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Isan activists accuse Thai junta of siding with gas corporation

By Nantiya Tangwisutijit

An environmental conservation group in Isan, Thailand’s Northeast, says that the Thai junta are siding with an oil and gas corporation to plunder resources and urges the US government to take action against the multinational petroleum company.

Na Mun-Dun Sat Conservation Group, an Isan environmental group, on Tuesday morning, 12 October 2015, rallied in front of the US Embassy in Bangkok and submitted a letter to embassy staff, urging the US government to hold Apico (Khorat) Limited, a US-based oil and gas exploration company, accountable.

Myitsone Dam, Kachin Conflict under Spotlight in New Film

By Nantiya Tangwisutijit

A new documentary film premiering in Rangoon this weekend offers a view into the social upheaval and dislocation caused by the Myitsone Dam project in Kachin State.

Produced over four years, including months embedded in the now largely abandoned Tang Hpre village in the dam’s catchment area, Dams, Drugs and Democracy charts community opposition to the dam before and after President Thein Sein announced the controversial megaproject’s suspension in 2011.

Letters From The Mekong: Time For A New Narrative On Mekong Hydropower

By Paritta Wangkiat

This issue brief – the second in Stimson’s “Letters from the Mekong” series – examines the current status of mitigation efforts at Laos’ Xayaburi and Don Sahong dam projects and the relevance of the existing narrative surrounding hydropower development on the river’s mainstream. Based on extensive research on the status and expected impacts of these projects, the authors of this brief have concluded that the current narrative of inevitability surrounding the future of the Mekong is increasingly at odds with what is in fact a very fluid situation. Instead of being the first two of up to nine or eleven mainstream “dominos” to fall, these commercial-opportunity projects are likely to face significantly increasing political and financial risks and uncertainties.

Isan villagers ask court to halt petroleum drilling

By Paritta Wangkiat

An environment conservation group in Isan, Northern Thailand, has requested the court to halt petroleum drilling.

About 30 village activists opposing drilling in a potential petroleum field called Dongmoon located in Kranuan District of the northeastern province of Khon Kaen at the border with Kalasin Province on Tuesday, 6 October 2015, requested Khon Kaen Provincial Administrative Court to hold an emergency hearing to halt the drilling operation.

Mekong Delta heads for troubled waters

By Nantiya Tangwisutijit

Lush greenery in the lower Mekong region sprawls as far as the eye can see, an illustration of just how fertile the delta is. The endless green fields scored by the river’s nine tributaries, which the Vietnamese call “Nine Dragons”, explain why this area is one of the world’s major food baskets.

It houses the richest inland fishery and accounts for more than a fifth of the world’s rice exports, although looks can be deceptive. Encroaching sea water from the south, a proliferation of hydro dams in the north and large-scale sand mining are endangering the delta, officials warn.