Spraying water and checking smoke-belching vehicles are nothing but piecemeal efforts. State agencies are using their own legal apparatus in a haphazard manner to no avail, which explains why polluters are let off the hook. Although several bills designed to end smog season and hold polluters accountable are soon to be debated, they face an uphill battle in parliament.
Category: Analysis
Rare Earths in Myanmar: Unobtanium?
Mining in Kachin State brings up a more fundamental question about the upstream rare earth pipeline. Does the road to a clean energy economy run through murky mines in northern Myanmar?
Cleaning up our act
Asean makes a new push to deal with its world-beating marine plastic waste problem. By Ismira Lutfia Tisnadibrata in Jakarta
‘Water grabbing’ on the Mekong
As dam-building projects continue to proliferate along Southeast Asia’s vital Mekong River, experts in a recent online discussion panel agreed that the area is fast becoming overloaded with them, dredging up far-reaching issues ranging from international friction and industry “water grabs” to widespread ecological disasters and the growing impacts of climate change.
Obstacles and opportunities in Vietnam-Australia ties
Similarly, Australia could prioritise its development assistance for the Mekong Delta, which is facing risks from China-backed hydroelectric dams as well as threats from climate change and environmental degradation.
New boss same as old boss in reshuffled Laos
Laos’ economic options, however, remain limited. Land-locked and with few trading links other than to China, Thailand and Vietnam, its economic future is restricted to debt-accruing infrastructure development and hydropower production, the key sources of its economic growth.
Water levels on the Mekong River are declining sharply: Who is to blame?
The Mekong’s normal flow can be restored if large volumes of water are consistently and reliably released from Chinese dam reservoirs. However, China’s water policy shows Beijing is unlikely to change its behavior and the worst for the Mekong is yet to come.
Can a Dam Deal Buy Beijing’s Support for Myanmar’s Junta?
If China takes the bait and resumes this and other deeply unpopular hydropower projects in partnership with the new junta, it is likely to permanently alienate the people of Myanmar, including their democratic leaders.
Thailand- the first large country with a fertility problem yet without wealth to easily fund healthcare for the old
Time is running out and one Stanford University expert says that things could begin to look ‘bleak’ if something is not done to address the country’s rapidly looming fertility crisis.
Vietnam’s economy is among the most vulnerable in the world to climate change impacts
According to the latest Global Climate Risk Index report, published in January, Vietnam’s economy is among the most vulnerable in the world to the impacts of climate change.