News - Open Development Mekong

Vietnam–Laos ties: strategic cohesion

Vietnam and Laos have scaled up bilateral relations to the highest level of friendship and cooperation, known as “Great friendship, special solidarity, comprehensive cooperation and strategic cohesion”. It is a new framework between the two former Indochinese countries. The emphasis is on strategic cohesion. Vietnam’s Party General Secretary To Lam’s state visit early this month […]

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New mapping reveals hidden mining boom in Laos that threatens the Mekong

BANGKOK — A new satellite analysis from U.S. think tank the Stimson Center has identified 517 suspected mines along rivers in Laos, including major tributaries of the Mekong, Southeast Asia’s longest river, heightening concerns about contamination of waterways that sustain local communities. Stimson has not ground-truthed the mine sites identified through satellite imagery, but Mongabay spoke […]

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Unregulated mining expands across Mekong region, raising concerns

Dec. 3 (UPI) — Unregulated mining across the Mekong region is accelerating at a pace that environmental researchers warn is outstripping governance, enforcement and ecological safeguards. From Myanmar’s jade-rich northern highlands to informal gold pits along Laos and Cambodia’s riverbanks, mineral extraction is expanding in some of Southeast Asia’s most fragile ecosystems, often beyond the reach […]

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People’s Party warns of Mekong arsenic threat, calls for urgent regional talks

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 […]

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Rare earth mining expands into Laos, threatening entire Mekong River

Satellite data show at least 27 new rare earth mines have opened across Laos since 2022, mostly in protected areas and many within the Mekong River Basin, raising transboundary pollution risks for Vietnam and the wider Mekong system. New data show a recent proliferation of rare earth mines across river basins in Laos, potentially posing […]

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Lancang-Mekong countries vow to target telecom and cyber fraud

Senior officials from China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam pledged at a ministerial-level meeting on Friday to deepen law enforcement cooperation and launch coordinated crackdowns targeting telecom and cyber fraud. Delegates from these countries convened in Kunming, Yunnan province, to focus on combating telecom and cyber fraud. They reaffirmed their shared determination to coordinate multinational crackdowns and […]

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Myanmar Junta’s ‘Raid’ on KK Park Scam Hub a PR Stunt: Locals, Experts

The Myanmar junta’s recent raid on the notorious KK Park scam hub near the Thai border in Myawaddy, Karen State was a staged public relations stunt coordinated with the Karen Border Guard Force (BGF) designed to mislead the international community into believing it is taking action against cybercrime, according to locals working in the area […]

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How journalism helps turn information into outcomes

The forest in northern Gabon didn’t look like a battleground. It was a patchwork of hunting trails and village paths, home to fruit trees and ancestral graves. When a logging concession encroached and the community of Massaha protested, their pleas traveled poorly through official channels. Then the story was reported, documented and read by people in a position […]

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Women-led patrols and fire prevention restore forests in northern Thailand

BAN PONG, Thailand — “Look at these ones over here!” calls Chamran Tahpan, as she crouches next to a mound of damp leaves on the forest floor. A cluster of mushrooms sprouts from the center of the earthy-smelling pile. “These are hed khon, termite mushrooms,” says Rachaprapa Kamphud, 55, who leads the Ban Pong community forest […]

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Climate Disinformation Can Impact Indigenous People’s Work – Report

Asia Centre’s first of seven report reveals that climate disinformation puts indigenous people at risk of proper decision-making and action to protect themselves, urging the media to ensure circulation of accurate information Failure to address climate disinformation could hinder indigenous people’s agency from taking meaningful action against climate change and deforestation, a report found, suggesting […]

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