Vietnamese NGOs and individuals who are interested in sustainable water resource management in the Mekong region, present the public statement to MRC and National Mekong River Committees.
Category: Region
Selected environmental stories from media outlets in the Mekong region and beyond.
The Bird’s Eye View: What Endangered Birds Tell Us About the Risks of Mekong Development
The Thai government started 2017 announcing another major commitment to transportation expansion: US$25 billion to finance futuristic high-speed trains, super highways and expanded sea and airports. Far less glitzy but immediately controversial, however, was one of its final transportation acts of 2016: preparing to restart, after 13 years, rapid blasting and river channelization to clear the Mekong River for navigation just below its arrival from Myanmar.
Striking a balance between conservation and development at the heart of Mekong struggle
DEPENDING on who you speak to, there are naturally differing perspectives in regard to the future of the Mekong River, as most people living along the river look for a sustainable future through conservation of the existing ecosystem, while governments seek balanced resource usage and benefit-sharing arrived at via diplomacy and negotiation.
Journalism Workshops & Grants Update: Climate, Data, Biodiversity, S. America Fellowship
New opportunities for environmental journalism grants, workshops and awards from Mekong Matters/EJN, our partners, and others.
Is Vietnam in for Another Devastating Drought?
Right now in coastal provinces around the Delta, thousands of farmers, especially those who miserably suffered during last year’s historic drought, are mobilizing to prepare for another similarly devastating drought, which is expected to arrive in the Delta in a few weeks.
Chain Saw Injuries in Myanmar Tied to Illegal Logging
As darkness fell in the forests of central Myanmar on a rainy evening last July, May Thu and her husband Myint Swe*, were wrapping up their day’s work: illegal logging. May Thu, a petite 27-year-old with long black hair and shining black eyes, clambered on top of some logs assembled in a pile. It was monsoon season and the wood was slippery. She fell and landed on the buzzing blade of her husband’s chain saw.
The soul of the Mekong is in serious trouble
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha last week asked reporters why non-governmental organisations (NGOs), environmental activists and academics continue to protest against the planned blasting of rapids in the Mekong River.
He said many of these protesters are outsiders, meaning people who do not live by the riverside, do not fish its waters or make a living from the river and do not, in fact, have any stake in the river at all.
Threats to South-East Asia’s treasures
South-East Asia includes at least six of the world’s 25 “biodiversity hotspots” – areas of the world with an exceptional concentration of species, which are also under serious threat.
New study shows significant impact of Chinese dams on Mekong
Large dams on the Mekong River in China’s Yunnan Province have considerable impacts on downstream river flows, new research by myself and colleagues at Aalto University in Finland and published recently in the Journal of Hydropower has shown.
Tanintharyi officials say work on Dawei SEZ could restart
Regional government officials visited Japan last month to discuss that country’s potential participation in the SEZ and reported strong interest.