Environment and natural resources
Hanoi's pollution exposes growth risks
A major mercury leak, tap water contamination, and “alarming” levels of haze: several pollution crises in Hanoi have sparked public fury and accusations that communist Vietnam is putting the economy ahead of the environment. Long tapped as an investors’ paradise thanks to its low-cost labour and ...
MRC takes note of challenges facing Mekong basin
The Mekong River Commission has urged member countries and stakeholders to urgently step up measures to better manage the Mekong river to protect remaining wetlands and riverine habitats. An Pich Hatda, chief executive officer of the MRC secretariat, said in the MRC State of the Basin ...
Pech Sotheary
Vietnam - "Rise and Fall" toward a sustainable Mekong Delta
The Mekong Delta is one of the most vulnerable deltas to climate change, particularly sea level rise. However, the social and economic developments in the region also have a significant impact on the land. Urbanisation, land-use transformation, intensification of economic activities and human protection against ...
Tackling Thailand's food-waste crisis
When one-third of all food produced globally is thrown away while nearly one billion people go hungry, food waste is not only a moral travesty, it’s also a crime against nature. Each year 1,300 tonnes of food waste in landfills around the world contributes 8% of ...
Thanthip Srisuwannaket & Caratlux Liumpetch
Illegal wildlife meat seized at Stung Treng market
The Stung Treng provincial Forestry Administration seized 40kg of wildlife meat on Monday from the Stung Treng Samaki market in Stung Treng town where it was being illegally sold. Orn Chan Socheat, the acting director of the Stung Treng Forestry Administration, confirmed the seizure but said ...
Soth Koemsoeun
'Barbaric' snares are wiping out Southeast Asia's wild animals
Across Southeast Asia, wild animals are being hunted out of existence to feed growing demand for bushmeat, according to conservationists. Thomas Gray, science director with conservation group Wildlife Alliance, which operates in Cambodia, says that snares — simple traps made of wire and rope — have become the single biggest ...
Sarah Lazarus
Deforestation threatens the Mekong, but new trees are growing in surprising places
More than 70 million people live in Southeast Asia’s Mekong region, where trees and forests have multiple benefits for people and biodiversity. Trees lock soils in place, preventing landslides and protecting crops, while forests help regulate rainfall and water cycles. Wood and other forest products provide millions ...
Water war risk rising on the Mekong
The Mekong River, a waterway that originates in China and snakes through five Southeast Asian countries, is emerging as a new security flashpoint, similar in dynamic to escalating conflicts in the South China Sea. China has built 11 dams and has plans for another eight along ...
David Hutt
Dams a threat to Mekong
Almost a decade ago, Vietnam was the most vocal neighbour in opposing Laos’ first dam on the Mekong River. Now, it has become a partner in the Lao government’s Luang Prabang dam project — its fifth on the mighty river. This new partnership is worrying, ...
Toxic wait must end
The change in the composition of the National Hazardous Substances Committee (NHSC), which regulates use of three harmful farm chemicals — paraquat, glyphosate and chlorpyrifos — could add complications to a move to have the trio banned. The new composition under the Industry Ministry permanent secretary ...
