ASEAN’s vision of a haze-free region by 2020 looks increasingly cloudy by the day.A decades-long problem for the region, ASEAN defines haze as smoke resulting from land and/or forest fires which harm health, living resources, ecosystems and material property and impairs or interferes with amenities and other legitimate uses of the environment.The ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (AATHP) was signed in 2002 to tackle haze in the region, and three years ago in 2016, ASEAN member n

As the world’s population climbs to 8.5 billion by 2030, the resilience of forests to combat climate change, help mankind end hunger and maintain sustainable communities will be more important than ever.The United Nations (UN) estimates that forests cover one third of the Earth's land mass, and around 1.6 billion people – including more than 2,000 indigenous cultures – depend on forests for their livelihood, food, fuel, shelter, clothing and medicine.

Jakarta commuter Irnawati can spend up to four hours daily in her car, but now she and millions of others may get some relief as the traffic-clogged Southeast Asian city opens its first mass rapid-transit (MRT) system.Today, Jakarta will inaugurate the US$1.1 billion project seen as crucial to tackling some of the world's worst congestion, which can turn commutes into hours-long endurance tests.For Irnawati, the new line means she might now be able to move back to her suburban home on th

Vietnam police have busted a massive meth ring in a Ho Chi Minh City mansion allegedly run by a Chinese national who used a textile company as a cover for the operation, police and state media reported Thursday.Police on Wednesday stormed the luxury property in Vietnam's largest city, guarded with private security and outfitted with cameras during an hours-long raid which unearthed sacs of methamphetamine believed to have been smuggled in from Lao. Around 300 kilogrammes (kg) of

As Thais finally go to the polls on 24 March, there is growing concern among environmental specialists who have pointed out that political parties campaigning for the election have so far failed to present strong policies to ensure the protection of the environment. Sonthi Kotchawat, an independent expert on environmental health, was quoted by local media as saying that parties’ policies only cover some environmental issues but fail to address others. “I’ve heard only a few

We spend up to one-third of our lives sleeping, a basic human need which is crucial to our overall health and well-being.

Southeast Asia is home to some of the world’s fastest expanding economies, with a combined economy about the size of the United Kingdom’s (UK’s) or US$2.6 trillion. Armed with a younger, urbanised and more affluent consumer base, the region continues to grow at a phenomenal pace. In 2017, the region’s gross merchandise value (GMV) of first-hand goods surpassed US$10 billion, up from US$5.5 billion in 2015.

Manila has been hit by its worst water shortage in years, leaving bucket-bearing families to wait hours to fill up from tanker trucks and some hospitals to turn away less urgent cases.Taps are dry from four to 20 hours per day in the homes of about half of the Philippine capital's roughly 12 million people due to rolling outages driven by a dearth of rain and inadequate infrastructure."I have learned to take a bath using only seven pitchers of water," Ricardo Bergado said as he

In 2015, Thailand’s National Statistical Office revealed that the number of Thais above the age of 15 who smoked cigarettes had risen to 11.4 million from the previous year – an increase of 21 percent. It also revealed that every year there were about 50,000 Thais who died as a result of smoking.Despite the staggering number of deaths, Thailand will not be increasing its cigarette tax.

Porous borders and a lack of enforcement contributed to the record seizure of methamphetamine in East and Southeast Asia last year.Drug trade in the Golden Triangle – a region where the borders of Myanmar, Lao and Thailand meet – is booming thanks to an increase in transnational organised crime groups operating, manufacturing and trafficking methamphetamine and other drugs in the region, according to a recent report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).Substantial quantitie