News
Mekong Delta faces decline in wild birds, fish and plants
The number of species of wild birds, fish, and plants in the Mekong Delta has fallen rapidly in recent years because of a decline in food resources and natural habitats. In Tram Chim National Park in Dong Thap province, 13 bird species are in danger of extinction and need protection, according to park authorities. The species include red-headed cranes, ...
VNA
Geopolitics plays out on the Mekong with doubts on dams and promises of cooperation
Recent weeks have seen new developments in the ongoing tension over the Mekong river and its waters, as the river basin faces ecological crises and its waters play an ever-larger role in geopolitics. Thailand has announced that it is reconsidering its decision to purchase power from the planned Sanakham ...
Editorial
Myanmar’s Long COVID-19 First Wave Continues
The coronavirus continues its rapid spread in Myanmar, with the number of confirmed cases surpassing 90,000 and threatening to spread to neighboring countries. After months of being relatively untouched by the virus, the country is now the third-most affected nation in Southeast Asia, after Indonesia and the ...
Sebastian Strangio
NGO embarks on mission for green SEZs
Motivated to build a green industrial zone in Cambodia, the newly-established NGO Environmental Protection Industry Associations of Cambodia (Epiac) will work with Chinese-owned industrial park developer and operator QiLu (Cambodia) Special Economic Zone Co Ltd to set a new precedent for environmentally-friendly design and construction. On ...
May Kunmakara
Alleged gov’t-linked land grabs threaten Cambodia’s Cardamom Mountains
Rising across remote stretches of southeast Cambodia, the Cardamom Mountains harbor dense tropical rainforest, much of it native growth carpeting the range’s wet slopes. Due to its remoteness, the vast protected area has historically seen relatively little human activity, which helped safeguard crucial tracts of ...
CHRIS HUMPHREY
Poverty spikes in Myanmar following second wave of pandemic
The second wave of COVID – 19 in Myanmar has had a significant impact on incomes, with a rising number of households now living below the poverty line compared to before the pandemic, according to the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in Myanmar. In September, ...
Thiha Ko Ko
2nd Vice FM to visit Vietnam for bilateral, Mekong talks
Second Vice Foreign Minister Lee Tae-ho will depart for Vietnam on Thursday for bilateral talks and a multilateral business forum with the Southeast Asian partners in the Mekong region, the foreign ministry said. During the three-day trip, Lee will attend the South Korea-Mekong Business Forum, an ...
‘Lee traps’ no longer used for fishing in Khong district
Bamboo or Lee traps that depleted fish stocks in the Mekong river when they were used by fishermen have been banned in Khong district of Champassak province in southern Laos. The Environmental and Social Manager of Sahong hydropower plant, Mr Somphone Phommanivong, told Vientiane Times the ban ...
Khonesavanh Latsaphao
Thailand’s national AI ethics looks for cabinet approval
The cabinet will be asked to endorse the country’s first artificial intelligence (AI) ethics guidelines by December 2020 to ensure the proper use of this advanced technology, the National Digital Economy and Society Committee (NDESC) stated recently. Speaking at an AI ethics forum yesterday, the Secretary-General ...
Alita Sharon
Thai teak seized in SorPorKor raid north of Patong
The Forestry officials, along with police from the Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Suppression Division seized sawn pieces of timber valued at about B60,000 at the site, located in the hills on Phra Barami Soi 7. Boonlarp Suksai, Chief of the Royal Forestry Department Region 12 ...
The Phuket News