The Bay of Bengal (BoB) region is emerging as an important focal point for climate security risks. This is largely due to a multi-layered interplay of geopolitical, geostrategic, and climate-related regional dynamics. It forms the final leg between West and East Asia. The region is one of the most climate-vulnerable …
South-East Asia is regularly hit by droughts. Though starting slowly, droughts can have devastating cumulative impacts – striking hardest at the poor and heightening inequality, as well as degrading land and increasing the prospects of violent conflict. There will be many more dry years ahead, and the area affected by …
The number of cases of measles — one of the world’s most contagious diseases — is climbing, warned the World Health Organisation (WHO), stating that preliminary global data shows that reported cases rose by 300% in the first three months of 2019, compared to the same period in 2018. In …
Beyond a metal gate in Ranong, a port town in southern Thailand, a warehouse is filled nearly wall to wall and floor to ceiling with bags of illegally sourced charcoal. Children linger outside the building and ride their bicycles as their parents toil inside. The eastern side of the warehouse …
South-East Asia is regularly hit by droughts. Ready for the Dry Years offers a clear analysis of this subject, assessing prospects for the decades ahead and highlighting the principal risks. Though starting slowly, droughts can have devastating cumulative impacts – striking hardest at the poor and heightening inequality, as well …
This report’s aim is to raise awareness on El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events among Myanmar’s policy makers and stakeholders. Particularly, the aim is to guide them on preparedness and resiliency building measures. It does this by providing information on ENSO’s social, poverty, economic, and agricultural impacts in Myanmar and outlining …
Farmers and authorities throughout Asia need to be vigilant against fall armyworm invasions, after confirmation that the fast-moving pest has spread from India to China and now to South-East Asia, agricultural experts say. Farmers and authorities throughout Asia need to be vigilant against fall armyworm invasions, after confirmation that the …
Based on a literature review, this brief presents key findings and recommendations to understand the current state of scientific knowledge on the policies and practices for water management in times of scarcity in the Mekong Region. Managing water resources in an equitable and sustainable manner in the context of climate …
Using survey information from the 'Rapid Response Research' (RRR) initiative, this report assesses the relationship and role of financial services in strengthening resilience in eastern Myanmar. The Rapid Response Research project seeks to gather information on households’ resilience to climate extremes and its determinants. Under the wider 'Building Resilience and …
The London-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) is sounding the alarm over what it calls a “shadowy agreement” made by the Myanmar government to allow the logging and export of 5,000 tons of hardwood timber, including 3,000 tons of highly prized teak. In a statement, the EIA says that the timber …
At least five people have been killed and over 95,000 people have been forced to flee their homes by widespread flooding in seven states and regions during the past week, the Disaster Management Department said. It said two people died in the floods in Magwe, and one each in Tanintharyi, …
The food industry today faces a daunting task: feeding 10 billion mouths in a fair and sustainable way by 2050. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, food supply must more than double in 30 years to provide for the entire world. One in nine people around the …
“Pulse of the Forest” showcases both the threats and the potential for the forests of the Greater Mekong region, which consists of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. The region is one of 11 global deforestation fronts – areas that in the coming decades are projected to be responsible …
The Myanmar government must undertake reforms in its hydropower sector to prevent dam projects from negatively impacting rural ethnic minority communities in southeastern Kayin state, where electrification rates are lowest in the nation, according to a report issued by two ethnic Karen NGOs. The 31-page report titled “Development or Destruction? …
Achieving the goal of climate resiliency of food systems is increasingly recognized by the global development community. Yet operationalizing such a goal remains a challenge at national-level policy systems. In this paper, develop a policy and investment framework that can help in tracking climate-resilient actions as part of the development …
This health impact assessment framework serves as a guide to manage health risks and impacts in economic zones of the Greater Mekong Region and address transboundary issues associated with human migration. Across the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), there are over 500 special economic zones (SEZs) and industrial zones located near …
Myanmar has seen an increase in the number of elephants killed over the past several years, with some of the carcasses found skinned. A report by the U.K.-based conservation group Elephant Family has identified growing demand for elephant skin products from Myanmar’s giant neighbor, China, which it blames for driving …
The concept of the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) is built around low socioeconomic status (SES) and poverty as the most important social determinants [1]. Poor health is not confined to poor people, but the burden of poor health is disproportionately greater within poor communities. A combination of insufficient social programs, …
The initiative known as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, Conservation and Enhancement of Forest Carbon and Sustainable Forest Management (REDD+) focuses on avoiding deforestation and forest degradation, conserving and sustainably managing forests, and enhancing forest carbon stocks. Over the last few years, REDD+ activities in developing countries have …
Erratic rainfall has a detrimental impact on crop productivity but rainfall during the specific growth stage is rarely used in efficiency analysis. This study focuses on this untapped point and examines the influence of rainfall specifically encountered during the sowing stage and early vegetative growth stage and the flowering stage …
Plastic waste can promote microbial colonization by pathogens implicated in outbreaks of disease in the ocean. We assessed the influence of plastic waste on disease risk in 124,000 reef-building corals from 159 reefs in the Asia-Pacific region. The likelihood of disease increases from 4% to 89% when corals are in …
