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Selected environmental stories from media outlets in the Mekong region and beyond.

Attacks on journalists in Myanmar highlight complications, dangers for the media

By Nantiya Tangwisutijit

The murder of a Burmese reporter investigating illegal logging and the roadside beating of another, both in Myanmar earlier this week, have raised new fears about media safety in the country.

Soe Moe Tun, a 37 year-old Burmese reporter with Daily Eleven newspaper, was found “severely beaten” to death by the side of a highway near the town of Monywa in Myanmar’s central Sagaing region on Dec. 13. Police are investigating his murder but robbery doesn’t appear to be the motive: his valuables were found at the crime scene.

Training Manual Helps Communities Improve Forest Governance and Livelihoods

By Paritta Wangkiat

The USAID Cambodia Supporting Forests and Biodiversity Project (USAID SFB), implemented by Winrock International improves conservation and governance of the Eastern Plains and Prey Lang Landscapes. To assist forest communities to improve governance and obtain equitable benefits from forest resources, USAID SFB developed this NTFP-Based Livelihoods Enterprise Development and Management Training Manual.

Another victim of illegal logging and forest crime?

By Nantiya Tangwisutijit

The killing in Myanmar of a journalist who covered issues related to illegal logging in the country must be investigated thoroughly and all findings made public.

Soe Moe Tun was based in the Sagaing region, working with Eleven Media News in Myanmar. According to initial reports today (December 13), he was found with extensive head and facial injuries; local police have begun an investigation into his death.

China’s clean-energy giants on an overseas shopping spree

By Nantiya Tangwisutijit

Chinese state-funded renewable energy firms are spreading the net overseas, as quality new projects become harder to come by at home, and have already been successful in snapping up some prime operational projects, while bidding for others, both in developed and emerging markets.

The two most active are China General Nuclear Power Group, the nation’s largest nuclear reactor developer, and China Three Gorges, the country’s biggest hydro power projects developer.

Launch of Open Data Portal Brings Environment and Development Data to Myanmar

By Paritta Wangkiat

USAID-supported Mekong Partnership for the Environment (MPE) partners have launched an innovative data portal in Myanmar. Open Development Myanmar is now available to the public and will aggregate and promote key development and environmental data about Myanmar, especially data with potential regional significance. The platform is the Myanmar sub-site of the major regional open data platform, Open Development Mekong, which gathers and contextualizes objective data on development trends in the Mekong region.