Environment and natural resources

Thailand is notorious for its ad hoc responses to recurring and foreseeable problems– from seasonal flooding and drought to fatal road accidents during holidays. In recent years, dangerously unhealthy smog caused by fine dust particles known as PM2.5 has become another predictable threat that has ...

We are drowning in plastics. Unless we change our behaviour, there will be more plastic by weight than fish in the ocean by 2050. Solving this crisis requires us to do more than just banning plastic straws. We need a paradigm shift. We must adopt ...

The government is bracing for salt water intrusion into four major rivers, including the Chao Phraya, as low fresh water levels may have affected tap water production. Authorities fear that a lack of fresh water will cause sea water to flow into inland rivers.Keep reading ...

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) collected close to 400,000 tonnes of garbage in canals across the capital over the past five years, the Department of Drainage and Sewerage says.Between 2015 and 2019, the BMA collected 387,261 tonnes of trash from 948 canals across Bangkok, Sansern ...

The Heinrich Böll Foundation (HBF) and Greenpeace held a press briefing last Thursday (12 December) at the Heinrich Böll Foundation Southeast Asia office in Bangkok, in which representatives of the two organizations called for a new global convention on the plastic crisis and for a ...

The Thai Royal Irrigation Department (RID) on Monday warned of low reserved water at major dams in the North East region and advised residents that the water left-over will only be sufficient for consumption.The RID, which is administered by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, ...

China has declared a 60-kilometre section of Mekong River off-limits to all types of boats indefinitely while rock blasting is undertaken to widen the channel for commercial shipping operations.China announced on Friday that operators of all types of boats should avoid entering the river from ...

With the PM 2.5 dust particle value once again exceeding the standard in Bangkok and surrounding areas, Department of Health director-general Dr Panpimol Wipulakorn predicted on Thursday (December 12) that the air pollution would escalate this weekend.“Currently the PM 2.5 level is at 101-200 by ...

From rivulets to regionwide river channels, the Southeast Asian region hosts dozens of rivers. The most well-known river in Southeast Asia is the Mekong River – spanning five countries in the region itself.The Mekong, which is also the 12th longest river in the world is ...

Smog returned to Bangkok with PM 2.5 dust exceeding safe levels at seven monitoring stations on Tuesday morning, up to 57 microgrammes per cubic metre of air.The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s environment office reported tha levels of particulate matter 2.5 microns or less in diameter (PM2.5) ...