Environment and natural resources
Pollution and waste
Google helps tackle plastic pollution in the Mekong River, aided by machine learning
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has partnered with Google to fight plastic pollution in the Mekong River, leveraging citizen science and machine learning to understand the magnitude of the problem impacting the longest river in Southeast Asia. Aided by technical advisory support from Google, the CounterMEASURE ...
James Henderson (Channel Asia)
Southeast Asia remains a hot spot for plastic pollution
Southeast Asia has emerged as a hot spot for plastic pollution because of rapid urbanization and a rising middle class , whose consumption of plastic products and packaging is growing due to their convenience and versatility. But local waste management infrastructure has not kept pace, resulting in ...
Victoria Kwakwa
Thailand’s Chiang Mai Province Ranked 3rd in Worlds Worst Air Quality
Thailand’s northern province of Chiang Mai was ranked as the third most city in the world with the worst air quality index on Wednesday, with an average PM2.5 dust level higher than 200. Chiang Mai province is once again battling with a critical air quality levels due ...
CTN News
New lung of Bangkok expected to fully ready in Feb 2022
The first phase of redeveloping the Benjakitti Park will be completed by June 2021 to be open for Mother’s Day, deputy government spokesperson Traisuree Taisaranakul said. The overall construction plan is expected to be completed by February 2022. The first eight months in phase one are focused ...
Nearly 3K illegal burn sites identified across Kingdom
Illegal burning of rice stubble and land at the periphery of forests continues to occur throughout the Kingdom’s rural areas, especially in the north and northeast regions, according to officials who documented the activities on site. Wong Devorn, a civil servant and history professor, told The ...
Voun Dara
Ceasing fire: Thai sugar farmers struggle to change polluting ways
Thailand is one of the world’s largest sugar producer, turning out about 10 million tons of the sweet stuff each year. But the traditional method of harvesting it is being criticized for polluting the environment. The government wants the industry to modernize, but some farmers ...
Tammarin Dejsupa
Vietnamese firms to tackle plastic pollution in Ha Long Bay
Three Vietnamese companies have won a regional challenge to combat plastic waste in Ha Long Bay. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), the Vietnam Administration of Sea and Islands (VASI), the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs ...
Trash trap gets to work removing plastic waste from Vietnam's Red River
Removing the vast amounts of plastic waste already polluting our oceans is going to need tackling in a number of ways. But the flow of plastic from rivers also needs to be stopped, and that’s what Vietnam’s trash traps are designed to do. They may not ...
Paul Ridden
Deciphering the Black Box of Air Pollution Data In Thailand
Air pollution has become a serious environmental and health issue in Thailand. The pollution levels in the country follow predictable patterns, which highlight the presence of a peak pollution season. For Bangkok, the highest levels of pollution are seen between November and February each year. The ...
Stefanos Fotiou
Deadliest catch: Thailand's 'ghost' fishing nets help Covid fight
Underwater divers in plastic-choked waters off the coast of Thailand snip through discarded nets tangled around a reef — a new initiative helping protect marine life and aiding the fight against coronavirus. The “ghost nets” discarded from the country’s lucrative fishing industry are a deadly source ...
AFP