In a global manifesto released on the 3 December, a coalition of more than 300 civil society organizations from 53 countries called on governments and financiers at the Paris climate talks to keep large hydropower projects out of climate initiatives such as the Clean Development Mechanism, the World Bank’s Climate Investment Funds, and green bonds.
Category: ASEAN
China, Laos to build $6.3 bln railway project by 2020 – China Economic Herald
China aims to complete laying a 418-kilometre (260-mile) railway from a border town to Laos by 2020, the official China Economic Herald reported, as the economic giant seeks a new route into the emerging markets of Southeast Asia.
The two countries agreed on Friday to jointly build a 40-billion yuan ($6.28 billion) railway from the border town of Boten to the Laos capital Vientiane, the Herald reported.
The deal was announced at a signing ceremony attended by senior officials from the National Development & Reform Commission the country’s top economic planner, China Railway Corporation and the Export-Import Bank of China, the paper said.
Laos, poor and landlocked, has traditionally been firmly in the orbit of its larger neighbour to the east, Vietnam.
But China has been aggressively courting Laos as it sees the communist-ruled country as an important route into Southeast Asia, and its ports on the Mekong River for landlocked parts of southwestern China such as Yunnan.
With Asean Integration Come More Threats to Natural Resources: NGO Forum
Asean integration will start at end of this year, opening the region to a free flow of goods and services across borders. But many analysts say Cambodia will have a difficult time integrating and benefiting from the cooperation. There are other downsides, as well. VOA Khmer recently spoke with Toek Vannara, director of the NGO Forum, to discuss the likely environmental problems Cambodia and other countries could face if they do not act to protect their natural resources.]
Proper safeguards needed for long-term AEC benefits
Asean countries need to integrate appropriate safeguards to ensure inclusiveness and sustainability in any benefits to be brought about by the Asean Economic Community (AEC), experts said recently.
At a Bangkok symposium on “Shared solutions: Safeguarding sustainable development in the Mekong region”, Venkatachalam Anbumozhi, senior energy economist at the Economic Research Institute for Asean and East Asia, said AEC will propel infrastructure investment in the Mekong region.
ADB to double annual climate financing to $6 billion for Asia-Pacific by 2020
Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Takehiko Nakao today announced that ADB aims to double its annual climate financing to $6 billion by 2020, up from the current $3 billion.
Government will cancel land concession agreements if companies do not implement the plan
Yesterday, the Prime Minister of Cambodia has informed Mr. Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, the CEO of Malaysian company “Genting Group”, that economic land concessions under control of private companies will be returned back to the state if those companies do not implement or follow the Master Plan of development.
China’s demand for aluminium is poisoning Southeast Asia
Soaring Chinese demand for natural resources is wreaking environmental havoc throughout Southeast Asia. Driven by its internal needs to provide breakneck rates of job creation and economic growth, China’s developmental model has repeatedly abused the fickle regulatory environment of its neighbors to drive its thirst for commodities. It has made it clear that, whoever can provide, it will buy. At the behest of Chinese companies, countries such as Vietnam and Malaysia have rolled out the red carpet, with little regard for their fragile ecosystems.
Mekong nations to set up EIA working group
Government officials and civil society representatives from across the Mekong region have agreed to establish a working group to develop a regional public participation guideline for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) recently in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Asean should ensure sustainable mineral development: Lao Deputy Prime Minister
The Lao government is focusing on the promotion of sustainable agricultural systems for food security in Asean when the country integrates with the Asean Economic Community (AEC) at the end of this year.
The Agriculture Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, in cooperation with Deutsche Gesellschaftfür Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is hosting the 6th project partner meeting of the German Regional Cooperation project’s Asean sustainable agrifood systems (Asean SAS) initiative, which is being implemented by GIZ.
Mekong Governments, Civil Society Reach Agreement on Environmental Impact Assessment Agenda
MPE, Prachatai In a ground-breaking agreement, government officials and civil society representatives from across the Mekong region established a working group to develop a regional public participation guideline for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) this week in Hanoi, Vietnam. The Mekong Regional Technical Working Group for EIA brings together governments, civil society organizations (CSOs), and will […]