Mekong Watch On August 4th, local community groups from Dawei (southern Burma) sent a letter to the Japanese Foreign Ministry, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) after Japan officially announced its involvement in the Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) development project and related projects. This is a […]
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PR ARTICLE: NASA, USAID Open Environmental Information Hub for Southeast Asia
NASA/ USAID NASA and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Monday launched SERVIR-Mekong, a joint project to strengthen regional environmental monitoring in five countries in the lower Mekong region of Southeast Asia. One of three SERVIR hubs now operating in developing regions of the world, the center is housed at the Asian Disaster Preparedness […]
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PR ARTICLE: SUMERNET roundtable explores building social and environmental safeguards for a Mekong Region facing rapid economic integration and a changing climate
SUMERNET Climate change, regional integration and safeguards were highlighted by speakers at a SUMERNET roundtable at the regional symposium on the role of social and environmental safeguards held by the Mekong Partnership for the Environment (MPE) in Bangkok on 25-27 August 2015. By Albert Salamanca The regional symposium theme was “Safeguarding Sustainable Development in the […]
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RESOURCE: Mekong EIA Briefing: Environmental Impact AssessmentComparative AnalysisIn Lower Mekong Countries
Pact/Mekong Partnership for the Environment This report provides a comparative analysis of EIA laws, policies, regulations, and guidelines in the Lower Mekong countries (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam). The analysis was conducted in order to determine existing regional harmonization, identify gaps, and recommend options for developing a set of standards that can accompany the […]
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NGOs, Volunteer Groups Take Pollution Fight into their Own Hands
Amid mounting concerns about environmental issues, a growing number of people in China are starting to take the fight against pollution into their own hands. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and volunteer groups focused on environmental protection have been sprouting up around the country over the past few years. Most are engaged in detection efforts and conducting their own research on industrial pollution that is often ignored by the government.
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As the need for power surges, are small – or big – dams the answer?
To provide more clean energy, particularly in fast-growing Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the world needs more hydropower dams, energy experts say.
But a surge in building of big dams is also leading to poor people being displaced and losing rights to water – something that needs to be addressed if more dam projects go ahead, community leaders and researchers say.
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KOICA signs for Dala and Bago master plans
Clare Hammond Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) has signed with the Ministry of Construction for several ambitious projects – including master plans for the north and south of Yangon and designing a national road network. The South Korean government’s grant aid arm recently signed with the minister to prepare two regional development plans, said chief […]
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Da Nang looks for more Japanese investment
VNS Viet Nam has become the second biggest destination for Japanese investors in ASEAN – after Thailand – with 1,463 members in the Federation of Japanese Chambers of Commerce and Industry in ASEAN (FJCCIA). A Tokai Viet Nam worker tests products at factory in Da Nang’s Hoa Khanh Industrial Zone. The company invested US$10 million […]
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Rights Groups, Wife of Missing Lao Activist Renew Calls for Progress in Case
Somnet Inthapannha Human rights groups and the wife of a prominent civil rights leader who disappeared nearly three years ago have called on the Lao government to adequately investigate the incident and provide information about the case’s progress. Sombath Somphone went missing on Dec. 15, 2012, when police stopped him in his vehicle at a […]
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New bridge opens to traffic in southern Vietnam, reshapes regional transport route
Toui Tre News The Ministry of Transport on Saturday opened the My Loi Bridge in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang in an effort to reshape the transport route in the southern region and cut the time to travel from the province’s Go Cong Town to neighboring Long An Province and Ho Chi Minh […]