News
New regulation lifts ban on export of elephants
ELEPHANTS and elephant-related products can again be exported from Thailand under a new regulation from the Commerce Ministry, which may provoke controversy and debate over whether it violates the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). However, the National Park, ...
Pratch Rujivanarom
Government to study Mekong and Bassac river sand dredging
The Council of Ministers has instructed the Water Resources Ministry to proceed with a request made by Try Pheap Engineering & Construction to conduct a study on the viability of a sand dredging operation along the banks of the Mekong and Bassac rivers. In a directive ...
Khuon Narim
Amata gets IFC backing in sustainability push
The industrial sector in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam contributed 32.3 per cent of the region’s GDP in 2017 and provided an estimated 20 per cent of the employment, said the IFC, the private-sector arm of the World Bank. It said that industrial zones provide ...
Lao Villagers Refuse to Yield Land for SEZ, Now Contend With Access Road
At least 140 families from eight villages in the Khong district of southwestern Laos’ Champasak province are refusing to sell their land or relocate to make way for a special economic zone planned for their area. Despite this, developers have begun the hasty construction of an ...
Environmentalist Warns of Long-Term Impacts of Reckless Hydropower Development
A prominent environmentalist has warned that hydropower-reliant countries will face significant negative impacts in the long-term and could see a repeat of the tragic bursting of the Xe Pian Xe Namnoy dam in Laos last July that killed dozens. Ian Baird, a professor at the University ...
Men Kimseng
Where Did All the Free-Flowing Rivers Go?
A map of the world’s free-flowing rivers shows a shrinking number can still meander as they please. New plans for hydropower will further constrain flow. Giant catfish once swam in the golden-brown waters of the Mekong River near the Thai village of Sob Ruak. But since ...
Jenessa Duncombe
Mekong Delta prepares for summer-autumn rice crop
Authorities in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta have warned farmers to sow the Summer-Autumn rice crop on schedule to ensure water for irrigation and avoid diseases. In areas where there is a water shortage, rice farmers have been encouraged to switch to grow drought-resistant crops. With assistance ...
Boosting Mekong Delta sustainable development
After more than a year of implementing the Government’s resolution 120/NQ-CP on the sustainable development of the Mekong Delta in response to climate change, up to now, the Mekong Delta has gained a number of achievements. In 2018, the Mekong Delta continued to be Vietnam’s leading ...
Massive base metals mine in Myanmar to start production in 2021
Australia-based Myanmar Metals (ASX: MYL) said Monday that its 51%-owned Bawdwin polymetallic project in Myanmar could kick off production as early as 2021, based on a prefeasibility study into a starter pit. Bawdwin, which in a first phase of operations would be running for 13 years, will be ...
Cecilia Jamasmie
Training program launched to bolster Lancang-Mekong Cooperation
Thirty-five participants from six Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) countries are attending a week-long training program in Kunming, capital of southwest China’s Yunnan Province. The Second Training Program for LMC National Secretariats and Coordination Units was started on Monday. Participants will join a series of activities including lectures, ...
