News

Rates of growth and loss in mangrove forests are higher than previous estimates, according to satellite measurements of the Rufiji, Zambezi, Ganges and Mekong deltas. And natural expansion and growth of new mangrove forests could partially compensate for declines caused by human activity. “What we see ...

 Thailand will use a newly amended law to crack down on forced labor with hefty fines and prison time, a move analysts said could help curb exploitative practices against migrant workers. The Southeast Asian nation, which has come under scrutiny for slavery and trafficking in ...

While Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam have accepted a prior agreement on the proposed 770 megawatt hydropower project in Laos’ Xayaboury Province, they have jointly released the statement calling on the Lao government to make every effort to address and mitigate potential adverse cross-border impacts of ...

Vietnam and the Netherlands are expected to announce the elevation of bilateral ties to a comprehensive partnership during an official visit to Vietnam on April 9 by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Within multilateral frameworks, the two countries have cooperated and supported each other’s initiatives, especially ...

For decades, Cambodia’s Mekong River population of Irrawaddy dolphins has verged on extinction. Once believed to have numbered in the thousands, the population began to plummet in the 1970s. During the violent reign of the Khmer Rouge and the years of war that followed, the dolphins were ...

Han Win Naung is besieged on his own land. Last September, local administrators in Myanmar’s southern Tanintharyi region put up a sign at the edge of his 5.7-hectare farm that read “Under Management Ownership – Do Not Trespass”. They felled the trees and started building a ...

Unlike the smog that enveloped Bangkok early in the year, the haze crisis in the North stems largely from spontaneous dry-season forest fires and other fires deliberately set to clear farmland. GISDA has found that the number of hotspots in nine northern provinces including Chiang Mai ...

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and major financiers on Thursday launched a facility to spur more than $1 billion in green infrastructure investments across Southeast Asia. The facility offers loans and technical assistance for sovereign projects in areas such ...

The Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) marked its third anniversary last week with the announcement that China’s trade with the five Mekong member countries – Cambodia, Lao, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam – has reached over US$260 billion for the period, highlighting the overarching role China plays in ...

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE), together with relevant ministries and agencies, is accelerating the building of a master plan for the Mekong Delta’s sustainable development in adaption to climate change to 2030 with a vision to 2050. The master plan will serve as ...