South-East Asia includes at least six of the world’s 25 “biodiversity hotspots” – areas of the world with an exceptional concentration of species, which are also under serious threat.
Tag: conservation
Locals slam Mekong blasting plan
The government’s aim to clear the Mekong River’s rocky outcrops to ensure the smooth passage of large cargo boats has set off alarm bells for environmental activists and locals who fear the ecology in the area will be put at risk.
The Mekong River, known in China as the Lancang River, runs through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam over a total distance of 4,880km.
Government urged to work with Cambodia on solutions to water resources
Scientists have urged the Vietnamese government to cooperate with Cambodia and draw up a plan to take full advantage of water resources.
Civil society groups secure pledges from PM Hun Sen at forestry forum
Billed as a Cambodian first, the invitation of 500 civil society and community representatives to a forum on environmental issues with Prime Minister Hun Sen proved largely a platform for the premier to hold forth on policy and politics, with many observers bemoaning the sidelining of community voices.
“We consider this an enlarged cabinet meeting and decisions taken today have the effect of cabinet decisions . . . otherwise the value of today is just sweet talk,” Hun Sen said near the start of a five-hour soliloquy on environmental policy that left little room for contributions from the audience.
Cambodian Forestry Campaigner Awarded 2016 Goldman Environmental Prize
Activist Ouch Leng has received international recognition for his work documenting illegal logging and land abuses in Cambodia over the past two decades.
The Goldman Environmental Foundation on Monday announced that Ouch Leng was among six grassroots campaigners from around the world to be awarded the 2016 Goldman Environmental Prize, which recognizes their efforts to protect the environment and means more financial support for their causes.
“It’s an honor for Cambodia and its people,” Ouch Leng told VOA Khmer after hearing about his award.
He dedicated the award to his countrymen who are fighting to preserve Cambodia’s remaining forests in the face of rampant illegal logging and damaging government policies.
Dolphin calves born in the Mekong
The Mekong River now has so many dams that one of the worlds mightiest rivers could almost run dry. In the dry season, river levels do in fact become dangerous for the rare river dolphins, Orcaella brevirostris Illegal fishermen and stranding opportunities increase, but the good news this March, as river levels rise again, is that no animals were lost and 3 calves were born near the delta. 688 river guards protect the dolphins and the river in Cambodia and the Lao PDR, and that investment surely must be helping! The WWF report the story here.
Many plants and animals rely on the might flow of the Mekong, with 1100 fish species alone, thousands of insects, mammals, amphibians, birds and reptiles well-known to researchers. The dolphins feed on fish, cephalopods and crustacea, facing intense competition from humpback and bottlenose dolphins when at the coast. Perhaps the 90 or so dolphins in Lao PDR and Cambodia can act as suitable emblems of the extinction possibilities threatening the rainforest and the riverine species. This dolphin is classed as Vulnerable, according to the IUCN Red Book classification, like many others of its order and so many others in the rapidly disappearing habitats around SE Asia.
Will China save its last undammed river?
In a remote corner of southwestern China, close to the Myanmar border, the towering Nu River gorge narrows to a frothy boil of rushing water, its powerful flow creating swirling eddies.
Thrown across the river from one rock face to the other hangs a flimsy suspension bridge. “No entrance” reads a sign on its locked and rusting gate. “For construction only.”
The abandoned bridge is the sole hint here of a lengthy environmental battle that may be nearing its end. For more than a decade, activists have fought a state-owned hydropower company’s plans to build giant dams on the Nu, the last natural river in China. Now, dam opponents say they scent victory.
Road building threatening special-use forests
In Thua Thien-Hue province, the companies belonging to the Ministry of Transport are speeding up the clearing of 49 hectares of forest in the core area of the Bach Ma National Park to make room for a highway.
A 4-lane road that links Thua Thien-Hue and Da Nang City will ‘slice’ through the park.
In late 2015, local newspapers reported that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) gave a license to build a road through the Cat Tien National Park.
Report: Myanmar’s Protected Areas Are Facing Critical Funding Shortages
Myanmar’s protected areas are facing critical funding shortages, with several unable to cover the costs of essential equipment, maintenance, and operational activities, in addition to needing more dedicated staff with increased technical capacities. A new report offers an assessment of the financial status, constraints, and opportunities for financing of these areas.
The report, Sustainable Financing of Protected Areas in Myanmar (http://goo.gl/cGip0X), was published by WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) under a research project funded by the European Union.