Dam EIAs enable “river grabbing”

Water and river grabbing refers to situations where powerful actors such as developers and governments are able to take control of, or reallocate to their own benefits – including decision-making power – the use of rivers and water resources.

Shan and Karen CSOs strongly oppose Salween Dam

Villagers and CSOs from Shan State and Karen State on 10 March protested against the Mong Ton hydropower project during the first public consultation meeting held by the Australian consulting firm, the Snowy Mountain Engineering Corporation (SMEC) in Taunggyi, Shan State.

Mekong nations to set up EIA working group

Government officials and civil society representatives from across the Mekong region have agreed to establish a working group to develop a regional public participation guideline for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) recently in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Mekong Governments, Civil Society Reach Agreement on Environmental Impact Assessment Agenda

MPE, Prachatai In a ground-breaking agreement, government officials and civil society representatives from across the Mekong region established a working group to develop a regional public participation guideline for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) this week in Hanoi, Vietnam. The Mekong Regional Technical Working Group for EIA brings together governments, civil society organizations (CSOs), and will […]

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.