This report, “International Labour Migration in a Changing Climate”, provides insights from Malaysia and Thailand on how, and in what contexts, international labour migration can be a viable adaptation strategy to climate change. The report provides experiences and perspectives of migrant workers, employers and government representatives on the topic. This …
Sri Lanka Ministry of Health says it is taking several measures to eradicate the dengue menace in the country. The Minsitry says a feasibility study is under way to spray the larvicide Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (BTI) bacteria by air to prevent the spread of the dengue mosquito. The Ministry plans …
THE Mekong river, snaking its way through the heart of South-East Asia, has long sustained the world’s biggest and most productive inland fishery, supplying protein for around 65m mainly poor people from four riparian countries, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. But scientists warn that this ecosystem is gravely threatened by …
Stifling, dirty and dangerous, air pollution from traffic is one of the biggest headaches for Bangkok people, but most endure it even as they complain bitterly about it. With few options available to get the authorities to take action, three Bangkok citizens decided enough was enough and took the issue …
Cambodian, Lao and Thai officials are taking a 14-day training course to beef up cooperation in the fight against wildlife smuggling across international borders. The programme is organised by the Asean Wildlife Enforcement Network (Asean-WEN), the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) and the Freeland Foundation as part of a campaign …
A Supreme Administrative Court judge has recommended that a 2006 lower court decision holding the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) liable for creating air pollution be upheld. The judge delivered his opinion to the five-member chamber of the Supreme Administrative Court yesterday. The Foundation Against Air Pollution and for Protection …
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has instructed the Royal Forest Department (RFD) to suspend prosecutions against alleged forest encroachers pending a re-examination of evidence. The aim is to ensure fairness, RFD director-general Boonchob Sutthamanuswong said yesterday. The department has stepped up action against forest encroachers this year, focusing on resort operators …
This new report released by ADB analyzes potential fiscal and health, impacts of increasing cigarette taxes in China, India, Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam. Proposes increasing taxes on tobacco products to bring down the consumption and prevent deaths. This study analyzes the potential fiscal, health, and poverty impacts of increasing …
Second Asian Ministerial Conference: “This is not a pledge to save tigers, but a pledge to save humanity itself,” agriculture minister (Dr) Pema Gyamtsho said yesterday, at a follow up meet on the commitment that 13 tiger range countries made two years ago. The commitment then was to double the …
Why don't you sell it for Rs.5? Rs.1.2 lakh per month is too high." On September 11, Supreme Court Justices Aftab Alam and Ranjana Desai posed that question to Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG, fighting to patent its expensive cancer drug Glivec. The question wasn't just judicial speculation or indeed wit. …
The deluge was caused by breaches in the floodwall and the overflowing Yom River north of the flood barrier. The water flowed into Jarodwithee Road and flooded some residential areas. The floodwater was about 50cm high on average. Workers yesterday tried to repair the breaches and pump water out of …
A week of informal climate talks in Bangkok ended with concrete progress on key issues across all three negotiating groups, setting a firmer base for decisions that will be made at the UN Climate Change Conference this year, in Doha. “The investment in Bangkok has paid off. Government negotiators have …
They make no promise on extending financial and technology support to developing countries. With just a day left for the informal negotiating session on climate change in Bangkok to conclude, the chair of the Ad hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action (AWG-LCA), Aysar Tayeb of Saudi Arabia, expressed dismay …
"Villagers here want the dam. Only conservationists oppose it. They are not stakeholders like local people," said Rabieb Philuk, an assistant village head. Nirat Sriwongwan, a village head at Moo 2 in Nakhon Sawan's Lat Yao district, said villagers who support the project come together at public hearings to tell …
During the monsoons in Thailand, floods pose significant risks to the country’s population. Yet, despite its regular occurrence, the magnitude of economic losses arising from the consequences is poorly understood. This article focuses on the policy framework and institutional capacity of Thailand for handling the disaster effectively. Evidences based on …
This document reports on a resilience-building curriculum that includes laying the groundwork for addressing climate change and climate resilience, conducting a climate change vulnerability and risk assessment, and using this assessment and other materials to prepare an initial resilience strategy, developed in 15 cities in 5 countries — Vietnam, Indonesia, …
A seasonal storm that has lashed Uttaradit's Laplae district since Friday caused flash floods that swamped more than 500 houses and 10,000 rai of farmland in two tambons yesterday. Children wade through floodwater caused by torrential rains in tambon Thung Yang of Uttaradit’s Laplae district yesterday morning. The downpour brought …
Increased rainfall and temperature due to climate change could bring benefits to South-East Asian agriculture, a study suggests, contradicting more common expectations that a warmer planet will reduce agricultural productivity in the region. Scientists from the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) have predicted that precipitation levels in vast areas of …
Singapore will move towards cleaner fuel and reduce sulfur emissions from cars and industries by 2014 in a bid to keep up with global changes, the country's National Environment Agency said. As the number of vehicles in the world grows, boosted by surging numbers in Asia, several nations have stepped …
A mysterious new disease has left a number of people in Asia and some in the US with AIDS-like symptoms even though they are not infected with HIV. The disease affects the immune system of the patient and damages it, leaving him incapable to repulse germs as healthy people can. …
Scientists on Wednesday said they had developed a strain of rice that grows well in soils lacking the nutrient phosphorus, a feat that could boost crop yields for some farmers by as much as a fifth. The announcement ends a quest to pinpoint a mystery gene that helps the roots …
