The draft PDP VIII called for increased coal-fired power supplies. in response to expert criticism, however, the MoIT now state it won’t allow any new coal-fired projects and would instead replace them with more environmentally-friendly liquefied natural gas sources.
Category: Region
Selected environmental stories from media outlets in the Mekong region and beyond.
CCCS stakeholders commit zero-carbon recovery and climate change
International stakeholders such as the US, Australian, and British Embassies in Cambodia have come strongly in support of the commitment and will cooperate to achieve carbon neutrality or “net-zero” emissions with the next few decades.
Bangkok on alert as 70,000 homes flood in Thailand
In the past, farmland and rice paddies in low-lying areas absorbed flood water but the city’s expansion has led much converted to real estate. The city’s flood prevention masterplan, involving underground reservoirs and tunnels, has not been fully built because of problems acquiring land, according to local media.
All hands on deck to preserve ecosystems in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta
The Mekong Delta region accounts for 12 per cent of the country’s area and nearly 20 per cent of its population. Rapid, unplanned economic development, unchecked population growth and climate change continually put pressure on these ecosystems, which have been reduced in size and degraded.
Managing plastic as a valuable resource will help address marine pollution, Promote a circular economy in Vietnam
The IFC-World Bank report, Market Study for Vietnam – Plastics Circularity Opportunities and Barriers, finds only 33 percent of the total 3.9 million tons of the commonly used plastics disposed per year in Vietnam are recovered and recycled. The study estimates that 75 percent of the material value of the plastics-equivalent to $2.2 billion to $2.9 billion per year is lost to the economy.
$149 million aquaculture expansion in Mekong Delta
The plan aims to grow the region’s aquaculture sector by over 4 per cent a year until 2030, and achieve annual exports of $9 billion.The plan also aims to step up environmental monitoring, food safety and biosecurity measures.
Droughts caused about $100 million in rice-production losses
Rainy season ice fields damaged by the drought over these five years had affected a total of 624,262 tonnes of rice production, valued at an estimated $100 million, read the report.
HCM City’s master plan to 2040 focuses on climate change adaptation
According to a Government decision on the master plan, the city is expected to have 13-14 million people by 2040 and 16 million by 2060. It plans to allocate 100,000-110,000ha of land for urbanisation by 2040.
Following coup, Myanmar’s Indigenous vow to protect forests ‘until the end of the world’
“Attacks by the military on Indigenous peoples and environmental defenders means that the forests are at risk – and for this reason we want to say to the world ‘this coup doesn’t just affect our country, but the future of the globe.’”
The challenge of water management in Thailand
The recent centralized water planning restructuring has not been desirable. It ignores core principles of integrated water resources management, which require local participatory planning and action based on local knowledges and understanding of water-related issues, the agency mostly just focuses on mega-projects.