Will the Belt and Road Initiative bring environmental devastation or a new era of Chinese global resource stewardship? Asks Lili Pike
Category: Analysis
Mekong Delta Blues
BBC Radio 4’s Costing the Earth program explores how the government of Laos is determined to develop the nation by building hydroelectric dams for electricity, yet many people in the downstream countries of Cambodia and Vietnam are worried that the flow of the life-giving waters of the Mekong will be much reduced and fish life devastated. Peter Hadfield reports from the banks of the Mekong
Civil society sets advocacy targets for AIIB
A year after the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s launch, NGO leaders involved see now as a key moment to build a constructive relationship. The $100 billion bank has yet to announce many of its own substantial financing projects, choosing instead to partner with other multilateral development banks. The bank is also still staffing up and building its internal systems — exactly the time when CSOs hope their voices can be heard.
Vietnam’s dry season to be severe this year: experts
Mekong Delta farmers experienced the worst dry season in history in 2016, and are now facing another severe season in 2017
China’s ‘Belt and Road’ Policy Benefits Cambodia, Analysts Say
The Asian Development Bank figures that some $26 billion in investment will be needed by 2030 to meet regional infrastructure demands.
Challenges of Sustainable Water Management in Cambodia
While hydropower is considered controversial and attracts increasing amounts of critical scrutiny regionally, especially from international media and NGOs, the irrigation sector is considered more benign and end-user friendly, and thus far has largely escaped much critical scrutiny, even though it is often more likely to fail and have wider ecological implications than hydropower.
What’s at stake in China’s plan to blow up islands in the Mekong
The company charged with developing a trade route along the Mekong River (the state-owned Chinese Communications Construction Company) is set to dynamite river islands
How will Southeast Asia feed its people in 2030?
Rapid population growth and climate volatility in Southeast Asia will push up demand for food in the region by 40 per cent by 2050. How can Southeast Asia put food on every table?
Can ASEAN Save the Mekong River?
As discussions continue, the future of one of the world’s greatest rivers is as bleak as ever.
The Myanmar-China dilemma
Myanmar is sandwiched between two very large neighbours – China and India. Relations with China are not currently cordial, especially among the Myanmar people, who retain memories of numerous undue political and economic interactions and incidents.