Originating in the Tibetan highlands and running through China, Myanmar, Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia, and Vietnam, the Mekong and its tributaries provide water, food and income for 60 million people. The longest river in Southeast Asia is home to the world’s largest inland fishery. It is estimated that 25 percent of the global freshwater catch is harvested from this river.Damming of the Mekong started in China in the early 1990s.
As the world celebrates Earth Day today, the theme for this year – protecting threatened and endangered species – remains as important as ever.The world’s largest environmental movement, the annual Earth Day works with more than 75,000 partners in nearly 192 countries to educate the public about environmental issues.Apart from climate change and the fight to end plastic pollution, the protection of endangered species ranks as one of the most pressing environmental concerns of our time.What is
In a world where climate change, air and water pollution, biodiversity loss, water scarcity, ozone depletion, and other environmental problems overlap, a fix in one arena can cause trouble in another.Here are a few examples of what might be called Earth's "zero-sum" dilemma in the 21st century.Water vs.
Originating in the Tibetan highlands and running through China, Myanmar, Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia, and Vietnam, the Mekong and its tributaries provide water, food and income for 60 million people. The longest river in Southeast Asia is home to the world’s largest inland fishery. It is estimated that 25 percent of the global freshwater catch is harvested from this river. Damming of the Mekong started in China in the early 1990s.
The world’s biodiversity is at extreme risk, undergoing an exceptional decline in the past few decades and its fragility is threatening the well-being and survival of mankind. In the last 44 year between 1970 to 2014, the average population size of wildlife has declined 60 percent, while availability of suitable habitats for mammals have declined 22 percent from 1970 to 2010.
Surrounded by severely damaged coral reefs, the fishers of Indonesia’s Seraya Besar, off the west coast of Flores, struggle to make ends meet. Year-on-year fish stocks have shrivelled as the damaged reef can only support limited life.
The issue of overfishing is the greatest threat to ocean ecosystems today. Overfishing occurs when fish are netted at a more rapid rate than they can reproduce. Some reasons that have led to overfishing are advanced fishing technologies, increased demand for fish and illegal fishing.
With the United Nations’ climate change conference underway in Bonn, Germany, rising global temperatures are once again at the top of the world’s agenda.
The pangolin is a mammal not known to many, yet it is the most trafficked animal in the world. Its large Keratin scales – which are hard and sharp – cover its skin help protect it from carnivorous predators such as tigers, lions and leopards.
Southeast Asia is a highly sought-after holiday destination for tourists and travellers from all across the world. The region, which is home to more than 630 million people, is geographically situated in the heart of Asia. Due to its tropical climate, the region is typically warm and humid all year round with plentiful rainfall. Southeast Asian countries are also known for its unique and diverse cultures as well as natural wonders like sandy beaches, mountains and wildlife.
Southeast Asia is known for its vast rainforests which constitute about almost 20 percent of forest cover with the richest biodiversity in the world. What the region is also known for is its alarming rate of deforestation. The region has the highest rate of deforestation of any major tropical region followed by Latin America and Africa.
Like grains of sand by the seaside, the diversity within ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asia Nations) countries is not limited to the cultures in the ten countries populated with 625 million souls.
