Environmentalists have criticised Lao PDR for pressing ahead with plans for another "destructive dam" on the Mekong River, a waterway already strangled by hydropower schemes.The flow of the Mekong, Southeast Asia's longest river, is interrupted by a cascade of dams in China - where it is called the Lancang.Two downstream dams - the Xayaburi and Don Sahong - have been built in Lao PDR, which wants to construct seven more as it strives to live up to its billing as the "Batte

If there is one thing millennials are happy about, it is transferring most of the ageism stereotyping they have endured over the past decade to the new Generation Z or Gen Z.

Thai shoppers grabbed baskets, buckets and even a wheelbarrow to skirt a new ban on single-use plastic bags at big retailers, with many posting images of their efforts online.The restriction, introduced at the start of the new year by several major mall operators and the ubiquitous 7-Eleven convenience stores, was a victory for environmental campaigners in a country where individuals use an average of eight plastic bags a day.Customers can now pay a small fee for reusables but budget-consciou

Thai retailers kicked off 2020 with a ban on single-use plastic bags, joining the battle against throwaway carriers in the Southeast Asian nation where citizens go through an average of eight every day. The move, taken on Wednesday by several major mall operators and the ubiquitous 7/11 convenience stores, will see customers instead paying a small fee for a reusable bag made of a cloth-like fabric. Thailand is one of the largest contributors to ocean pollution, with plastic

While its economic benefits and geopolitical implications are often splashed across the front pages of national newspapers worldwide, the impact of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) on the environment receives much less attention.An ambitious plan unveiled by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013 to boost connectivity in over 70 countries, the world’s largest ever infrastructure project includes the financing and building of everything from roads to airports and is estimated to cost anywh

Indonesia's little-known glaciers are melting so fast they could disappear in a decade, a new study says, underscoring the imminent threat posed by climate change to ice sheets in tropical countries.As the COP 25 summit wraps up in Madrid, nations are struggling to finalise rules for the 2015 landmark Paris climate accord, which aims to limit global temperature rises.Thousands of kilometres away, glaciers on a mountain range in Indonesia's Papua region - and a handful of others in A

Forest fires that raged across Indonesia dented Southeast Asia's biggest economy to the tune of some US$5.2 billion, the World Bank said Wednesday, not including the health impacts from toxic haze that sent air quality plummeting.The fires are an annual problem but this year was the worst since 2015 due to dry weather, with 942,000 hectares (2.3 million acres) of land, mostly on Sumatra and Borneo islands, razed by the out-of-control blazes. Authorities deployed tens of thousand

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. Southeast Asia has the highest rate of deforestation of any major tropical region followed by Latin America and Africa.

Air pollution from Indonesian forest fires is putting nearly 10 million children at risk, the United Nations warned Tuesday, as scientists said the blazes were releasing vast amounts of greenhouse gases.The fires have been spewing toxic haze over Southeast Asia in recent weeks, closing schools and airports, with people rushing to buy face masks and seek medical treatment for respiratory ailments.Jakarta has deployed tens of thousands of personnel and water-bombing aircraft to tackle the slash

Early this year, a 16-minute documentary called “Lost World” was released. The documentary, directed by Kalyanee Mam and produced by Go Project Films, the John D and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation, and Heinrich Böll Stiftung, showcases the damage done to Cambodian coastal fisheries by the industrial-scale dredging of sand for sale.