Bhaskar Roy As Myanmar nears a historic political transition, the incoming National League for Democracy (NLD) will have a lot on their plate. They will face the enormous challenge of steering the country according to their plans. Having struggled for two and a half decades against a hardline military rule, they will have a clearer […]
Category: Region
Selected environmental stories from media outlets in the Mekong region and beyond.
Is Hanoi more polluted than Beijing?
Aqicn.org, the website which provides real-time figures about the air pollution levels in cities all over the world, showed that the PM2.5 Index (the fine dust particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter) in the air in Hanoi in the last two days reached 388 microgram per cubic meter at maximum and 114 microgram per cubic meter at minimum.
Vietnam’s PM2.5 national standard is 50 microgram per cubic meter. Meanwhile, the level recommended by WHO is 25 micrograms.
This means that the dust concentration in the air in Hanoi in the last days was higher than the allowed level by 2-8 times.
New president must heed public on Myitsone Dam: Kachin party
The new president must listen to the voice of the people, who do not agree to the resumption of the Myitsone Dam project, said Kachin State Democracy Party chairman Dr Manam Tu Ja on March 7.
His spoke in response to news that China is seeking to find ways to resume the project.
He said the resumption of Myitsone project must depend on the desires of the people.
Local people urge NLD to reconsider Dawei Special Economic Zone
Local people and Civil Society Organizations have urged the new NLD government to reconsider the Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) project after it takes office.
Deforestation Taskforce Files Complaint Against Five Companies
The National Anti-Deforestation Committee (NADC) filed complaints to provincial courts against five companies that obtained economic land concessions (ELCs) from the government after discovering irregularities in the companies’ timber stocks after a three-day inspection.
KNU is outraged that media reports it had signed a MOU with the government to construct a hydropower dam as untrue.
The Karen National Union is outraged that media reports said it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the with the government to construct a hydro-power dam as untrue.
CDC revises provision on community rights in draft constitution
Commission added ‘community rights’ in the charter draft and required projects that have impacts on health to do EIA. At the same time, the revised provision also stipulates that the public have the right to file complaints against state agencies if they fail to comply with this charter.
Villagers opposed the building of coal-fired power plant in Krabi province
A large crowd gathered together to protest the government controversial plan to build coal-fired power plant in Krabi province. The villagers welcomed the arrival of members of Thailand’s National Legislative Assembly (NLA) members and symbolic protested Krabi coal-fired power plant by standing in a row holding 50-meter-long banner “No Krabi Coal-Fired Power Plant” in front of the City Hall. Many environmentalists and locals have expressed concerns about the plan, fearing its environmental impacts, which could worsen the security situation in the already volatile Deep South.
Government to distribute state land for the landless
Thai government plans to allocate about 195,000 rai of state land in 47 provinces for landless poor so they will have a land plot to build a living quarter and to make a living. Government spokesman said that the government intends to narrow the gap of social disparity by distributing land plots in degraded forest, public land, land for land reform project to the landless poor.
Thai junta slashes EIA procedures on state projects
The Thai junta enacted a new order to cut short the process to conduct Environmental Impact Assessment on mega project constructions.
On Tuesday, 8 March 2016, the public website of the Royal Gazette published the latest order of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), Order 9/2016.
The title of the NCPO’s Order 9/2016 reads ‘Additional Laws on Promotion and Protection of the Quality of Nation’s Environment’
The order was authorised on Monday by Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, the junta leader and Prime Minister, who invoked authorities under Section 44 of the Interim Constitution which gives the regime absolute power, to enact it with immediate effect.