Dams not always ideal solution to climate change, say experts
Category: Article
Belt and Road starts and stops in China’s backyard
Beijing is seeking to showcase the China-Lao train, and incorporate the stop-and-go progress on a similar rail line in Thailand and a port project in Myanmar, both of which are key to the BRI’s vision of a better-connected regional economic sphere with China at its powerful center.
US and Vietnam reach timber pact thus averting punitive tariffs
The accord “secures commitments that will help keep illegally harvested or traded timber out of the supply chain and protect the environment and natural resources,” and no trade action is warranted for now, the Office of the US Trade Representative said in an emailed statement.
Southward put:: How will China’s influence affect conflict-ridden Shan State?
While the Burma people’s uprising or revolution is aimed at achieving the goal of uprooting the military junta and the establishment of a federal democratic union, the proxy war raging in Shan State may be intended solely to serve China’s national interest, with a matching physical presence of its proxy EAOs to provide security for its business interests and trade and communication infrastructure linking southwest China to the Indian Ocean.
Laos enlists Japan startup for study on digital currency
The initiative marks an attempt by Laos to extend the reach of its currency, the kip, as a digital Chinese yuan looms as a potentially powerful presence in the Southeast Asian nation with close economic ties to China.
The bleak outlook for Myanmar’s farmers
Myanmar’s rice farmers are facing higher production and transportation costs, lower yields, and low prices, leaving many worried they will no longer be able to earn enough to survive.
China’s crypto ban a big boon for little Laos
After China’s recent cryptocurrency crackdown, impoverished Laos is now allowing Bitcoin mining, fueled by abundant hydroelectric power from the Mekong River and shrugging off US warnings of disastrous environmental problems.
Untold impact on northern Thailand’s wildlife from Mekong dams
Otters, fish and birds along the Ing and Ruak rivers face threats from hydropower dams on the Mekong, but understanding is lacking of the true impacts on the ecology of these Mekong tributaries
Vietnam says no extension of price offer for wind power developers
In an email interview with Reuters earlier this month, William Gaillard, Asia Pacific sales vice-president of wind turbine provider Vestas, said that without the FiT, projects face huge uncertainty over their future revenue, if not a risk of default under their project finance terms.
Cambodia counts the cost of its push to expand coal-fired power
Bridget McIntosh, country director of EnergyLab Cambodia, said there was still an opportunity to change course. “Cambodia can take existing coal and hydro and build the rest out with solar, wind,” she said. “Balancing the analysis shows this will be reliable and cheaper than current plans.”