300,000 Vietnamese coastal residents seriously threatened by forest loss-triggered erosion

Thousands of households along the coast of Tien Giang Province in the Mekong Delta have been seriously endangered by soil erosion caused by the loss of protective forests.
Since the strip of protective forest, 21 kilometers long, covering the coast of Go Cong District has been ruined, around 300,000 locals and 55,000 hectares of farming land there have been “put under a knife blade” for years.

Houses in the coastal area from the Soai Rap River mouth in Vam Lang Town to Den Do in Tan Thanh Commune are under permanent threat and may be swept away or sunk by erosion any time.
A sea dike of steel concrete was built along the coast to protect local residential areas but it is just a temporary measure since sea waves have continued to encroach on land day by day.

In the Mekong Delta: Erosion, Pollution, and Millions of Shrimp

“Wrong way!” Stephen, our driver, shouted at Pablo through the rolled-up window of his 4×4. We had jumped out of the car to take a ferry across the Mekong to the toothbrush-shaped island of Phu Thanh, and apparently Stephen was unimpressed with our door-closing technique. Heedless of the swarms of motorcycles flowing around the vehicle, he engaged the handbrake and got out himself to demonstrate the proper method.

Opening the door and quickly slamming it with exaggerated force, he pointed accusingly at Pablo. “Wrong way.”

Once more he pulled the door open, smiling as he gently closed it with a barely audible click. “Right way.”

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.

Global forest loss reached 46 million acres in 2014

Global forest loss amounted to 18.7 million hectares (46 million acres) in 2014, a decline of about 9 percent relative to 2013 and 20 percent compared to 2012, according to data released today by a team of researchers from the University of Maryland and Google. Researchers pointed out some notable hotspots, including spikes in forest loss in the Mekong region, especially Cambodia, for rubber plantations.