Vietnamese authorities are increasingly concerned about developments on China and Laos’ stretches of the shared Mekong River. But Vietnam and Thailand, another historic ally of Laos, have so far failed to persuade the Vientiane government to rethink its impact on the Mekong.
Category: Article
Military coup overshadows Sweden’s work in Myanmar
Today no form of aid goes to the state or any state institutions but instead exclusively to civil society organizations.
Gold mining venture in Cambodia starts seeing returns
Ministry of Mines and Energy director-general for Mineral Resources Ung Dipola described the progress at the Okvau mine as a “source of pride” for the government and all the stakeholders, and it showed the untapped potential in the mining sector in Cambodia, which he termed a “sovannaphum”, or golden land.
Ministry reports illegal land grabs in Bokor National Park
Authorities have identified 201 cases of illegal land encroachment, involving more than 619 hectares, in Preah Monivong (Bokor) National Park from July 3 last year to July 31 this year.
Sino-Thai rail line back on track
The Thai government has paid more than 179 billion baht for the construction project which is divided into 14 contracts whereas the Chinese government is responsible for overseeing design and construction work, supplying the railway signalling systems and train carriages, and training personnel.
Dams fail but still vital
Ban Kaeng Sila village in Khon Kaen’s Ubon Ratana district is just one kilometre away from Ubolratana Dam, the largest irrigation dam in the Northeast.. But local farmers had to endure severe drought for three years between 2018 to 2020, as the dam’s reservoir dried.
Building a sustainable and green economic corridor for Laos, hand In hand with FAO
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, with active support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, is spearheading an innovative initiative that envisions bringing together governmental, private, and international partners to build a green growth economic corridor along the Laos-China Railway.
Beijing tells regime It fears attack on Its oil, gas pipelines in Myanmar
Chinese officials in Beijing and Yangon-based Chinese diplomats are concerned that forces inside Myanmar seek to instigate anti-China unrest and may be planning to attack China’s twin oil-and-gas pipelines running 800km across the country.
China joins Lower Mekong River countries to study impacts of climate change, dams
Many of the details of the study have yet to be worked out, from exactly which tributaries to focus on to how much data China will share on how it operates its dams. To date, China has refused to reveal how much water its dams release. Furthermore, there is concern that China could use the collaboration as an opportunity to push the narrative that its dams’ disruption of the Mekong’s seasonal flood cycle actually helps downstream countries, despite a lack of evidence, and that some MRC officials make similar claims.
Developing sustainable climate resilient infrastructure solutions in Cambodia
The Asian Development Bank, with support from the Pilot Program for Climate Resilience of the Climate Investment Funds, is assisting Cambodia to build climate-resilient infrastructure through a $588 million investment program called Strategic Program for Climate Resilience. The program led to the development of new regulations, technical guidelines, and legal requirements on construction of infrastructure specific to the nation’s three distinct geographic regions: the coastal areas, the highlands, and the central lowlands.