Families promised a better future at relocation sites offered by a Chinese developer now struggle with infertile land, disappearing jobs and unfulfilled development pledges
Category: Eye Original
Mekong Eye’s original stories contributed by local journalists, partners, and grantees of the Internews’ Earth Journalism Network.
Citizen scientists put land bridge plan under microscope
As Thailand’s ambitious land bridge project advances, grassroots efforts from citizen scientists and local researchers emerge to ensure that biodiversity and ecosystems are not overlooked
The Mekong Delta’s highway conundrum
Expansion of the delta’s high-speed roads has been rocky, while the alternative, elevated highways, poses separate challenges
Banana boom, soil bust
Long-term intensive chemical use in Laos’ banana farms has degraded the country’s once-fertile soil, and it may take nearly half a century to restore it
Go slower: Before the carbon market rushes through, develop clear local governance
Without strong community forest governance, carbon credits will continue to separate Thai people from their forests
Myanmar’s war on nature
How four years of Myanmar’s brutal civil war is destroying land and natural resources
Laos eyes a tourism boom in hydro dam area
As communities rebuild their lives, the dam’s operators look to transform the area into a tourist destination
Plastic is choking the Mekong River
Plastic is now ubiquitous in the Mekong, Asia’s Mother of Rivers, and experts and local people are struggling to contain the risks to human health, biodiversity and livelihoods
Charcoal trade fuels deforestation in northern Myanmar
War, economic challenges, and dwindling markets have pushed traditional tea farmers in northern Shan State into deforestation-linked charcoal production
Fruits of spoil: Laos’ forests disappearing as fruit farms flourish
The country’s improved railway connectivity facilitates fruit exports to China but has also sparked a boom in foreign-owned banana and durian farms, leading to forest clearance