Environment and natural resources
Water resources
'Nothing about the Mekong is normal now’: Anger along Southeast Asia’s great river as water levels become unpredictable
Thailand: From a distance, it is hard to make sense of the small patches of green emerging from the cracking mud flats of the Mekong River. They are not oases, nor sprouts of river grass along dusty channels where water normally flows; they are golf greens.Recently, ...
Feel the people’s power flow
Amid the jubilation, there was a brief moment of uneasiness. Last September, during a ceremony to award the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Equator Prize held at the Boon Rueang wetland forest in Chiang Rai province, participants noticed the ground was much drier than it ...
Mekong river level critically low
The Mekong River is currently only a little over one metre deep as it flows through this northeastern border province, posing a threat of severe drought during the dry season.Officials said the river level is dropping faster than in recent years due to the construction ...
Pattanapong Sripiachai
China Dams Continue to Hinder Water Flow on the Mekong River
China’s water relations with Thailand and the other lower Mekong countries are once again under strain after Beijing held up the Mekong River’s flow at one of its large dams upstream, precipitating a sudden drop in volume for downstream countries that share the region’s longest ...
Thailand NGO seeks halt to Mekong dam project in Laos, as threat to Asean's most vital waterway grows
A civic group in Thailand is petitioning the country’s financial institutions to withhold construction loans for the Luang Prabang dam project along the Mekong River in Laos amid warnings about the negative environmental risks the dams pose and the potential for the displacement of families ...
Prayut calls for action on sea pollution
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered officials to be diligent in solving the kingdom’s rubbish problem after acknowledging that about 40% of waste went into the ocean last year, according to Traisuree Taisaranakul, deputy government spokeswoman.The prime minister yesterday voiced his concerns after being briefed ...
Bangkok Post Reporter
Panel told tap water 'too salty' to be safe
Thailand is urgently tackling a saltwater intrusion problem after the amount of sodium in tap water exceeded the standard level.The president of a subcommittee in charge of managing the Chao Phraya, Ping, Wang, Yom and Nan water basins, Weerakorn Khamprakob, said sodium in tap water ...
Bangkok Post Reporter
Anti-flooding plans agreed
A government committee on Thursday approved four flood prevention projects in Bangkok and a water supply project in Pattani.The projects were approved at a meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon, said Office of National Water Resources (ONWR) secretary-general Somkiat Prajamwong.Keep reading ...
Bangkok Post Reporter
Chinese dams under U.S. scrutiny in Mekong rivalry
A U.S.-funded project using satellites to track and publish water levels at Chinese dams on the Mekong river was announced on Monday, adding to the superpowers’ rivalry in Southeast Asia.The 4,350-kilometer waterway — known as the Lancang in China and flowing south through Myanmar, Laos, ...
PM tells agencies to be ready to tackle drought next year
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered all related state agencies to prepare measures to mitigate the drought next year, government deputy spokesperson Ratchada Thanadirek said.The Office of the National Water Resources has reported that it has developed 526 key water projects this year.Keep reading ...
The Nation Reporter
