News
‘We have upset the balance of nature’, Thai environment minister warns amid green recovery efforts from pandemic
Thailand’s Environment Minister has warned that urgent action is needed to rebalance humans’ relationship with nature, or mankind may not live into the next century. In an address to diplomats, politicians and journalists on Friday (Aug 7), Mr Varawut Silpa-archa compared the challenges of fighting the ...
Jack Board
Public debt of Laos set to increase due to pandemic effect
The public debt of Laos may increase to as much as 65 to 68 per cent of GDP in 2020 following a sharp fall in national revenue collection alongside an increase in loans due to the Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, according to a government official. Revenue collection ...
A river running out of time – the mighty Mekong reduced to a trickle
In his book, River of Time, Jon Swain evoked brilliantly the heady beauty of Indochina and the great Mekong Delta in the very south of Vietnam, where the river finally meets the South China Sea. He also captured the terrifying uncertainty as the Vietnam War came to ...
LUKE HUNT
Chinese dams and the Mekong drought
The latest reports from the Lower Mekong Basin are cause for growing concern that another period of drought will succeed that of 2019, affecting Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Expected rainfall from late May through June and July has not arrived, and the level of ...
MILTON OSBORNE
Hanoi's biggest landfill is running out of space
Built in 1990, the Nam Son waste treatment complex in Soc Son District spans over 157 ha and is divided into two phases. The first phase included 10 trash burial slots spanning over 83 ha, while the second one included eight slots spanning over 73 ...
Ngoc Thanh, Tat Dinh
Analysis: Vietnam’s leadership flex shows how to drive electricity reform
Dealing with climate change should be a no-brainer, right? To paraphrase Greta Thunberg, the science is done and only denial, ignorance and inaction remain. Or is that really all? We live in a world of sovereign states. In none of them is it an easy matter ...
David Brown
Vietnam approves $9 billion development within mangrove reserve
A $9.3 billion residential and tourism development has been approved within the buffer zone of the Can Gio Mangrove Biosphere Reserve here in this city of 13 million, Vietnam’s largest urban area. The project was proposed by the Can Gio Tourism Urban Area Joint Stock Company, a ...
Tim Rist
Thailand Ranks First in the Global COVID-19 Recovery Index
Thailand ranks first among the countries with the highest COVID-19 recovery index, according to a report issued by the Global COVID-19 Index (GCI). The GCI report, published on 28 July 2020, gave Thailand an index score of 82.06 from 100 points, putting it on top of ...
PR Thai Government
“Exceptionally Low” Flows in the Mekong River Pose Serious Threat to SE ASIA’s Largest Lake of Tonle Sap
Mekong countries are being urged to share data in regard to their dam operations as they are being suspected to contribute to these exceptionally low flows of the river, besides weather anomaly. The Mekong River has experienced the situation called by the regional water regulating body ...
B.Tribune
ASEAN works to respond to transboundary haze pollution
The ASEAN Secretariat has hosted an online conference to strengthen efforts, coordination and preparation for tackling transboundary haze pollution, which is predicted to peak in August and September. The event, funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)’s Measurable Action for Haze-Free Sustainable Land Management in Southeast Asia ...
