Category: Region
Selected environmental stories from media outlets in the Mekong region and beyond.
Laos’ debt woes worsen as bills for China-funded dams loom
“Laos, to my mind, has been the Wild West of dam building for a decade now, and it seems that reality is starting to catch up. Creditors like China might have to call in its debts by demanding control of assets.”
High-grade timber seized in separate K Thom raids
Kampong Thom provincial authorities on Saturday raided wood storage facilities at 11 locations and confiscated some 150 cubic metres of wood in Stoung district’s Samprorch commune as the facilities lacked proper permission letters.
Bangkok governor warns of flood threat from mounting garbage in canals
If the garbage blocks the pipes and the tunnels, Bangkok will not be able to drain water during floods in the rainy season.
Delta must have ’emergency plan’ on climate change
The Mekong Delta region must include an “emergency” response to climate change in its regional planning for the 2021-30 period as rising seas, coastal erosion and subsidence could occur earlier than previously thought,
Ministry encourages tree planting, fire prevention to boost forest cover
Laos plans to plant more than 11 million trees on 10,000 hectares leading up to National Arbour Day on June 1 as part of efforts to restore forest cover to 70 percent of the total land area by the end this year.
Kampong Thom villagers told to register to get land in conservation are
Land concession came after O’Luo community members asked for 300ha from the conservation area in the Tonle Sap Northern Lowland Protected Landscape in Treal to use as farmland.
Asia’s plastic-polluted rivers pose a problem for Australia. So scientists are turning to drones
“Plastic pollution that originates along a river like the Mekong, may make its way out to the sea, and ultimately — given winds and waves and currents — that could end up on Australian shores as well.”