Selected environmental stories from media outlets in the Mekong region and beyond.
An environmental refugee is defined by Prof Essam El-Hinnawi as someone forced to leave their traditional habitat, temporarily or permanently, because of a marked environmental disruption.
Vietnam, instead of ‘environmental refugees’, uses the world ‘resettlement’ or ‘migration’, because ‘refugee’ proves to be a ‘sensitive word’ in Vietnamese.
On a visit to the Asian Institute of Technology AIT on 10-15-2012 to inspect the mockup of the Xayaburi Hydropower Dam, Mr. Viraphonh Viravong, Deputy Minister of Energy and Mines of Laos, the “brain” behind all development projects for hydropower dams in Laos asserted: “There is no question of Lao PDR not developing its hydropower potential. The only question is how to do it sustainably.”
At two public fora in October, Cambodian and Myanmar journalists called for editors and decision makers to work on improving environmental reporting and the availability of quality information.
The events, Cambodia’s “Editor’s Forum on Sustainability” and Myanmar’s “The Health of Rivers” roundtable discussion attracted a combined 73 participants ranging from Cambodia’s Minister of Environment H.E Say Samal to key editors and reporters from the countries’ local media.
Journalists have the unique ability to help accelerate climate action through advocacy and education, but their potential to help achieve the global climate goals agreed in Paris last year still remains largely untapped, said media and environmental experts in Singapore.
Speaking at the inaugural Asian Environmental Journalists Forum, organised by non-profit Singapore Environment Council and media organisation Eco-Business, panellists said that shrinking budgets, a lack of public interest and the ever increasing complexity and geographical scope of climate issues are just some of the challenges that journalists face when trying to report on environmental issues today.
Ministry of Environment (MoE) and CSO working on environmental protection recognized that this regional guideline on environmental impacts assessment is very crucial to boost meaningful public participation in Environmental Impact Assessment process in the Mekong region.
Kachin State MP Kyaw Kyaw Win said on Sunday that the state parliament would enact regional laws to control the mining industry. He spoke at a meeting organised by the Myanmar Green Network in Myitkyina Township.
This journal, produced in partnership with the Henry Luce Foundation, focuses on China’s environmental impacts overseas through a series of articles and on-the-ground reports.
It is well documented that our planet, along with its biodiversity and life-sustaining resources, is severely threatened. Lesser known is that some of the bravest among us, our environmental defenders, are putting their lives on the line on a daily basis. According to Global Witness, hundreds of activists, indigenous leaders, and environmental journalists have been killed in the past five years. Still more have faced intimidation, legal threats, and brutal violence over their efforts to protect the planet and its resources.
From the snow-capped mountains of Tibet, the Salween rushes through steep gorges in Yunnan Province and flows through four of Myanmar’s ethnic states before emptying into the Andaman Sea.
With dams on hold upstream, Yunnan’s provincial chief Li Jiheng expressed support in 2016 for a national park to stimulate this region’s tourism in the upper Salween (the Nu River) which already attracts many visitors to the ‘Three Parallel Rivers’ World Heritage site. Although Li Jiheng was recently replaced by Chen Hao, it is hoped that the dams will remain suspended.
Visiting Myanmar President U Htin Kyaw said Wednesday that his country agreed to consider becoming full member of the Mekong River Commission (MRC).
U Htin Kyaw made the remark while holding talks with Vietnamese counterpart Tran Dai Quang in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi during his state visit to Vietnam, reported the state-run news agency VNA.
