Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex has been spared from being put on the World Heritage in danger list. However, the World Heritage Committee (WHC) has asked Thailand to comply with recommendations made by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) at its July 23 meeting and refrain from building new dams in the forest complex.
Category: Story
In Laos, a Dubious Dam Threatens Luang Prabang
A hydroelectric project could force UNESCO to delist the spectacular World Heritage Site.
Hyundai E&C to continue coal power project in Vietnam despite criticism
Seoul-based not-for-profit organization Solutions for Our Climate said the failure to scrap what was proclaimed to be Hyundai E&C’s final coal project “directly contradicts the company’s own ESG vision” and neutralizes the impact of Seoul’s pledge to end public overseas coal power financing in line with its carbon neutrality initiative.
Thailand launches wildlife campaign against ivory and tiger products
The wildlife trade monitoring network (TRAFFIC), Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation and the United Nations Development Program have jointly launched the ‘Mercy is Power’ campaign to fight the buying and owning of ivory and tiger amulets, ahead of World Tiger Day on 29 July 2021.
New road and railway will draw more mainstream visitors, but will adventure seekers be put off?
Laos has always drawn seekers after rugged adventure, but new rail and road links will open the country up to mainstream visitors and, some hope, high-end ones In particular, more will come from China, and that could change some destinations, an industry insider says, but tourists ‘can still take the older routes’.
China denies Mekong hacking
The Chinese embassy in Phnom Penh on July 22 firmly denied the accusation that four Chinese hackers from the Ministry of State Security had hacked and stolen Mekong data from a Cambodian ministry.
Erosion incidents increase in An Giang, families move to safer areas
The Mekong Delta province of An Giang is facing an increase in erosion incidents along rivers and canals as authorities try to protect households living in erosion-prone areas.
A glimpse into Vietnam’s coconut kingdom
The Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre is well known as Vietnam’s coconut capital, where local farmers have been subsisting on coconut groves for generations.
Myanmar junta implementing China’s BRI projects by stealth
Amid political upheaval, the COVID-19 crisis and ongoing fighting between the military and civilian resistance fighters and ethnic armed groups, the junta is quietly attempting to pave the way for the implementation in Myanmar of China’s strategic infrastructure projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
VN female scientist receives ‘The Most Downloaded Paper’ Award for research on Mekong basin
Nguyen Kim Anh and her co-workers have won an award from a Japanese prestigious journal for their research on the salinity situation in the Mekong basin.