As work moves ahead on the controversial Lower Sesan 2 dam in Stung Treng province, the Ministry of Mines and Energy met Tuesday with representatives of more than 250 families still refusing to make way for the dam’s reservoir.
Category: Region
Selected environmental stories from media outlets in the Mekong region and beyond.
High Profile Land Dispute Resolved with Deal
Demonstrating that land disputes can be defused through negotiations, patience, and money – a four-year-old land fight was settled here yesterday when 13 squatter families agreed to accept payments and leave the land they had occupied.
INFOGRAPHIC: Taking Action for Inclusive and Sustainable Development in the Greater Mekong Subregion
Cooperation in the Greater Mekong Subregion is helping countries in the area make progress towards the new global Sustainable Development Goals.
Government will cancel land concession agreements if companies do not implement the plan
Yesterday, the Prime Minister of Cambodia has informed Mr. Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, the CEO of Malaysian company “Genting Group”, that economic land concessions under control of private companies will be returned back to the state if those companies do not implement or follow the Master Plan of development.
People’s demand to cancel PDP 2015 and start a new transparent process
As a result of the recent endorsement of Thailand’s Power Development Plan B.C. 2015-2036 (PDP 2015) which is leading to the construction of power plants with capacity of 57,459 megawatts in the next 20 years signifying the security necessary of the country’s electricity, there were several irregularities found after the examination of the content of the plan. The key concern is that the PDP in 2015 will also lead to the unnecessary construction of the power plant investment. Not only this investment will not be beneficial but will instead incur long-term financial burdens to consumers with more than 6.7 billion baht.
China’s demand for aluminium is poisoning Southeast Asia
Soaring Chinese demand for natural resources is wreaking environmental havoc throughout Southeast Asia. Driven by its internal needs to provide breakneck rates of job creation and economic growth, China’s developmental model has repeatedly abused the fickle regulatory environment of its neighbors to drive its thirst for commodities. It has made it clear that, whoever can provide, it will buy. At the behest of Chinese companies, countries such as Vietnam and Malaysia have rolled out the red carpet, with little regard for their fragile ecosystems.
Proposed Lao Curbs on NGOs Seen as Choking Development Projects
The Lao government’s changes to regulations on domestic nonprofit associations will hinder the work of the groups and slow down development projects in the impoverished Southeast Asian nation, an NGO official said Friday.
Higher PPP investment limit urged
The Thai government hopes to ease its public debt burden by luring the private sector to invest more in multibillion-baht infrastructure projects, especially in telecommunications and transport, through public-private partnerships (PPPs).
Urban sprawl causes floods in Mekong Delta province
Thousands of people in the southern province of Dong Nai were hit last week by the worst flooding in 20 years.
Poor water management hits Delta
Viet Nam’s Mekong Delta, which is home to 18 million people, has suffered adverse consequences due to poor water resource management, a researcher at a Can Tho University think tank has said.