Mekong Delta poorly funded to tackle climate change

Vietnam Net Parts of An Giang Province are underwater in the flood season but face acute freshwater shortage in the dry season. The province is in dire need of dredging more than 600 canals, which will cost an estimated VND320 billion (US$15.32 million). So far, the province has put together its limited resources to dredge 150 canals in most dry areas so that water can flow to rice Read More…

The bottom line: Embracing ecosystem-based fisheries management

National Geographic 7 May, 2013 Fishing for shad on the Potomac River at Fletcher’s Boathouse is a spring tradition for many Washington-area anglers, including me. As a food source for larger fish, birds of prey, and other animals, shad provide a great example of the interconnectedness of nature—which for decades hasn’t received enough attention from fisheries managers. Although Read More…

Chinese frogs, fish go easily through quarantine stations to enter…

Vietnam Net May 7, 2013 Hundreds of tons of fish and shrimp have been crossing the border gates every day to enter the Vietnamese market. Border management agencies said they have seized a lot of illegally imported consignments. However, a bigger amount of imports still could escape their net to penetrate the domestic market. A Vietnamese farmer calls Chinese fishes as “strange Read More…

Empty nets on the Mekong

The New York Times 6 May, 2013 In my last post, I described how our attempts at fishing in the Mekong River had produced meager results, which was somewhat puzzling because the Mekong produces the largest harvest of freshwater fish in the world, by far. As a father, this was frustrating; catching fish was the top priority of my 10-year old son, Luca, and I was determined that he fulfill Read More…

Secrets of the Mekong: An interview with Harmony Patricio

The Mekong Fish Network recently spent some time in the spotlight. The environmental and conservation news website mongabay.com interviewed FISHBIO's conservation director, Harmony Patricio, about the importance and challenges of studying Mekong River fishes, and about the launch of the Mekong Fish Network. “The world needs to realize that the Mekong is like the Amazon rainforest,” Patricio Read More…

Global biodiversity panel urged to heed local voices

SciDev.Net 3 May, 2013 A newly established global panel on biodiversity faces being sidetracked by niche interests and northern agendas if it does not tread carefully, a meeting has heard. The Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity & Ecosystem Services (IPBES) was formed in April 2012, with a mandate to assess the state of the planet's biodiversity and ecosystems, and provide Read More…

China’s new war front: Natural resource as a political tool

The Times of India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, during his recent meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, asked for more openness on Chinese dam building. Singh said Xi assured him that he would have his proposal for a joint monitoring mechanism "looked into". Beijing has now conveyed its response rebuffing the transparency idea. This snub is no surprise: China, the world`s most dammed Read More…

Water diversion project under fire

Bangkok Post Activists have voiced their opposition to Deputy Prime Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi's plan to divert water from the Salween and Mekong rivers to feed the water-starved Northeast. The proposed projects are not the right solution to the drought problem in the region, they said. Mr Plodprasop, who chairs the government's Water Management and Flood Prevention Commission, said last Read More…

Delta ecosystems under threat

Vietnam Net Uncontrolled exploitation of natural resources has weakened or completely destroyed many of the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta's ecosystems, experts said at an annual forum last Friday. More than 200 scientists, policymakers from ministries as well as officials of the 13 Delta provinces, representatives from international conservation and development organisations, research institutes Read More…

Banned super-trawler in new troubled waters

The Age The outcast super-trawler Margiris has found a new place to go - one of the world's most troubled jack mackerel fisheries in the South Pacific. Banned by the federal government because of doubts over its impact on Australia's small pelagic fishery, the Margiris left Australia in March, and was this week tracked down off Chile. The giant factory-freezer ship anchored near the port Read More…