It’s unprecedented: the largest industrial estate and deep sea port complex conceived in Southeast Asia. It’s controversial: trampling pristine shorelines; felling valuable forests and orchards; paving highways through remote mountain passes and uprooting ethnic minorities all along the way.
Category: Thailand
Ban Pong: A Story of a Solid Community
Two hundred years ago, the ancestors of the Ban Pong people came to the area to try to develop the land, during a time where land titles did not exist. They had lived in peace until the government issued a land titling policy in the 1990s.
Dawei LNG for Shell
The firm has signed a Joint Development Agreement with Thai companies Italian-Thai Development and LNG Plus International in Bangkok on August 19 to cooperate on developing the terminal. It will consist primarily of an LNG receiving and re-gasification terminal at Dawei special economic zone.
The Mekong region’s urban future: Why learning from a rural lifestyle could build sustainable cities
Mekong Commons Urbanization in the Mekong Region is transforming societies that were once dependent upon agricultural production, as they become predominantly industrialized and market-based. As this urban expansion unfolds, it is bringing new challenges to urban and rural communities who are changing their lifestyle and livelihoods in order to adapt. Some inhabitants in the Mekong’s emerging […]
Thai military intimidates anti-mine villagers in northern Thailand over complaint
The military officers in northern Thailand have attempted to prevent a group of villagers from submitting a complaint to the provincial governor, saying that the act might breach the Public Assembly Act recently enacted.
Landless villagers in Isan continue to suffer from land reclamation
The people of Thailand’s northeast, or Isan, continue to suffer from the Thai junta’s forest protection policies despite the authorities’ confirmation that there would be no evictions from protected areas for the time being.
Northern locals outrage at governor’s secret meetings on controversial dams
An anti-dam committee in Northern Thailand has submitted complaints over the provincial governor’s secret meetings to construct controversial dams in the area.
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.