VNS Viet Nam has become the second biggest destination for Japanese investors in ASEAN – after Thailand – with 1,463 members in the Federation of Japanese Chambers of Commerce and Industry in ASEAN (FJCCIA). A Tokai Viet Nam worker tests products at factory in Da Nang’s Hoa Khanh Industrial Zone. The company invested US$10 million […]
Category: Region
Selected environmental stories from media outlets in the Mekong region and beyond.
Rights Groups, Wife of Missing Lao Activist Renew Calls for Progress in Case
Somnet Inthapannha Human rights groups and the wife of a prominent civil rights leader who disappeared nearly three years ago have called on the Lao government to adequately investigate the incident and provide information about the case’s progress. Sombath Somphone went missing on Dec. 15, 2012, when police stopped him in his vehicle at a […]
New bridge opens to traffic in southern Vietnam, reshapes regional transport route
Toui Tre News The Ministry of Transport on Saturday opened the My Loi Bridge in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang in an effort to reshape the transport route in the southern region and cut the time to travel from the province’s Go Cong Town to neighboring Long An Province and Ho Chi Minh […]
Vietnam focuses on coastal eco-system, mangrove forest protection
The safeguard of coastal eco-system and mangrove forest in the Mekong Delta region will be given a push as phase two of the Integrated Coastal Management Programme (ICMP) recently kicked off in An Giang province.
Thai military forbids youth camp in Loei ore mine area
The Thai military in Isan, Thailand Northeast, prevented an environmental youth camp in an area with an ongoing mine conflict in Loei Province from taking place, saying that the event might affect national security.
Thailand’s power dilemma amid a climate of fear
In its push for coal-fired mega-projects, the Thai government risks turning its back on sufficiency-economy thinking and the need for ‘clean’ energy.
Police prevent villagers from showing documentary on controversial oil concessions
The police have prevented a local conservation group from showing a documentary film on controversial petroleum concessions in the region, saying it might breach the Copyright Act.
Locals push back
Wichan Khantuwarn, 65, a native of Trat, has felt uneasy since he learned of the government’s decision to set up special economic zones (SEZs) and name the small, easternmost province as one of 10 designated areas. Local people have also voiced concerns that the environment and ecology in Khlong Yai will worsen because of the SEZ.
Myanmar seeks over $100m for Asean connectivity project
Myanmar’s Construction Ministry is seeking the parliamentary approval for a US$120 million loan to upgrade the Kawkareik-Mawlamyine-Thaton Road, a part of the Greater Mekong East-West Economic Corridor. It plans to borrow US$100 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and $20 million from the bank’s Asean Infrastructure Fund.
Over 23,000 Shan State Residents Sign Petition Against Salween Dams
Sai Aw Shan community representatives who organised a petition opposing the construction of the Mong Ton (Tasang) Dam on the Salween (Thanlwin) River have collected the signatures of 23,717 Shan State citizens. The petition was delivered to the Yangon office of the Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation (SMEC), the Australian consulting firm responsible for conducting environmental […]