Home » Region » Page 920

Category: Region

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

Minister says Dawei SEZ ‘like renovating some parts of an old house in order to prevent it from collapsing’

By Nantiya Tangwisutijit

The Dawei Special Economic Zone has been championed by both the Myanmar and Thai governments as a promising industrial development for Myanmar, yet there have been difficulties getting the project off the ground.

According to the agreement, the initial phase of the project must be carried out on the 7-square-kilometre land allotted for the special zone, and 65 percent of construction must be completed within three years from the signing date. In the meantime, Italian-Thai Development has been building infrastructure such as roads, bridges, water supplies and buildings.

As Dawei “initial phase” 65% complete, locals left in the dark

By Nantiya Tangwisutijit

The Dawei Special Economic Zone (DSEZ) is a major industrial project and deep sea port now at an initial phase of construction located in Taninthayri Region, Myanmar. The original plan, led by the Thai construction company Ital-Thai since 2008, was for a US$ 50 billion project that entailed a 250 kilometer square industrial zone. However, by 2012 the project was in deep trouble as it failed to attract investment and was challenged by civil society groups concerned about impact on local livelihoods and the environment, as well as the overall decision-making process around the project.

Border trade plans leave locals in flux

By Paritta Wangkiat

Farmland at this time of the year — the beginning of harvesting season — was once filled with produce waiting to be harvested.

But since the government announced the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Tak earlier this year, Mr Sombat said farmers such as himself have been afraid to invest in farming as they have no idea if they will have to leave their land.

Mekong Dams Could Halve Fish Stocks: Study

By Paritta Wangkiat

Fish stocks in the Mekong River in Cambodia and the Vietnamese Delta could be halved if 11 planned hydropower dams go ahead, according to the preliminary results of an extensive study funded by the Vietnamese government.

Presented at a regional conference on water, food and energy in the Mekong River Basin, the study’s results are an in-depth look into what environmental groups and fisheries experts have been warning for years: that damming the Mekong extensively will have drastic impacts on one of the world’s most important aquatic ecosystems.

Letters From The Mekong: Time For A New Narrative On Mekong Hydropower

By Paritta Wangkiat

This issue brief – the second in Stimson’s “Letters from the Mekong” series – examines the current status of mitigation efforts at Laos’ Xayaburi and Don Sahong dam projects and the relevance of the existing narrative surrounding hydropower development on the river’s mainstream. Based on extensive research on the status and expected impacts of these projects, the authors of this brief have concluded that the current narrative of inevitability surrounding the future of the Mekong is increasingly at odds with what is in fact a very fluid situation. Instead of being the first two of up to nine or eleven mainstream “dominos” to fall, these commercial-opportunity projects are likely to face significantly increasing political and financial risks and uncertainties.