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 …
Threatened by air pollution from the Mae Moh lignite-fired power plant, the people of Ban Hua Fai in Thailand are fast losing patience. Hundreds of villagers suffering from respiratory problems now vow to push for relocation, which has been delayed for almost two years. The villagers accuse the Electri-city Generating …
THAILAND is all set to drag the us government to the dispute settlement panel of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) for letting Rice Tec, the Texas-based seed company, use the name "jasmati" as a trademark for selling a variety of rice. The US company perhaps wants to mislead consumers into …
TACHILEK bustles with activity. A busy tourist market, its streets are thronged by buyers, who have travelled many miles to get here. In smuggling circuits, Tachilek is known for selling everything from US-made Marlboros to Chinese fabric. However, buyers flock to this town, not for American cigarettes or cheap Chinese …
Laboratory analyses of water taken from a creek passing through Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary show "startling and scary' levels of lead contamination, says Sirithan Pairojboriboon, director-general, Thailand Pollution Control Department. The contamination, measured at 0.0058 milligram per litre (mg/l) upstream, increased by 18 times as the creek passed the …
rice tec inc, the us seed company that sent shock waves across India by staking patent rights on a particular variety of basmati rice at the us Patent and Trademark Office, will not be able to pull the same trick on Thailand. Thai farmers have pledged to protect Khao Dawk …
The venom of the Malaya pitviper Calloselasma rhodostoma , collected from Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Java, shows considerable variations in its chemical composition. The pattern of variation is due to the changes in the diet of the snakes in these regions. Since the function of the venom is to immobilise …
The world's biggest exporter of rice now faces a serious threat: rodents. Peasants, struggling with the country's hard hit economy, are breeding Nutria coypu , or beaver rats, in a bid to make money selling their meat and fur. But ecologists fear that the get-rich-quick craze will eventually end in …
The Thailand government's ambitious plans of buying natural gas from Burma and transporting it home through pipelines have met with stiff opposition from the local residents and nature conservation groups. This is because the pipelines would pass through forests and the construction work would damage the forest cover to a …
villagers in Thailand have threatened to seal the forests in Kanchanaburi if the government did not stop work on the Thai-Burmese gas pipeline. They had earlier submitted a letter to Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai demanding that the pipeline be rerouted. At a protest rally on December 8, the villagers demanded …
Authorities in Thailand have warned that certain brands of cheap cosmetics sold in the markets could contain mercury and cause kidney failure or even death. The Food and Drug Administration has banned 21 harmful products found on sale in the country and has set up a hotline offering rewards to …
According to Bangkok gemologists, hundreds of dangerously radio-active gemstones are circulating in the Asian markets and some have even found their way into finished jewellery. Tests conducted by radiologists in the Thai capital have revealed radiation levels in some stones were more than 50 times the us safety limit. Experts …
Gemologists in Bangkok say that hundreds of dangerously radioactive gemstones are circulating in Asian markets and some of them have found their way into finished jewellery. Tests conducted by radiologists in the city revealed that some stones had radiation levels 50 times higher than that permissible under us standards. These …
On whether the World Bank ( wb ) has a hidden agenda while helping developing countries: I think its agenda has always been the belief that development can best take place in a free market system and that the role of the state in the economy should be reduced. Deregulation …
Thailand is drafting legislation to protect the rights of children born through artificial insemination. The bill, first of its kind in the country, is expected to be finished by the end of the year. The National Youth Bureau's subcommittee, responsible for the scrutiny of laws concerning the nation's youth, has …
A survey of five regional hospitals in 1983 found that over seven per cent of total poisoning cases were occupationally related. In 1984, a survey showed that the average lead level in the blood of workers at a Thai battery plant was in the range of 12 to 48 milligrammes …
Recently, six Thai elephants gave a big trunks-up to the first packaged food substituted for the rapidly disappearing plants they are used to eat, said a zoo official in Bangkok. "The elephants at Bangkok's Dusit zoo all ate with gusto when fed for several months with chewable tablets made of …
A health ministry official in Bangkok said recently that anthrax-hit Thailand will closely monitor a similar outbreak of the disease in Australia before banning the entry of beef and dairy imports from Down Under. However, most anthrax cases in Thailand were found in illegal slaughter houses where the people killed …
a recent report of the us state department has turned a blind eye to the illegal timber trade across the border of Thailand and Cambodia. In order to preserve its cordial relations with Thailand, the department has notified the us Congress that Thailand has effectively sealed its border with Cambodia …
A problem of mammoth proportions has besotted the Thai capital as well as Phuket, Pattaya and Chiangmai. Nearly 100 elephants from the northeastern part of the country have recently been brought to these areas to enable their mahouts earn a livelihood. While there are dangers posed by a rampaging elephant …
The land of white elephants has been named among one of the four honoured Asian countries which have managed to achieve self-sufficiency in food for growing and increasingly affluent populations. The other countries are China, India and Indonesia. The outstanding track records of these countries are documented in a recent …