Third of Himalayan glaciers can no longer be saved, study finds

News 24 – One-third of Himalayan glaciers will melt by the end of the century due to climate change, threatening water sources for 1.9 billion people, even if current efforts to reduce climate change succeed, an assessment warns. If global efforts to curb climate change fail, the impact could be far worse: A loss of two-thirds of the region's glaciers by 2100, said the Hindu Kush Himalaya Read More…

The Hidden Environmental Toll of Mining the World’s Sand

Yale Environment 360 – Nothing sounds so dull — even for most environmentalists — as sand mining. But in India, reports of sand mafias cashing in on the country’s construction boom have lately been making headlines. Last month, the issue went viral — a 17-year-old girl named Kavya in a fishing village in the state of Kerala posted a video on a mobile phone app about how excavators Read More…

Sharing experience with community fisheries between the Mekong and…

IUCN – On December 28-29, 2018, IUCN organised a visit to Kampong Phluk by staff of NTFP-EP, WWF, CEPA and NGO Forum to the Tonle Sap followed by a workshop in Siem Reap.  These four NGOs are part of IUCN NL’s Shared Resources-Joint Solutions (SRJS) initiative to strengthen community-based fisheries and forestry in the Mekong Flooded Forest in Stung Treng and Kratie Province. The field Read More…

Chinese company consults locals over Mekong blasting

Chinadialogue – The red-robed monk sat impatiently at the front of the consultation meeting in Chiang Saen, northern Thailand. Once the representatives from China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) had finished their presentation he stood up and scolded them for taking too long. He disputed their description of the Thai-Lao-Myanmar stretch of the Mekong as “primitive”. Read More…

Laos urged to conduct impact studies

Khmer Times – Member countries of the Mekong River Commission have sent a request to the Lao government to carry out thorough impact studies prior to the construction of the Pak Lay hydropower dam in order to minimise risks in the future. Last year, the Lao government suspended the approval of new dams after the collapse of the Se-Pian Se Nam Noi hydropower dam caused dozens of deaths and Read More…

From Tibet to the ‘Nine Dragons’, Vietnam’s Mekong Delta is…

Reuters – In the dead of night, the entire front half of shopkeeper Ta Thi Kim Anh’s house collapsed. Perched on the sandy banks of the Mekong River, it took just a few minutes for one half of everything she owned to plunge into its murky depths. “Our kitchen, our laundry room, our two bedrooms, all gone,” said Kim Anh, speaking amongst the twisted metal and rubble of her house, Read More…

China bans exotic fish release into Sanjiangyuan Nature Reserve

CGTN – Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in northwest China's Qinghai Province imposed a permanent ban on the release of non-indigenous fish species into the Sanjiangyuan National Nature Reserve. The ban was implemented on Jan.1, 2019 to protect local ecology in China's largest natural reserve, the Sanjiangyuan National Nature Reserve. The Sanjiangyuan National Nature Reserve, or the Three Read More…

Unlocking Sustainable Community Forestry in the Ayeyarwady Delta

Inter Press Service – In November 2018, GGGI have been exploring potential investments in agriculture, forestry and fishery value chains that not only increase economic and social development, but also reduce deforestation pressures and increase the extent of mangrove forests. GGGI investment, forestry policy and bio-economy specialists have been consulting with communities, NGOs and Read More…

Troubled waters

The Nation – Mekong’s future remains uncertain as Thailand lights fuse on rapids-blasting project As a new year dawns, the waters of the Mekong River remain turbulent with uncertainty. While many take holidays and prepare for the new year, the people of the Mekong face an unknown future. Earlier this month, residents along the Mekong in Chiang Rai were preparing to participate in a Read More…

Dams threaten traditional way of life in Mekong Basin

Nikkei – Sak Siam, 69, chief of Chnok Tru, a village in central Cambodia, is worried. The floating village of about 1,700 households is located on a tributary of the Mekong River. "The villagers will be unable to survive if the fish catch decreases further," he said. Hydroelectric dams constructed or under construction up the Mekong, in China and other countries, have changed the flow and Read More…