampant at Prey Lang, report says
Denmark’s University of Copenhagen has drawn Prey Lang stakeholders’ attention to recently published data which shows increased illegal logging within the Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary. In an open letter dated April 11 and penned by the university, illegal logging activities were highlighted on a map provided ...
Ry Sochan
Herd of endangered elephants found in Quảng Nam Province
A herd of eight Asian elephants – an endangered species listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) – has been found living in an elephant conservation area in Nông Sơn District, Quảng Nam Province. Deputy head of the provincial ranger and forest protection sub-department Từ Văn Khánh confirmed ...
China Limited the Mekong’s Flow. Other Countries Suffered a Drought
As China was stricken by the coronavirus in late February, its foreign minister addressed a concerned crowd in Laos, where farmers and fishers across the Mekong River region were contending with the worst drought in living memory. His message: We feel your pain. The foreign minister, Wang Yi, ...
Hannah Beech
Climate stress and coronavirus gang up on world's vulnerable
With friends falling ill, another passing away and his movements restricted, coronavirus had already stretched Giordano Alpi physically and mentally when another disaster struck his 30-hectare farm in Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy. A sudden plunge in night-time temperatures to below zero in late March caused extensive ...
Thin Lei Win and Michael Taylor
A forest lockdown will fuel more fires
With strong wind and fast-approaching forest fires, a group of forest dwellers on Doi Mon Dok mountain in Chiang Mai’s Samoeng District are racing against time to stop the flames from engulfing their village. “This is the ninth time the fires have erupted near our home,” ...
SANITSUDA EKACHAI
Boundary markers create concerns for indigenous people
The Bunong indigenous people in Mondulkiri province have expressed concerns about deforestation in the Phnom Nam Lyr Wildlife Sanctuary after a forest community spotted machinery in an off-limits area and noticed markers planted in the surrounding land. But an environment official claimed the machinery was being ...
Khorn Savi
Myanmar shorebirds get four-fold expansion in protected wetland
Twenty years ago, few conservationists knew about the Gulf of Mottama and the secrets hidden within its complex coastline. Its location in southern Myanmar is, like many parts of the country, rugged and difficult to access. However, in the early 2010s, everything changed when surveys lead ...
Ding Li Yong
Bushfires threatening forests in northern Laos
Thousands of hectares of forests in the north of Laos have been destroyed by bushfires, the blazes are yet to be brought under control. According to local authorities, bushfires have been reported in northern Lao province of Oudomxay, Luang Namtha, Luang Prabang and Phongsaly provinces, which ...
Huaxia
Saline intrusion in Mekong Delta likely to linger on
Saline intrusion in the Mekong Delta will likely remain at a high level until the end of April or early May, before gradually declining, according to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting. In the worst case scenario, drought and saltwater intrusion may last even longer if ...
Five provinces receive funds to fight saltwater intrusion
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has allocated 800 million VND (nearly 34,000 USD) to five provinces which have declared an emergency due to saltwater intrusion. The money comes from the ministry’s Vietnam Environmental Protection Fund. The provinces are Long An, Tien Giang, Ben Tre, Kien Giang and Ca ...