Category: Region
Selected environmental stories from media outlets in the Mekong region and beyond.
Vietnam’s addiction to coal shows tough climate choices developing Asia faces on emissions pledges
Vietnam’s draft power development plan, which GreenID has urged the trade ministry to revise, is at odds with the global shift towards phasing out coal and reaching net-zero carbon.
British ambassador calls for a greater push for renewable energy
Cambodia is not a big emitter of emissions but I would like to see an even greater push towards renewable energy. It is clear that coal is a dying commodity and those that have investments in that sector will have inefficient, expensive and stranded assets within the decade.
Climate-Smart Maps and Adaptation Plans (CS-MAP) launched
CS-MAP integrates local knowledge and science-based research to provide location-specific risk maps and adaptation plans for rice production. The project currently covers five ecological regions of Vietnam and was developed by the Ministry’s Crops Production Department and CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security in Southeast Asia (CCAFS SEA).
Red Flag River and China’s downstream neighbors
The Red Flag River’s proposed diversion of 21 percent of water from the upper streams of three transnational rivers (Mekong, Salween, and Brahmaputra) may be seen as a controversial issue. However, the proposed impact is actually very small. In the case of the Mekong, the discharge from the river’s upper stream accounts for just 2.96 percent of the the river’s total discharge.
China ramps up electricity imports from North Korea, Russia, Myanmar in bid to ease power crisis
The power is being generated by the Chinese-built Dapein (1) hydropower station located near Bhamo, a trading hub in northern Myanmar, according to people familiar with the matter.
Tiny crab encased in amber reveals evolutionary march out of the ocean
The stunningly preserved, 100-million-year-old crustacean also highlights the conflict surrounding Myanmar’s amber mines.
New reports point to dams ‘stressing’ Cambodia’s Mekong river fisheries
The Mekong River Commission — has conducted two new studies that support Kong Kim’s observations. The reports examine the effects of human and environmental incursions in the lower Mekong basin, where Cambodian fisherfolk say their catch has declined in recent years.
UK government calls on Thailand to accelerate its net-zero target
Thailand’s current strategy puts the kingdom 15-20 years behind the conference’s goal of having zero greenhouse-gas emissions globally by 2050 — the first objective of COP26.
Vietnam seeks technical cooperation to fight climate change
With four components, the project will provide three water purification and two rainfall collection systems, repair 850m of dykes and plant over 1,000 sq.m of mangrove forests from 2021 to 2025./.