The People’s Party (PP) has called on the government to tackle arsenic contamination from foreign mining, spreading from northern rivers to the Mekong in the Northeast. It is urging immediate talks with China, Myanmar and Laos.

PP deputy spokesman and Chiang Mai MP Phattarapong Leelaphat posted on Facebook on Saturday, accusing authorities of ignoring the toxic contamination. Arsenic levels in Mekong River passing Loei, Bueng Kan, Nong Khai and Nakhon Phanom provinces exceeded safety standards, yet officials withheld the information from the public, he said.

The pollution originates from neighbouring countries’ mining operations, but the government has failed to act. While contamination in northern rivers such as the Kok, Sai and Salween has long been known, the problem is now spreading to the Northeast, he added.

The post People’s Party warns of Mekong arsenic threat, calls for urgent regional talks first appeared on Open Development Mekong.

The worries and woes about the impacts of China’s dams along the Mekong River have been simmering since their construction more than two decades ago.

But there is one big difference today. Recorded data, such as that reported in the Mekong Dam Monitor online platform, describes — and confirms — that the way these dams are being operated is upsetting the river system’s natural balance and undercutting its life-sustaining rhythms such as the Mekong flood pulse.

The monitor’s data are used to issue early warnings to downstream communities about changes in river levels of half a metre or more due to releases from China’s dams, events that can lead to flooding.

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When scientists described the Popa langur (Trachypithecus popa) as a species new to science in 2020, it was already staring extinction in the face. Fewer than 260 of the fluffy gray leaf-eating monkeys are estimated to remain across four precariously isolated patches of forest on Myanmar’s central plains, where their survival is threatened by habitat loss and hunting.

And the Popa langur is not alone in its plight. Some 90% of non-human primate species in the Greater Mekong region are listed as threatened with extinction (vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered) on the IUCN Red List, according to a report published earlier this month by WWF.

Deforestation, habitat degradation, and hunting to supply the wildlife trade have driven many of the region’s gibbons, lorises, langurs, macaques and snub-nosed monkeys to the brink of extinction, the report says. It incorporates the latest updates to the IUCN species assessments, in which one-quarter of the primate species in the region were bumped to a higher category of threat.

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Destination Mekong became a proud signatory of the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism at the COP26. 

As part of its efforts to play a leadership role in the global tourism community, Destination Mekong became a signatory and launch partner of the Glasgow Declaration on climate Action in Tourism, which was launched on 4 November 2021 during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26).  

Founded in 2017, Destination Mekong (DM) is the regional tourism organization dedicated to championing the Mekong region, comprising Cambodia, PR China (Provinces of Guangxi and Yunnan), Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam, as a sustainable and inclusive tourism destination.   

The Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism unites travel and tourism behind a common set of pathways for climate action, aligning the sector with global commitments and catalyzing collaborative solutions to the many challenges facing businesses and destinations globally.  

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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang urged a closer connection and stronger political mutual trust among Mekong countries amid challenges, including the uncertain world economy and the still rampant COVID-19 pandemic at the 7th Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Leaders’ Summit held on Thursday via video conference. Experts said political trust is the cornerstone of the GMS mechanism, warning that intervention from other countries remains a challenge but will not shake members’ determination to cooperate.

The summit, chaired by Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen, centered on the theme of strengthening partnership and coping with new challenges, focusing on high-priority sub-regional projects in the fields of traffic, energy, agriculture, tourism, and urban development. 

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After United States Secretary of State Antony J Blinken announced the US pledge to donate $52 million to Mekong countries for development, NGOs have come forward asking the government to utilise the donation with transparency.

NGO Forum executive director Tek Vannara said that the donation will enable the government to have the technical capacity to participate in the sustainable use of water in the Mekong River, especially sharing information on data consumption of the entire river as well as promoting development plans in the Mekong River.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Koy Kuong told Khmer Times that it is not yet known how the donation would be allocated between the Mekong region countries, however, the budget focuses on the development of four sectors along the Mekong River.

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Climate Change is one of the biggest threats humanity has ever faced. By all accounts, and if not mitigated, it will have a devastating impact on life as we know it: rising sea levels that inundate coast lines causing mass migration on a level never experienced before; draughts and floods disrupting food systems; and, the mass extinction of animal species.

But it doesn’t stop there. Bill Gates recently said that “if we’re going to prevent a climate disaster, climate-specific interventions and solutions aren’t enough. We need to be thinking about the indirect effects, too, like how a warmer planet will affect global health”.

We notice extreme climate events. Floods, heat waves, burning forests and droughts capture the headlines. Cyclone Amphan that recently hit India’s coast and neighboring Bangladesh, is the kind of storm, that scientists warn will become more frequent with climate change. But the health effects of climate change go well beyond these visible events. Are we guilty of discounting the longer-term (both direct and indirect) impacts of climate change on health? Are we failing to plan for them? To some extent, yes. There is a real danger if we continue doing so.

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The post Opinion: Building climate resilience for malaria elimination first appeared on Open Development Mekong.

The post The coronavirus pandemic is an opportunity for organized crime in Asia first appeared on Open Development Mekong.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh on February 20 suggested that the Mekong-Lancang cooperation (MLC) should contribute to consolidating coordination between countries in handling regional challenges and bringing about long-term benefits for people.

The mechanism should aim for strengthening the economy’s resilience in the face of uncertainties, Minh said at the fifth MLC Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Vientiane, Laos.

He emphasised the need to focus resources on vulnerable sectors and those that serve as economic engines of member countries.

He elaborated that in agricultural cooperation, it is necessary to focus on raising technology capacity for businesses, and improving market stability and confidence for farm produce.

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