Selected environmental stories from media outlets in the Mekong region and beyond.
Banks in Cambodia will strive to improve sustainability, and integrate environmental and social safeguards into future business decisions, the Association of Banks of Cambodia (ABC) announced yesterday.
At a ceremony at the Himawari Hotel in Phnom Penh, ABC acting chairman Charles Vann said the association was committed to improving the banking sector.
The Association of Banks in Cambodia (ABC) took a first major step towards sustainable lending practices this week by committing to develop sustainable finance principles and ultimately work towards integrating environmental and social safeguards and lending standards into their business decisions.
U Htay Aung, deputy permanent secretary of the Ministry of Electric Power and Energy, told The Myanmar Times last week that the projects – the Shweli (3), Upper Yeywa and Upper Kyaing Taung dams – are seen by the ministry as a means of meeting energy-deprived Myanmar’s electricity needs, while noting that the earliest expected completion dates were 2020.
Along with a fourth dam under construction in Rakhine State and a fifth in Nay Pyi Taw’s Pyinmana township, the projects’ electricity generation will total more than 1500 megawatts, he said, nearly half of Myanmar’s current installed capacity nationwide.
Kachin residents have expressed their refusal to accept the Myitsone dam project when the Investigation Commission for Hydropower Projects on the Ayeyawady River visited Myitsone.
The committee met town elders and MPs at the Myitsone Resort, asked about the livelihoods of villagers and the environmental damage caused by gold mining.
What is the biggest challenge in carrying out an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for a project in Việt Nam?
As we all know, an EIA is a scientific process that comes up with some projection of the environmental impacts that a project may cause to its surroundings. But currently, an EIA is expected to come up with assessments on areas that do not belong to its ‘original task’ like social impact assessments (SIA), health impact assessments (HIA) and risk assessments (RA).
Though the work demanded for a good EIA report is large, the capital resources allocated for EIAs in Việt Nam is very limited – between just 1-10 per cent of the average resources it receives in other countries. That’s the key reason why an EIA report in Việt Nam is not as comprehensive and independent as it should be.
On the Loei River, a tributary of the Mekong River, an “unreal” project of water diversion by Thailand is about to commence, which would cause severe conflicts on water usage on the Mekong. The project with the name of Kong-Loei- Chi-Mun is a “massive operation” on the whole of the Loei River and will result in villages and houses being wiped out to make way for water containment. Not only the livelihood of the people connected with Loei River will be threatened, but also serious impacts of such a project will spread down to the Mekong Delta.
Just as forests are more than only trees, rivers are more than water. The Mekong river carries massive loads of sediment and nutrients from upstream to downstream and across national borders, replenishing and enriching the land as it goes. This process is key to sustaining the ecological integrity of the river and surrounding landscapes, which in turn supports the economy.
However, a boom in sand mining and hydropower development on the Mekong is transforming the river’s sediment flows, with profound consequences for the region if left unchecked. For a prosperous, sustainable future for the region, all Mekong countries must come together now and adopt international standards for managing transboundary river resources.
Newly declared protected areas in Prey Lang forest are being illegally logged by companies belonging to a three-star general and his sister, according to Goldman Environmental Prize-winning conservationist Ouch Leng and NGOs with which he is working.
Leng, along with 15 NGO officers, patrollers and environmental activists, allege the forest in Preah Vihear’s Rovieng district is being logged daily by two companies and hauled to a timber processing facility, known as Factory 95.
The investigation commission for hydropower projects on the Ayeyawady River is discussing the possibility of making a field visit to Kachin State on September 15, according to sources in Myitkyina.
“The commission has been discussing whether it would go to Kachin State. It may be on September 15, but it has not informed us of its plan or how many officials will make the trip,” said an unnamed official within the Kachin State government.
Preparations should be made to prevent dam building on the Salween River, the home of many ethnic people, replacing the Irawaddy River’s Chinese backed Myitsone Dam project if it is cancelled.
The comments were made by the Mon State Hluttaw (parliament) Deputy Speaker Dr Aung Nai Oo at the press launch of a Mon Youth Progressive Organisation (MYPO) report entitled ‘In the Balance’, held at the Ramanya Hotel in Mawlamyine, Mon State on 9 September.
