As Singapore looks to establish itself as a carbon services and trading hub, jobs in the green economy to help businesses decarbonise and implement their net-zero strategies are now in hot demand.

Firms looking to hire foreigners for certain roles in this sector will find it easier to do so with a new points-based Employment Pass framework that will be launched on Sept 1.

Four roles – namely carbon verification and audit specialist, carbon trader, carbon programme manager and carbon standards and methodology analyst – will draw extra points on top of criteria such as educational qualification and salary.

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The post Jobs in green economy in hot demand as S’pore looks to become carbon services hub first appeared on Open Development Mekong.

For the next few decades, HCMC’s urban planning will focus on adapting to the impacts of climate change, including floods and rising sea levels.

The post HCMC urban planning to focus on climate change adaptation first appeared on Open Development Mekong.

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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The post Enhanced political trust key for Mekong countries to cope with challenges: Premier Li first appeared on Open Development Mekong.

Life expectancy among Hanoians is reduced by 2.49 years on average due to exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), a recent study indicates.

The post Air pollution cuts Hanoian lifespan by 2.5 years: study first appeared on Open Development Mekong.

How big were the world’s ancient cities? At its height, the world’s first city of Uruk may have had about 40,000 people about 5,000 years ago. In the medieval period, London may have had a population of about a quarter of a million people, growing to approximately 600,000 by the early 17th century.

One of the world’s largest ancient cities lay in the jungles of Southeast Asia in the greater Angkor region located in contemporary Cambodia. This medieval site was home to the Angkor or Khmer Empire from the ninth to 15th centuries. You might be familiar with the famous Angkorian temple, Angkor Wat, one of the largest religious monuments in the world.

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The post A metropolis arose in medieval Cambodia – new research shows how many people lived in the Angkor Empire over time first appeared on Open Development Mekong.

In the rugged province of Xieng Khoaung in upper northern Laos are scattered more than 2,000 large carved stone jars. They vary in size, with the biggest standing at just over 2.5 metres tall and weighing in at 30 tonnes. The jars are believed to have been used for funerary purposes, with human remains (including teeth) found buried around some of the jars.

Our Lao-Australian archaeological research team has been working to unlock some of the secrets of the Laos jar sites since 2016.

2020 was our fourth field season and the team headed back to Laos with a mission to complete survey expeditions in some of the less-frequented regions of northern Laos, and excavate at a location at Site 1 (known as Ban Hai Hin) – the most visited of the 11 UNESCO World Heritage listed jar sites.

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The post Laos Jars are Slowly Revealing their Secrets first appeared on Open Development Mekong.

Thai roads are among the most deadly in the world and most of the fatal accidents involve motorcycles. We already know that, but a recent study now shows that 80% of motorcycle accidents are related to cars cutting in front of oncoming traffic.

Honda and Yamaha partnered with the Thailand Accident Research Centre for the full report which reviewed 1,000 motorcycle accidents that took place between 2016 and 2020. The study will help find solutions to help reduce the number of accidents.

While Dutch national Wesley Halbach sits in Thai jail over charges related to the dodgy money-making app/website SPM Shopping Mall, which scammed thousands of Thais and foreigners, a GoFundMe page has been set up, asking for donations to help pay bail for his bail, hire a lawyer and reunite Wesley with his family overseas. The page claims that the 37 year old father is a “victim of a big set up.”

Wesley is accused of being an admin monitor for the SPM Shopping Mall website and Line app as well as inviting people to join the scheme. Several Phuket residents filed complaints with police, accusing Wesley of tricking them into making an investment. He was arrested on charges of defrauding others and conducting an online scam.

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The first phase of redeveloping the Benjakitti Park will be completed by June 2021 to be open for Mother’s Day, deputy government spokesperson Traisuree Taisaranakul said.

The overall construction plan is expected to be completed by February 2022.

The first eight months in phase one are focused on completing the garden by June 2021 to honour the Queen Mother on her birthday on August 12, 2021.

Renovation work on the sports building and a museum will be completed in February 2022.

Benjakitti Forest Park Project (phase 2-3), a park spread over 259 rai, is being built to fulfil the royal wishes of the late HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej The Great and Her Majesty Queen Sirikit the Queen Mother of “planting a forest in the hearts of people” by creating an urban forest.

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The post New lung of Bangkok expected to fully ready in Feb 2022 first appeared on Open Development Mekong.

Thailand finds itself in a pressure cooker these days, dealing with pre-Covid-19 economic weaknesses, the lack of longer-term responses to the economic and social crises from the pandemic, and uncertainty about how much longer people can hold on before falling into poverty, losing jobs or closing small businesses.

This is the picture of Thai society that emerged from a recent World Bank discussion on vulnerable populations in this middle-income country, one whose success in managing Covid-19 is well-known globally.

Less known, though, are pre-existing conditions in Thailand that weakened its immunity against shocks such as the pandemic, and threaten to reverse major development gains in a country whose poverty rate fell from 65.2% in 1988 to 8.4% in 2019.

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The post OPED: The pressure cooker that is Thailand first appeared on Open Development Mekong.

Vietnam’s top leaders have resolved to become at least a middle-income country over the next five years, an about-face from abject poverty in the 1980s, by attracting more foreign investment in manufacturing.

The Communist Party’s Central Committee wrapped up a plenary session October 8 held to chart macroeconomic goals, and a deputy planning minister said separately that Vietnamese people should earn around $5,000 per year on average by 2025, up from $2,750 now.

Vietnam would reach that milestone — middle income or higher in World Bank terms — by extending 10-year-old economic reforms that now attract foreign investors to the country that’s seen as a manufacturing peer to world factory powerhouse China.

Their investment creates jobs and raises incomes among Vietnam’s 97 million people. Vietnam is now lower middle-income.

The government is likely to stimulate new wealth by improving infrastructure and offering incentives to investors for production of high-value electronics. Prized investors today include Intel and Samsung Electronics.

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The post Vietnam Plans to Become Solid Middle-Class Nation by 2025 first appeared on Open Development Mekong.