Mekong Delta faces crippling drought, more saline intrusion

VietNamNet Bridge 14 March 2015 A shortage of fresh water and severe saline intrusion has seriously affected agricultural cultivation in the Mekong Delta since mid-February. Farmer Phan Van Thi, of Go Cong town in Tien Giang province told Tin Tuc (News) newspaper that he must get up early every day to pump water for his one-hectare rice field. He said fresh water in canals had been Read More…

The Mekong in peril: a view from mid stream

The Advisor Cambodia 12 March 2015 I have finally found it, that most rare of things: a group of teenagers who do not use Facebook. I am standing on an island in the centre of the Mekong, about an hour’s drive north of Kratie and only 500 metres from the “mainland,” but I could be in another world. There is a special feeling here of the Cambodia I knew 10 or so years ago, before things Read More…

Specialised rice growing areas to be formed in Mekong Delta

VietNamNet Bridge 10 March 2015 The establishment of five new specialised rice-growing areas is underway in the Mekong Delta to meet the growing demand of domestic and international markets, said Le Thanh Tung from the Department of Plant Cultivation under the Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development. The five areas include the Ca Mau Peninsula, the Tay Song Hau (western Hau River) Read More…

Pacific fishery managers approve new forage fish restrictions

The Oregonian 10 March 2015 Pacific coast fishery managers on Tuesday made a landmark decision to protect species at the bottom of the ocean food chain. The Pacific Fishery Management Council, which regulates the fishing industry in federal waters off California, Oregon and Washington, voted during a meeting in Vancouver to ban all new forage fisheries unless fishermen who want to start Read More…

Fisherman catches giant endangered catfish, sells to restaurant

VietNamNet Bridge 9 March 2015 A fisherman in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap on March 4 caught a 1.7-meter long leo catfish weighing 65 kg. It is considered an endangered species. At 10pm on March 5, the fisherman found the giant fish stuck in his net placed in the river of Nha Man in Chau Thanh district, Dong Thap province. With the assistance of others, he took the fish Read More…

Rising visitor arrivals put Tram Chim sanctuary under pressure

VietNamNet Bridge 5 March 2015 Tram Chim attracted as many as 60,000 tourists last year, five times higher than the number before 2012 when the park was recognized as the world’s 2,000th site of the Ramsar Convention of Wetlands of International Importance. Experts and researchers expressed concerns about the strong rise at a review conference on a project on biodiversity conservation Read More…

Ripples from Pacific fisheries forums to be felt globally

Pacific Scoop 4 March 2015 Noumea – The future management of one of the world’s most significant fisheries which spans more than 30 million square kilometres of the Pacific Ocean will be under review at back-to-back forums over the next week at the headquarters of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) in Noumea, New Caledonia. Marine scientists, natural resource managers, Read More…

Cambodia is Staging an Impressive Comeback

Epoch Times 28 February 2015 When a developing country loses 25 percent of its population, it’s hard to make a comeback. With the help of the international community, Cambodia is on track to doing just that. “In 2006, the aspirational goal was for Cambodia to halve poverty by 2015. Cambodia already reached that goal in 2011,” said Alassane Sow, the World Bank’s Country Manager for Read More…

Tourists experience Mekong Delta during Tet festivities

VietNamNet Bridge 24 February 2014 When he finally finished making the less-than-perfect cake with support from Huong and her children, the loud applause he received from the surrounding crowd caused him to feel proud. "It was interesting and fun," Emmerik said, admitting that it was his first attempt at making this cake and that he was a little self-conscious. With his wife Marie and Read More…