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	<channel>
		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/laos/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Mon, 15 Jun 2026 04:42:45 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<title>Laos environmental news</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/laos/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>Southeast Asian nations chart important new course toward environmental justice (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/southeast-asian-nations-chart-important-new-course-toward-environmental-justice-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/southeast-asian-nations-chart-important-new-course-toward-environmental-justice-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Jun 2026 22:57:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[John Knox]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/08/11081601/jambi_220653_2560px-768x512-1.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321042</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Southeast Asia, Thailand, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Commentary, Conservation, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Law, and Social Justice]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have made an important commitment to environmental justice for the 680 million people who call this region home. Now comes the hard part: putting it into practice. Last October, ASEAN member states — Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have made an important commitment to environmental justice for the 680 million people who call this region home. Now comes the hard part: putting it into practice. Last October, ASEAN member states — Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam — adopted a Declaration on the Right to a Safe, Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment. They are currently in the process of drafting a regional plan of action to give it life. The right to a healthy environment as it’s usually called is now globally accepted as a fundamental human right. ASEAN first recognized this right in 2012 in the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration. In 2022, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the right in a virtually unanimous vote: 161 governments voted in favor, none against, and only eight abstained. At the national level, more than 100 countries now include it in their constitutions. Southeast Asia enjoys a rich natural heritage, like this coral reef in the Philippines, that supports the lives and livelihoods of millions of people. Image courtesy of Jett Britnell/Coral Reef Image Bank. At the same time, international tribunals and domestic courts have made strides in clarifying what the right requires. In July 2025, the International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, issued an opinion on climate change in which it said the human right to a healthy environment is inherent and essential for other human rights, including&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/southeast-asian-nations-chart-important-new-course-toward-environmental-justice-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/southeast-asian-nations-chart-important-new-course-toward-environmental-justice-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>27 Moon Bears rescued from illegal Laos bile farm</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/27-moon-bears-rescued-from-illegal-laos-bile-farm/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/27-moon-bears-rescued-from-illegal-laos-bile-farm/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Jun 2026 02:39:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/01023847/27-bears-saved-from-illegal-bile-farm_Free-the-bears3-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=320379</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Laos, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Bears, Conservation, Crime, Illegal Trade, Mammals, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In what was described as the largest bear farm rescue in Southeast Asia, authorities in Laos in conjunction with the international NGO Free the Bears freed 27 Asiatic black bears from a foreign-owned illegal bear bile farm in Laos. All 27 rescued bears were transferred to the Luang Prabang Wildlife Sanctuary, operated by Free the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In what was described as the largest bear farm rescue in Southeast Asia, authorities in Laos in conjunction with the international NGO Free the Bears freed 27 Asiatic black bears from a foreign-owned illegal bear bile farm in Laos. All 27 rescued bears were transferred to the Luang Prabang Wildlife Sanctuary, operated by Free the Bears, the organization said in a press release. “No animal should endure such cruelty,” Matt Hunt, Free the Bears CEO, said in a statement. “And we’re so glad we can now bring these 27 bears to the safety of our sanctuary where they can join more than 150 other bears rescued over the past 23 years.” The NGO said the bear bile facility was owned and operated by a Chinese national and was registered as a zoo to evade regulatory oversight, while operating as a commercial bile extraction site. During the raid, rescuers discovered infrastructure designed to hold up to 200 bears, suggesting a planned industrial-scale expansion that was thwarted. The rescued bears, aged between 1 and 3, are believed to have been poached from the wild as cubs, the NGO said. Bear bile farms across Southeast Asia often keep Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus), sometimes referred to as moon bears, in tiny cages, where their bile is extracted from their gallbladders for use in traditional medicine. “However, much of the use of bear products appears to be based more on traditions and beliefs than on actual medicinal values,” Chris Shepherd, senior conservation advocate for&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/27-moon-bears-rescued-from-illegal-laos-bile-farm/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/27-moon-bears-rescued-from-illegal-laos-bile-farm/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Dangerous arsenic levels detected in Thailand’s Mekong mainstream for first time</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/dangerous-arsenic-levels-detected-in-thailands-mekong-mainstream-for-first-time/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/dangerous-arsenic-levels-detected-in-thailands-mekong-mainstream-for-first-time/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 May 2026 02:47:35 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerald Flynn]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[mining]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/06/09223648/Fishers-Mekong-near-Chiang-Khong-3_stefan-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=318973</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, China, Laos, Mekong Basin, Myanmar, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Animals, Dolphins, Drinking Water, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Energy Transition, extractives, Farming, Fish, Fisheries, Freshwater, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Hydroelectric Power, Illegal Mining, Indigenous Peoples, Mining, Pollution, Rivers, Science, Tropics, Water, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BANGKOK — Thai authorities have found what they described as dangerous levels of arsenic contamination in sediment from the Mekong River and three of its tributaries in the northern provinces of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. Heavy metal pollution has been reported from key tributaries of the Mekong for more than a year now, but [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BANGKOK — Thai authorities have found what they described as dangerous levels of arsenic contamination in sediment from the Mekong River and three of its tributaries in the northern provinces of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. Heavy metal pollution has been reported from key tributaries of the Mekong for more than a year now, but the tests conducted in March by Thailand’s Pollution Control Department mark the first time that arsenic contamination has been detected on the mainstream of the Mekong, a vital transboundary river that supports thousands of plant and wildlife species and the livelihoods of millions of people. The test results published in mid-April show that sediment taken from three separate monitoring stations along the Mekong mainstream contained arsenic concentrations of between 73 and 296 milligrams per kilogram of sediment. According to the Pollution Control Department, concentrations of less than 10 mg/kg are considered broadly safe for aquatic life; levels higher than 33 mg/kg are deemed dangerous. Arsenic levels in sediment taken from various points along the Kok, Sai and Ruak rivers, key tributaries of the Mekong, all ranged from below the 33 mg/kg safe limit up to 57 mg/kg, the Pollution Control Department said via its official Facebook page, noting the contamination appears to be spreading through the river system. Thailand&#8217;s Pollution Control Department posted results of the sediment tests to their official Facebook page on April 10, 2026. Image sourced from the Pollution Control Department&#8217;s Facebook. Heavy metal pollution in the Mekong Basin has been widely&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/dangerous-arsenic-levels-detected-in-thailands-mekong-mainstream-for-first-time/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Laos can do more to mitigate chemical pollution of rivers flowing into Vietnam (analysis)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/laos-can-do-more-to-mitigate-chemical-pollution-of-rivers-flowing-into-vietnam-analysis/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/laos-can-do-more-to-mitigate-chemical-pollution-of-rivers-flowing-into-vietnam-analysis/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Apr 2026 02:43:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Pham Phan Long]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/29135516/4008934960_0289182d3a_o-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=318272</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Laos, Southeast Asia, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Analysis, Chemicals, Conservation, Environment, Environmental Law, Mining, Politics, Pollution, Rivers, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Southeast Asia’s growing demand for rare earth elements and gold, driven by global needs in electronics, renewable energy, defense and high-value commodities, has accelerated mining across the region. While Myanmar’s unregulated mines have drawn attention for contaminating Mekong River tributaries, monitored by the Mekong River Commission, an equally pressing but less scrutinized issue exists along [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Southeast Asia’s growing demand for rare earth elements and gold, driven by global needs in electronics, renewable energy, defense and high-value commodities, has accelerated mining across the region. While Myanmar’s unregulated mines have drawn attention for contaminating Mekong River tributaries, monitored by the Mekong River Commission, an equally pressing but less scrutinized issue exists along the river systems shared by Laos and Vietnam, where no comparable bilateral treaty provides oversight. River hydrology and the mining footprint The total population of Laos is less than 8 million. In northeastern Laos, particularly Houaphanh province (population 300,000), rapid expansion of rare earth and gold mining along the Nam Ma, Nam Sam and Nam Neun rivers poses significant transborder risks. These waterways flow into Vietnam as the Song Ma, Song Chu and Song Lam rivers, where they sustain drinking water, agriculture and fisheries for approximately 10 million people in Vietnam’s Thanh Hoa, Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces. Pollutants can travel downstream within hours, creating urgent needs for cross-border cooperation. Satellite analysis from the Stimson Center’s interactive River Basins Dashboard shows 21 mines directly impacting these river systems in Laos. Contamination seen in these interconnected basins mirrors contamination patterns seen in Mekong tributaries affected by upstream mining in Myanmar, where toxins have devastated fisheries downstream in Laos and Thailand. Stimson’s dashboard shows 2,539 riverine mines in the region, including more than 500 rare earth mines concentrated in Myanmar and Laos. Many employ in-situ leaching techniques that use large volumes of river water and chemicals&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/laos-can-do-more-to-mitigate-chemical-pollution-of-rivers-flowing-into-vietnam-analysis/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Saving crocodiles from extinction</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/saving-crocodiles-from-extinction/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/saving-crocodiles-from-extinction/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Apr 2026 06:47:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhishyant Kidangoor]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Lucia Torres]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/28064240/Fig.-5-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=318252</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Laos, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Extinction, Hunting, Over-hunting, Reptiles, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Community-led efforts are helping revive and save Siamese crocodiles from the brink of extinction. Siamese crocodiles are native to Southeast Asia and considered guardians of the wetlands by many communities. However, their population declined drastically due to hunting and habitat loss as a result of which they have been declared a critically endangered species. In [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Community-led efforts are helping revive and save Siamese crocodiles from the brink of extinction. Siamese crocodiles are native to Southeast Asia and considered guardians of the wetlands by many communities. However, their population declined drastically due to hunting and habitat loss as a result of which they have been declared a critically endangered species. In Laos, a conservation program led by local groups is helping revive the population. They collect eggs from wild nests and raise baby crocodiles till they are ready to go back into the wild. Watch this video to learn more.This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/saving-crocodiles-from-extinction/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/saving-crocodiles-from-extinction/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>In Laos, ancestral spirits are helping save one of the world&#8217;s rarest crocodiles</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/in-laos-ancestral-spirits-are-helping-save-one-of-the-worlds-rarest-crocodiles/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/in-laos-ancestral-spirits-are-helping-save-one-of-the-worlds-rarest-crocodiles/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Mar 2026 13:36:10 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/24223626/Monks-at-Crocodile-release--768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=316206</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Laos, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Charismatic Animals, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Herps, Indigenous Peoples, Tropical Forests, Water, Wetlands, Wildlife, and Wildlife Rescues]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When village conservation teams find a Siamese crocodile nest in the Xe Champhone wetlands of central Laos, they move fast, collecting eggs within 24 hours before poachers, predators or floods can reach them. But before they touch the eggs, there’s a ritual, and offerings are made to the spirits. With the spirits appeased, villagers carry [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When village conservation teams find a Siamese crocodile nest in the Xe Champhone wetlands of central Laos, they move fast, collecting eggs within 24 hours before poachers, predators or floods can reach them. But before they touch the eggs, there’s a ritual, and offerings are made to the spirits. With the spirits appeased, villagers carry the eggs to hatch in the village, where the baby crocs&#8217; chances of hatching are nearly five times higher than in the wild. Oudomxay Thongsavath, program manager at Wildlife Conservation Society and a native of the region, has been involved with the program since its start. He told Mongabay that locals make an offering and explain to the spirits, “We collect the egg, we incubate it in the village, and we return your children back to your area … Please take care of them. Make sure they are safe in the future when they go back to their habitat.&#8221; Fewer than 1,000 though Siamese crocodiles (Crocodylus siamensis) are estimated to survive on Earth.  Photo courtesy of WCS Of the world&#8217;s 27 crocodilian species, the Siamese crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis) is among just four classified as critically endangered. Fewer than 1,000 are thought to survive on Earth. Locals say that to harm a Siamese crocodile is to risk illness, misfortune or death. Not because the crocodiles are particularly dangerous (as crocodiles go), but because these scaly beings are the living embodiment of their ancestors. That spiritual connection to crocodiles, upheld for generations in a landscape stripped of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/in-laos-ancestral-spirits-are-helping-save-one-of-the-worlds-rarest-crocodiles/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>The promise and perils of the 1995 Mekong River Agreement (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/the-promise-and-perils-of-the-1995-mekong-river-agreement-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/the-promise-and-perils-of-the-1995-mekong-river-agreement-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Mar 2026 09:52:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Pham Phan Long]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/03/30141735/communities-tonle-sap-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315485</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, China, Laos, Mekong Basin, Southeast Asia, Thailand, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Commentary, Conservation, Dams, Energy, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Fish, Freshwater, Governance, Hydroelectric Power, Law, Politics, and Rivers]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The 1995 Mekong Agreement was meant to be a cornerstone of cooperation for Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam — promising equitable use, no significant harm, and joint management of the river. The Mekong River Commission was its steward, tasked with data sharing, project consultations, and protecting the basin’s health. Three decades on, the MRC’s 30-year [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[The 1995 Mekong Agreement was meant to be a cornerstone of cooperation for Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam — promising equitable use, no significant harm, and joint management of the river. The Mekong River Commission was its steward, tasked with data sharing, project consultations, and protecting the basin’s health. Three decades on, the MRC’s 30-year milestone in November 2025 painted a picture of “shared prosperity.” Officials highlighted flood warnings, environmental studies, and even China’s data-sharing nods. Despite the MRC’s claim that “working together is the only way forward” with “new solutions” to keep the Mekong a “river of life, not conflict,” this optimistic rhetoric has echoed for 30 years. In reality, the river faces “a death by a thousand cuts” — cumulative degradation from dams, sediment loss, sand mining, altered flows, and Lake Tonle Sap’s natural regulating role severely undermined — all of which the MRC’s 30-year approach has failed to stop. The 1995 Mekong Agreement and the disasters of dam-building spree Before 1995, the lower Mekong mainstream had zero large dams. The 1995 Agreement altered that. Laos built Xayaburi, operational since 2019, and Don Sahong, running since 2020. Those two alone sparked outrage from Cambodia and Vietnam over blocked fish routes and lost sediment. The PNPCA process, for prior notification and consultation, was supposed to lead to agreement. Instead, Laos treated objections as background noise and pushed ahead. Vietnam’s own tributary dams number 81; Laos, 75. Together, the basin’s total planned hydropower capacity is 23 gigawatts, drawing $50 billion&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/the-promise-and-perils-of-the-1995-mekong-river-agreement-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>New mapping reveals hidden mining boom in Laos that threatens the Mekong</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/new-mapping-reveals-hidden-mining-boom-in-laos-that-threatens-the-mekong/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/new-mapping-reveals-hidden-mining-boom-in-laos-that-threatens-the-mekong/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Dec 2025 05:02:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Andy BallGerald FlynnKonlaphat Siri]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[mining]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/10044442/l.-GP0KGK_Low-res-800px-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=310956</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Laos, Mekong Basin, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Chemicals, Ecosystems, extractives, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Global Environmental Crisis, Gold Mining, Governance, Illegal Mining, Mining, Pollution, Public Health, Rivers, Traditional People, Tropics, Water, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[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 [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[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 by phone with several government officials in Laos’s southern border province of Attapeu, home to 188 mines in the data, who said illegal mining remains widespread despite recent crackdowns. “We still see officials carrying out inspections and confiscating equipment” from illegal mines in Attapeu, said one government official who spoke to Mongabay on condition of anonymity due to the limited press freedoms in Laos. The analysis shines new light on the scale of mining in river basins across mainland Southeast Asia. The issue previously caught the spotlight in northern Thailand earlier this year after dangerous levels of arsenic were found to be flowing downstream from unregulated gold mines in Myanmar’s Shan state. A proliferation of rare earth mines in Laos and Myanmar has also raised concerns about deforestation, displacement of local communities, and the transboundary contamination of rivers flowing downstream into Thailand and Vietnam. Using satellite imagery analysis, the Stimson Center has produced a dataset of various mining types identified across mainland Southeast Asia&#8217;s river basins. Image by Emilie Languedoc / Mongabay. Besides Laos, the analysis flagged 1,868 mines in Myanmar, 17 in Cambodia and one in Malaysia, believed to be a mix of gold,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/new-mapping-reveals-hidden-mining-boom-in-laos-that-threatens-the-mekong/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/new-mapping-reveals-hidden-mining-boom-in-laos-that-threatens-the-mekong/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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					<title>Already disappearing, Southeast Asia’s striped rabbits now caught in global pet trade</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/already-disappearing-southeast-asias-striped-rabbits-now-caught-in-global-pet-trade/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/already-disappearing-southeast-asias-striped-rabbits-now-caught-in-global-pet-trade/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Nov 2025 12:40:47 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Spoorthy Raman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/25083030/Annamite_striped_rabbit_Nesolagus_timminsi-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=310103</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Southeast Asia, Sumatra, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Extinction, Governance, Habitat Loss, Illegal Trade, International Trade, Law, Mammals, Pet Trade, Pets, Poaching, Rodents, Tropical Forests, Wildlife, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the remote rainforest of Sumatra, Indonesia, and the Annamite Mountains straddling Vietnam and Laos, two species of nocturnal rabbits live elusive lives. These species, both of which have distinctive black stripes coloring their fur, are each known to occur in only a single habitat: the Sumatran striped rabbit (Nesolagus netscheri) is found only in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the remote rainforest of Sumatra, Indonesia, and the Annamite Mountains straddling Vietnam and Laos, two species of nocturnal rabbits live elusive lives. These species, both of which have distinctive black stripes coloring their fur, are each known to occur in only a single habitat: the Sumatran striped rabbit (Nesolagus netscheri) is found only in the western and southern parts of the island, and the Annamite striped rabbit (Nesolagus timminsi) saunters the Annamites. Both species are threatened by disappearing and ever-degraded rainforest habitats, and illegal snaring and poaching, pushing them to the brink of extinction. The IUCN Red List classifies Annamite striped rabbits as endangered and Sumatran striped rabbits as data deficient, meaning scientists do not know how many of them are left in the wild or how well their populations are faring. In a recent paper published in the journal Oryx, conservationists highlight an additional emerging threat to the species: international smuggling for the pet trade. A spate of recent seizures of live striped rabbits in India, which has seen increasing seizures of exotic wildlife species from across the world, highlights the growing trade in the species. All of the seized individuals came from Thailand, which has a thriving wildlife market. Indian authorities identified all seized rabbits as the Sumatran species, but the paper’s authors question that claim. The two species, despite having evolved separately for nearly 8 million years, are so similar that scientists have to peer into their DNA to tell them apart, or use a Vernier&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/already-disappearing-southeast-asias-striped-rabbits-now-caught-in-global-pet-trade/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/already-disappearing-southeast-asias-striped-rabbits-now-caught-in-global-pet-trade/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Toxic runoff from politically linked gold mine poisons Cambodian rivers, communities</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/toxic-runoff-from-politically-linked-gold-mine-poisons-cambodian-rivers-communities/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/toxic-runoff-from-politically-linked-gold-mine-poisons-cambodian-rivers-communities/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Nov 2025 08:17:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Andy BallGerald FlynnPhoung Vantha]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[mining]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/24072528/Header-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=310021</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Laos, Mekong Basin, Myanmar, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Chemicals, Corruption, Ecosystems, Fish, Fisheries, Freshwater, Global Environmental Crisis, Gold Mining, Governance, Illegal Logging, Illegal Mining, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Mining, Public Health, Rainforests, Rivers, Traditional People, Tropics, Waste, Water, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[*Sources have requested pseudonyms be used to protect their identity out of fear of retaliation from the government or mining companies BANGKOK, Thailand/RATANAKIRI, Cambodia — “When you touch the water of the O’Ta Bouk River, the mud will stick to your skin,” said Thao*. “It creates skin issues and we can’t catch fish this year anymore. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[*Sources have requested pseudonyms be used to protect their identity out of fear of retaliation from the government or mining companies BANGKOK, Thailand/RATANAKIRI, Cambodia — “When you touch the water of the O’Ta Bouk River, the mud will stick to your skin,” said Thao*. “It creates skin issues and we can’t catch fish this year anymore. It’s thick, like condensed milk. The oil from the machinery floats on the water surface, so it might affect our health, like our stomach or intestines.” On the quiet banks where the Sesan River and O’Ta Bouk River (also known as the Prek Liang River) meet in the northeastern Cambodian province of Ratanakiri, Ta Bouk village is where Thao calls home. The O’Ta Bouk River flows some 90 kilometers (56 miles) through Virachey National Park, one of Cambodia’s oldest protected areas, before feeding into the Sesan River and providing water to Ta Bouk village, just 2 km (1.2 mi) from the park’s border. The O’Ta Bouk has long sustained the Brao Indigenous communities who live, farm and fish along the river’s banks, providing them with clean, potable water for generations. But Thao’s village is just one of the hundreds across the Mekong region that have seen their life-giving rivers poisoned by toxic runoff from an explosion of unregulated mining, much of this is driven by surging gold prices, rising demand for rare earth elements and limited government oversight or environmental standards. Extensive satellite imagery analysis conducted by U.S. think tank the Stimson Center has uncovered&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/toxic-runoff-from-politically-linked-gold-mine-poisons-cambodian-rivers-communities/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Witch Hunt: Virulent fungal disease attacks South America’s cassava crop</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/witch-hunt-virulent-fungal-disease-attacks-south-americas-cassava-crop/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/witch-hunt-virulent-fungal-disease-attacks-south-americas-cassava-crop/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Nov 2025 16:20:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gloria Dickie]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/04133603/0-Amazon64_lo_2_5658784964-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=308791</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Asia, Brazil, French Guiana, Laos, Latin America, South America, Southeast Asia, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Climate, Climate Change, Commodity agriculture, Conservation, Crops, Diseases, Environment, Farming, Food, food security, Fungi, Indigenous Peoples, Rainforests, Subsistence Agriculture, and Traditional People]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As smallholder farmers in French Guiana walked their fields in 2023, they noted a disturbing pattern. Their healthy cassava plants, once green and thriving, had begun to turn yellow. Leaves wilted, stalks withered, and small shoots looking like broomsticks sprouted from the plants. When they dug up their harvest, instead of unearthing large foot-long bunches [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As smallholder farmers in French Guiana walked their fields in 2023, they noted a disturbing pattern. Their healthy cassava plants, once green and thriving, had begun to turn yellow. Leaves wilted, stalks withered, and small shoots looking like broomsticks sprouted from the plants. When they dug up their harvest, instead of unearthing large foot-long bunches of cassava, they found only stunted roots. The farmers reported the crisis to agricultural authorities, desperate to find a cure for their threatened crop. When international scientists arrived in 2024 to investigate the blight, they recognized their foe immediately. The witch had arrived in Latin America. Witches’ broom disease is a fungal pathogen, Ceratobasidium theobromae, that has been wreaking havoc on cassava crops in Southeast Asia for more than a decade, crippling yields and fueling economic hardship across that region. Plant scientists had hoped to contain the fungal pathogen to Asia. But since its arrival in South America in 2023, the disease — which attacks the plant’s vascular system — has spread into at least three Amazonian nations: It arrived first in French Guiana, is likely in Suriname, and is now sweeping through cassava production regions in the neighboring northern Brazilian state of Amapá, where it has decimated entire fields, and is also present in Pará state. Cooking cassava in Brazil. Cassava, also known as manioc and yuca, and for its tapioca flour, is native to South America, and an excellent source of carbohydrates. Image by Dennis G. Jarvis via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0).&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/witch-hunt-virulent-fungal-disease-attacks-south-americas-cassava-crop/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/witch-hunt-virulent-fungal-disease-attacks-south-americas-cassava-crop/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Most Cambodia &#038; Laos tree cover loss in 2024 happened inside protected areas</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/10/most-cambodia-laos-tree-cover-loss-in-2024-happened-inside-protected-areas/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/10/most-cambodia-laos-tree-cover-loss-in-2024-happened-inside-protected-areas/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Oct 2025 16:12:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shanna Hanbury]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/27160936/IMG-20240731-WA0018-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=308373</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Cambodia and Laos]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Law, Forests, Politics, Protected Areas, and Rainforests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[More than half of Cambodia and Laos’ tree cover loss in 2024 was recorded inside protected areas, Mongabay’s Gerald Flynn reports. The findings were a result of Mongabay’s analysis of satellite data published by the Global Land Analysis and Discovery laboratory at the University of Maryland, in partnership with Global Forest Watch. In Cambodia, 56% of the nation’s [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[More than half of Cambodia and Laos’ tree cover loss in 2024 was recorded inside protected areas, Mongabay’s Gerald Flynn reports. The findings were a result of Mongabay’s analysis of satellite data published by the Global Land Analysis and Discovery laboratory at the University of Maryland, in partnership with Global Forest Watch. In Cambodia, 56% of the nation’s tree cover loss was recorded within its protected area network last year. In Laos, the figure was 64%. Across the Mekong region, which includes Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, tree cover loss reached 991,801 hectares (about 2.5 million acres) in 2024, including nearly 220,000 hectares (544,000 acres) of primary forest. Estimated tree cover loss in the five Mekong nations. Image by Andrés Alegría/Mongabay. Cambodia Many of Cambodia’s forests are newly protected. In mid-2023, the Cambodian government added about 1.1 million hectares (2.6 million acres) of forest land to the country’s protected areas network. At the time, civil society groups raised concerns over the authorities’ ability to enforce protections over the expanded area, and the latest data seem to back them up. Forest loss in Cambodia was lower in 2024 than 2023 by 22.6%, but the nation lost an area around the size of urban São Paulo or New Delhi: 93,000 hectares (230,000 acres). Around 56% of this loss was inside protected areas. In some cases, government-supported projects are responsible for the losses. In Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary, for instance, where an estimated 9,346 hectares (23,094 acres) were lost, a new high-voltage transmission line has&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/10/most-cambodia-laos-tree-cover-loss-in-2024-happened-inside-protected-areas/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Rare earth mining expands into Laos, threatening entire Mekong River</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/rare-earth-mining-expands-into-laos-threatening-entire-mekong-river/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/rare-earth-mining-expands-into-laos-threatening-entire-mekong-river/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Oct 2025 02:17:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[mining]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/27015457/Laos-rare-earth-mine-leaching-ponds-2025-banner-image-V1-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=308321</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Southeast Asia, Thailand, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Critical Minerals, Drinking Water, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Energy Transition, extractives, Fisheries, Freshwater, Governance, Habitat Degradation, Illegal Mining, International Trade, Mining, Pollution, Protected Areas, Rivers, Toxicology, Traditional People, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BANGKOK — New data show a recent proliferation of rare earth mines across river basins in Laos, potentially posing a transboundary water pollution threat to Vietnam and the entire Mekong River system. The new findings suggest that Chinese demand for rare earth minerals has led to the industry’s expansion into Laos, even though rare earth mineral [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BANGKOK — New data show a recent proliferation of rare earth mines across river basins in Laos, potentially posing a transboundary water pollution threat to Vietnam and the entire Mekong River system. The new findings suggest that Chinese demand for rare earth minerals has led to the industry’s expansion into Laos, even though rare earth mineral extraction is currently illegal there. Research from U.S.-based think tank the Stimson Center has identified 27 rare earth mines that have opened across river basins in Laos since 2022, including seven identified via satellite imagery analysis as having opened this year. Twenty-three of these mines appear to be in protected areas, but it’s unclear whether or not they’re operating with permission from officials. Fifteen of these mines are operating within the Mekong River Basin: 12 on the Nam Khan River and three on the Nam Ngiep River, both of which feed into the Mekong, the roughly 4,900-kilometer (3,000-mile) river that flows from Tibet through Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam before emptying into the South China Sea. The Mekong River Basin is a biodiversity hotspot that sustains the lives of more than 50 million people who rely on it for food, water and livelihoods. Another 10 rare earth mines were identified by the Stimson Center on the Nam Hao and Nam Xan rivers, in the Ma River Basin, where they not only pose a transboundary risk to Vietnam, but also to the Nam Xam National Biodiversity Conservation Area on the border of Laos and Vietnam,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/rare-earth-mining-expands-into-laos-threatening-entire-mekong-river/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Protected areas hit hard as Mekong countries’ forest cover shrank in 2024</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/protected-areas-hit-hard-as-mekong-countries-forest-cover-shrank-in-2024/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/protected-areas-hit-hard-as-mekong-countries-forest-cover-shrank-in-2024/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Oct 2025 03:33:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerald Flynn]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[global forests]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/01/22033617/DJI_0794-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=307108</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Laos, Mekong Basin, Myanmar, Southeast Asia, Thailand, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, data, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Forest Loss, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Hydroelectric Power, Illegal Logging, Illegal Mining, Industrial Agriculture, Landscape Restoration, Logging, Mining, Protected Areas, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Reforestation, Remote Sensing, Sustainable Forest Management, Timber, timber trade, and Tropical Deforestation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BANGKOK — The Mekong countries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam lost a combined area of tree cover of nearly a million hectares in 2024, or an area almost the size of Lebanon. That’s according to Mongabay’s analysis* of satellite data published by the Global Land Analysis and Discovery (GLAD) laboratory at the University of Maryland, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BANGKOK — The Mekong countries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam lost a combined area of tree cover of nearly a million hectares in 2024, or an area almost the size of Lebanon. That’s according to Mongabay’s analysis* of satellite data published by the Global Land Analysis and Discovery (GLAD) laboratory at the University of Maryland, in partnership with Global Forest Watch (GFW). GFW data show 991,801 hectares (2.45 million acres) of tree cover were lost in 2024, including nearly 220,000 hectares (544,000 acres) of primary forest, across the five Mekong countries. More than 30% of tree cover loss recorded in 2024 occurred inside protected areas, although across the region, the rate of deforestation — both within protected areas and outside of them — slowed slightly from 2023. Despite this, the drivers of deforestation vary somewhat from country to country, and last year’s losses still reflect a grim trajectory for forests in the Mekong region. The economies of almost all Mekong countries are heavily reliant on agriculture, with forests cleared for both agribusiness-run plantations or subsistence farming plots. But research indicates the conversion of forest to croplands has resulted in increasingly unpredictable weather patterns and subsequently poorer agricultural yields. Illegal logging has also ravaged the Mekong’s forests, while large-scale infrastructure projects threaten critical ecosystems. Global Forest Watch data was used to calculate national level tree cover loss, while Mongabay&#8217;s analysis of GLAD data was used to calculate forest loss inside protected areas. Image by Andrés Alegría / Mongabay. Calamity in Cambodia’s protected&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/protected-areas-hit-hard-as-mekong-countries-forest-cover-shrank-in-2024/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>To track a unicorn: Laos team goes all out to find the last saolas</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/to-track-a-unicorn-laos-team-goes-all-out-to-find-the-last-saolas/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/to-track-a-unicorn-laos-team-goes-all-out-to-find-the-last-saolas/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Sep 2025 04:49:36 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/09/02105213/8-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=306770</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Laos, Southeast Asia, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Cattle, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Critically Endangered Species, DNA, Environment, Forests, Green, Innovation, Mammals, Snares, Tracking, Ungulates, Wildlife, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Few people have the opportunity to meet near-mythical beasts in real life — but Rob Timmins has. He’s one of the few biologists ever to spend time with a saola, a wild ox once known as the “Asian unicorn,” and arguably the most threatened large mammal on the planet. First described by science in 1993, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Few people have the opportunity to meet near-mythical beasts in real life — but Rob Timmins has. He’s one of the few biologists ever to spend time with a saola, a wild ox once known as the “Asian unicorn,” and arguably the most threatened large mammal on the planet. First described by science in 1993, the species, Pseudoryx nghetinhensis, has only ever been recorded alive a handful of times: five camera-trap detections, and a few individuals briefly held in captivity. Timmins met one of those captive animals, a female named Martha, in 1996 after she was captured by villagers in Laos and taken to a nearby facility. She survived there only a few weeks before passing away. Martha was “truly beautiful amidst all the sadness of her captivity,” says Timmins, who is now chief technical adviser of the Saola Foundation for Annamite Mountain Conservation. “In behavior, [she] was very unlike any other ungulate I’d ever seen. Very docile, seemingly very calm.” The saola’s peaceful nature has in fact earned it a nickname in a Lao dialect: Saat Supphap, which means “polite animal.” The species is considered so evolutionarily distinct it’s placed in a genus of its own. Sporting a hefty pair of dark horns, a sloping back and bold flashes of white across the face, saolas resemble antelopes, yet their closest living relatives are wild cattle like gaur and buffalo. Yet the world is on the cusp of losing this gentle, one-of-a-kind mammal forever, before scientists have even begun to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/to-track-a-unicorn-laos-team-goes-all-out-to-find-the-last-saolas/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>Shrinking Mekong megafish underlines risks to the river, study finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/shrinking-mekong-megafish-underlines-risks-to-the-river-study-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/shrinking-mekong-megafish-underlines-risks-to-the-river-study-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Aug 2025 14:16:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Anton L. Delgado]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/08/26093159/imgonline-com-ua-FrameBlurred-mmealfk1s0NBv-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=304811</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Laos, Mekong Basin, Southeast Asia, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation, Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Dams, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Megafauna, Overfishing, Research, Rivers, Tropics, Water Pollution, Wetlands, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The megafish of the Mekong River are shrinking, a new study has found. In the most comprehensive analysis of species size in Southeast Asia’s Lower Mekong Basin, researchers have tracked a generational shrinkage among the river’s iconic gargantuan fish, which are among the largest freshwater fish in the world. The size decline in the Mekong [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The megafish of the Mekong River are shrinking, a new study has found. In the most comprehensive analysis of species size in Southeast Asia’s Lower Mekong Basin, researchers have tracked a generational shrinkage among the river’s iconic gargantuan fish, which are among the largest freshwater fish in the world. The size decline in the Mekong is a troubling trend for the ecosystem on which more than 65 million people across six countries depend. It also mirrors shrinkages of other megafauna in river basins around the world. “At its core, the analysis shows that the Mekong River’s biggest, slowest-to-mature fish species, and especially those at highest risk of extinction, are the ones shrinking fastest,” Zeb Hogan, a co-author of the study and biologist at the University of Nevada, Reno, said in an interview with Mongabay. “Declining fish size isn’t just a symptom of overfishing — it’s a warning sign of deeper population instability.” A Mekong giant catfish release in 2007. Image courtesy of Zeb Hogan with Wonders of the Mekong. The study results are based on more than seven years of catch-monitoring data that tracked 257 species across 23 sites in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. More than 397,000 samples were collected from mid-2007 to mid-2014. These samples were compared to historical data from conservation information hub FishBase and the Mekong River Commission’s fisheries monitoring database. Changes in fish body size are a key indicator of fish stock health that informs fisheries management and conservation planning. Small and medium-sized fish species didn’t&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/shrinking-mekong-megafish-underlines-risks-to-the-river-study-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>Large-scale illegal wildlife shops in Laos found scamming Chinese tourists</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/large-scale-illegal-wildlife-shops-in-laos-found-scamming-chinese-tourists/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/large-scale-illegal-wildlife-shops-in-laos-found-scamming-chinese-tourists/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Jul 2025 08:00:35 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/07/21121045/AP760576283416-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=302848</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, China, Laos, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Conservation, Consumption, Crime, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Illegal Trade, Ivory, Law, Law Enforcement, Mongabay investigation, Organized Crime, Poaching, Tourism, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Traditional Medicine, Wildlife, Wildlife consumption, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[LUANG PRABANG, Laos — “No coffee, no coffee,” repeated the security guard. His smile stood in stark contrast to his faded camouflage fatigues and the machine gun slung over his shoulder. Few cafés in the sleepy Laotian tourist town of Luang Prabang boast armed guards, but Kin Liao Coffee is not the average café. While [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[LUANG PRABANG, Laos — “No coffee, no coffee,” repeated the security guard. His smile stood in stark contrast to his faded camouflage fatigues and the machine gun slung over his shoulder. Few cafés in the sleepy Laotian tourist town of Luang Prabang boast armed guards, but Kin Liao Coffee is not the average café. While it’s unclear if Kin Liao Coffee actually serves coffee, the café situated on the side of the road near the Kuang Si waterfall has been found to illegally sell a wide array of ivory, rhino horn and bear bile products, as well as Angong Niuhuang Wan — a traditional Chinese medicine that is often manufactured in North Korea using powdered rhino horn. Kin Liao Coffee is just one of more than 20 locations across Luang Prabang and the Laotian capital of Vientiane identified in a joint investigation between Mongabay and the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) as selling illegal wildlife products at scale. These shops appear to exclusively cater to Chinese tourists, specifically those visiting Laos on pre-arranged low-budget package tours. The tours target elderly Chinese nationals, promising them all-inclusive trips to explore the historic ties between the two countries, often via the China-Laos railway. Upon arrival, tour groups are ferried from one shop to another, where sellers — mostly Chinese nationals themselves — use coercive and manipulative sales tactics to pressure tourists into buying illegal wildlife products, most of which are sold at inflated prices, the investigation found. Large ivory carvings, some&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/large-scale-illegal-wildlife-shops-in-laos-found-scamming-chinese-tourists/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Data discrepancies suggest Laos monkey smuggling persists, despite trade ban</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/data-discrepancies-suggest-laos-monkey-smuggling-persists-despite-trade-ban/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/data-discrepancies-suggest-laos-monkey-smuggling-persists-despite-trade-ban/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Apr 2025 03:26:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerald Flynn]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/04/23023516/Sookvannaseng-4-supplied-by-source-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=298028</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Laos, Southeast Asia, Thailand, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Rights, Animal Welfare, Biodiversity, Conservation, Crime, Endangered Species, Environment, Habitat Loss, Illegal Trade, International Trade, Medicine, Monkeys, Poaching, Primates, Protected Areas, Research, Wildlife consumption, Wildlife Rangers, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BANGKOK — A new report published on Feb. 18 detailed widespread discrepancies in data provided from Southeast Asia’s long-tailed macaque breeding farms, highlighting how monkey trafficking is able to slip through the regulatory cracks put in place by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Although the report was published [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BANGKOK — A new report published on Feb. 18 detailed widespread discrepancies in data provided from Southeast Asia’s long-tailed macaque breeding farms, highlighting how monkey trafficking is able to slip through the regulatory cracks put in place by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Although the report was published anonymously by Sandy River Research, the data it draws from are referenced and largely available to the public across disparate sources. Mongabay has not been able to independently verify the identity of the authors, and Sandy River Research’s website states it will not be commenting further on the report. The report’s findings paint a bleak picture for endangered long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) that appear to be poached from the wild across the Mekong region before being laundered into breeding farms across Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. From here, the monkeys are kept in often grim conditions before being exported to biomedical research laboratories, primarily in Europe, the United States, Canada, Japan and South Korea. These laboratories purchase macaques at scale, often for tens of thousands of dollars per head, while poachers across Southeast Asia scrape together a living plucking the monkeys from the wild. All of this, the biomedical research industry says, is necessary to develop life-saving drugs, despite existing and in-development alternatives such biosimulations, computational models, diagnostic imaging and organ-on-a-chip technology — artificial systems that function in the same way as human tissue or organs. Over the past two decades, multiple institutions have called into&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/data-discrepancies-suggest-laos-monkey-smuggling-persists-despite-trade-ban/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Three moon bears rescued in first closure of Laos bile farm</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/04/three-moon-bears-rescued-in-first-closure-of-laos-bile-farm/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/04/three-moon-bears-rescued-in-first-closure-of-laos-bile-farm/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Apr 2025 10:59:03 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kristine Sabillo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/04/22105635/1.-Two-of-the-three-captive-bears-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=297991</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Laos and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Bears, Biodiversity, Conservation, Environment, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Sun Bears, Traditional Medicine, Wildlife, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The government of Laos has for the first time shut down a farm where live bears were harvested for their bile, after convincing the farm’s owner to voluntarily hand over three bears. The rescued Asian black bears (Ursus thibetanus), two males and one female, are now being quarantined at the Luang Prabang Wildlife Sanctuary, operated [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The government of Laos has for the first time shut down a farm where live bears were harvested for their bile, after convincing the farm’s owner to voluntarily hand over three bears. The rescued Asian black bears (Ursus thibetanus), two males and one female, are now being quarantined at the Luang Prabang Wildlife Sanctuary, operated by Australia-based NGO Free the Bears, which participated in the rescue. “This is an important milestone for both Free the Bears and our government partners, showing that it is possible to close a bear bile farm and signalling that Laos is increasing its capacity and commitment to take on those who are illegally exploiting wildlife for profit,” Rod Mabin, Free the Bears communications director, told Mongabay by email. Bile farms, found across Southeast Asia, usually hold Asian black and sun bears (Helarctos malayanus) in cages. Bile is extracted from their gall bladders using a syringe, for use in Asian traditional medicine as a supposed treatment for liver and kidney disease. Mabin said that while the active compound Ursodeoxycholic acid found in bear bile is scientifically proven to address liver or bile duct diseases, it can easily be synthesized in a laboratory. “There is no legitimate reason to extract bile from bears or keep bears in bile farms.” It’s also illegal to hunt, possess or trade bears and their body parts in Laos under a 2007 wildlife law, but Mabin said a loophole exempts bile farms established before the law’s enactment. Moreover, bile farms can only&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/04/three-moon-bears-rescued-in-first-closure-of-laos-bile-farm/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Vital Mekong fish corridors tracked for first time, but funding cuts threaten future research</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/vital-mekong-fish-corridors-tracked-for-first-time-but-funding-cuts-threaten-future-research/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/vital-mekong-fish-corridors-tracked-for-first-time-but-funding-cuts-threaten-future-research/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Apr 2025 20:30:28 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Anton L. Delgado]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Food systems]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/04/18092515/A-fish-release-conducted-for-a-recent-study-on-fish-migrations-in-the-Mekong-River.-Image-courtesy-of-FISHBIO-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=297793</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Laos, Mekong Basin, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Conservation, Dams, Ecosystems, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Freshwater, Funding, Hydroelectric Power, Research, Rivers, and Tracking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The first-ever acoustic telemetry network in the Mekong River has tracked key migration corridors critical to the survival of fish in Cambodia and Laos. To conduct the study, researchers caught fish from a dozen species and implanted them with small electric transmitters before releasing them back into the river. A network of receivers allowed the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[The first-ever acoustic telemetry network in the Mekong River has tracked key migration corridors critical to the survival of fish in Cambodia and Laos. To conduct the study, researchers caught fish from a dozen species and implanted them with small electric transmitters before releasing them back into the river. A network of receivers allowed the researchers to follow the migration movements of 81 of these tagged fish during both the dry and wet seasons. The findings, published in a recent study, provide empirical data reinforcing local ecological knowledge that underlines the importance of a free-flowing Mekong. With dozens of dams built, planned and proposed across the basin, researchers say the exact data points detailing the Mekong’s massive fish migration underline the risks of cutting off these vital migratory corridors with hydropower. “I hope this information gives pause to developers or governments working on those dams,” study lead author Jackman Eschenroeder, from U.S.-based environmental consultancy FISHBIO, told Mongabay. “We’re trying to build a road map for where these fish are going with our acoustic telemetry network but it gives us just a glimpse into what these fish are doing.” Researchers perform a maintenance check on an acoustic receiver in the Mekong River. Image courtesy of FISHBIO. This study is the first attempt to use acoustic telemetry at this scale in the Mekong Basin. Eschenroeder referred to the study as a “pilot effort” that highlights “the need to do more studies like this to improve the resolution of our knowledge.” But continued&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/vital-mekong-fish-corridors-tracked-for-first-time-but-funding-cuts-threaten-future-research/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Protecting peatlands and mangroves could halve Southeast Asia’s land-use emissions</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/protecting-peatlands-and-mangroves-could-halve-southeast-asias-land-use-emissions/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/protecting-peatlands-and-mangroves-could-halve-southeast-asias-land-use-emissions/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Feb 2025 11:48:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/12/06135320/peats-indonesia-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=294600</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Southeast Asia, Thailand, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Carbon Emissions, Climate, Climate Change, Conservation, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Ecosystems, Emission Reduction, Fires, Forests, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Landscape Restoration, Mangroves, Nature-based climate solutions, Peatlands, Reforestation, Restoration, Solutions, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA —  Southeast Asia’s peatlands and mangroves store immense amounts of carbon, yet they’re rapidly disappearing. A new study finds that conserving and restoring these ecosystems could cut the region’s greenhouse gas emissions from land use in half — equivalent to 16% of the world’s total land-use emissions. An international team of scientists from the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[JAKARTA —  Southeast Asia’s peatlands and mangroves store immense amounts of carbon, yet they’re rapidly disappearing. A new study finds that conserving and restoring these ecosystems could cut the region’s greenhouse gas emissions from land use in half — equivalent to 16% of the world’s total land-use emissions. An international team of scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS), with contributions from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore and James Cook University in Australia, assessed the potential for emissions reductions through conserving and restoring peat swamp forests and mangroves across Southeast Asia. Their study, published in Nature Communications, concluded that despite occupying only 5% of the region’s land area, these ecosystems hold immense potential for climate mitigation. According to the study, restoring currently degraded peat swamp forests and mangroves in Southeast Asia could reduce 94 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent (MtCO2e) annually. Combined with conservation, as much as 770 MtCO2e could be mitigated each year, representing nearly half of the region’s land-use emissions. The study estimated that there are 5.34 million hectares (13.4 million acres) of drained peatlands in Southeast Asia, an area larger than Costa Rica, and that rewetting them offers the largest emissions reduction potential. Restoring degraded peat swamp forests, of which there are 2.64 million hectares (6.52 million acres) in the region, and mangroves (0.07 million hectares, or about 170,000 acres) could further enhance carbon sequestration, the study found. “These ecosystems pack a climate mitigation punch far beyond their size, offering one of the most scalable&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/protecting-peatlands-and-mangroves-could-halve-southeast-asias-land-use-emissions/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Southeast Asia in review: 2024</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/southeast-asia-in-review-2024/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/southeast-asia-in-review-2024/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Dec 2024 04:33:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn CowanGerald Flynn]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/08/08190458/WFFT-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=292507</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Southeast Asia, Thailand, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Carbon Credits, Carbon Market, Climate Change, climate finance, Conservation, Critical Minerals, Deforestation, Ecosystems, Electric Cars, Endangered Environmentalists, Endangered Species, Environment, extractives, Extreme Weather, Flooding, Hydroelectric Power, Impact Of Climate Change, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Industrial Agriculture, Infrastructure, Journalism, Land Conflict, Land Rights, Mining, Murdered Journalists, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Redd, Renewable Energy, Roads, Threats To Rainforests, Tropical Deforestation, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[2024 was a year marked by a COP climate summit so dismal that many governments and analysts questioned whether the annual meetings are even worth holding. While world leaders failed to secure meaningful action, extreme weather events battered Southeast Asia, underscoring the deadly consequences of inaction on climate change and the urgent need for inclusive [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[2024 was a year marked by a COP climate summit so dismal that many governments and analysts questioned whether the annual meetings are even worth holding. While world leaders failed to secure meaningful action, extreme weather events battered Southeast Asia, underscoring the deadly consequences of inaction on climate change and the urgent need for inclusive solutions. An early summer heat wave that climate scientists said would have been “impossible” without the climate crisis saw temperatures soar across the region. Amid the deadly and unprecedented temperatures, farmers faced water shortages and ruined fruit and rice harvests. The onset of the wet season brought no respite, with intensified typhoons and flash floods taking a devastating toll on northern Vietnam, the Philippines and parts of Thailand. The storms left urban centers and farmland in tatters, displacing people, devastating crops and triggering deadly landslides. The Ngao River, a Mekong tributary, burst its banks flooding more than 2,000 Rai of pomelo orchards in late Aug-mid-Sept, photographed on Sept 20, 2024. Image courtesy of Rak Chiang Khong Conservation Group / International Rivers. Carbon market calamities One mechanism aimed at countering global emissions to reduce to the likelihood and severity of these climatic tumults is the carbon market. However, the sale of carbon credits to offset fossil fuel emissions and reduce deforestation has come under increased scrutiny in Southeast Asia. The region is home to a significant portion of the world’s tropical forests, and carbon industry players reported that REDD+ projects here could generate up to $27.7&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/southeast-asia-in-review-2024/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>Greater Mekong serves up 234 new species in a year, from fanged hedgehog to diva viper</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/greater-mekong-serves-up-234-new-species-in-a-year-from-fanged-hedgehog-to-diva-viper/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/greater-mekong-serves-up-234-new-species-in-a-year-from-fanged-hedgehog-to-diva-viper/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Dec 2024 06:11:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/12/16052538/1-Hylomys-macarong-%C2%A9-Alexei-V.-Abramov-02-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=291689</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Southeast Asia, Thailand, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Conservation, Cryptic Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Fish, Forests, Global Environmental Crisis, Illegal Trade, Mammals, Mountains, New Discovery, Orchids, Pet Trade, Plants, Reptiles, Research, Rivers, Species Discovery, Tropical Forests, Wildlife, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The dense tropical forests, isolated mountain peaks and limestone karst caverns of the Greater Mekong region yielded a remarkable 234 new-to-science species in 2023, according to a new report compiled by WWF. A striking orange-and-black crocodile newt recorded at the highest ever elevation for its type, a karst dragon lizard that represents an entirely new [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The dense tropical forests, isolated mountain peaks and limestone karst caverns of the Greater Mekong region yielded a remarkable 234 new-to-science species in 2023, according to a new report compiled by WWF. A striking orange-and-black crocodile newt recorded at the highest ever elevation for its type, a karst dragon lizard that represents an entirely new genus, and a shrew mole that tips the scales at only 8 grams, or less than 0.3 ounces, qualifying it among the top 10 lightest land mammals on Earth, feature among the new assortment of species. Nature enthusiasts and researchers in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, along with experts at global museums, described 173 plants, 26 reptiles, 17 amphibians, 15 fish and three mammals previously unknown to science. The 2023 haul brings the total number of newly described species in the region since 1997 to 3,623. “Although these species were just described by science last year, they have been living in the unique habitats of our region for many millennia,” said Chris Hallam, head of wildlife and wildlife crime at WWF-Greater Mekong. “Each of these species is a critical piece of a functioning, healthy ecosystem and a jewel in the region&#8217;s rich natural heritage.” Other new curiosities include a species of wild ginger with roots that smell like mango; a red-and-green pit viper with scales sculpting the appearance of glamorous eyelashes around its eyes; and a soft-furred hedgehog that makes up for its lack of pointy spines with formidable incisors, described by researchers as&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/greater-mekong-serves-up-234-new-species-in-a-year-from-fanged-hedgehog-to-diva-viper/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>New transmission lines cut a Cambodian rainforest sanctuary in half</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/new-transmission-lines-cut-a-cambodian-rainforest-sanctuary-in-half/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/new-transmission-lines-cut-a-cambodian-rainforest-sanctuary-in-half/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Nov 2024 02:45:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerald FlynnPhoung Vantha]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[global forests]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/11/27015212/DJI_0038-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=290760</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Laos, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Carbon Sequestration, Conservation, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corruption, Critically Endangered Species, Deforestation, Deforestation Alert System, Drivers Of Deforestation, Endangered Species, Energy, Forest Carbon, Forest Fragmentation, Forest Loss, Forests, Governance, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Illegal Logging, Infrastructure, Logging, Protected Areas, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Satellite Imagery, Selective Logging, Threats To Rainforests, Timber, Tropical Deforestation, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife Corridors]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[STUNG TRENG, Cambodia — In early October, work began on power lines that will run about 300 kilometers, or 190 miles, and that conservationists have labeled “a death sentence” to Cambodia’s Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary. The transmission lines are slated to run from a substation on the outskirts of the capital, Phnom Penh, to Cambodia’s [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[STUNG TRENG, Cambodia — In early October, work began on power lines that will run about 300 kilometers, or 190 miles, and that conservationists have labeled “a death sentence” to Cambodia’s Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary. The transmission lines are slated to run from a substation on the outskirts of the capital, Phnom Penh, to Cambodia’s northeastern border with Laos, slicing through the densest part of the 490,000-hectare (1.2-million-acre) protected rainforest, vital wildlife habitats and two existing REDD+ projects. The 500-kilovolt transmission line project has remained largely dormant since it was initially approved in 2020, although the years that followed saw conservationists decry its potential environmental impacts. As of Nov. 18, satellite imagery shows a route 30 meters wide and 5.8 kilometers long (100 feet by 3.6 miles) has been cleared through the wildlife sanctuary’s northeastern section in Stung Treng province. The freshly cut track follows a route mapped out as one option for the transmission lines by Electricité du Cambodge, the state-owned electricity utility, in April 2021. If completed as mapped, the lines will run 65 km (40 mi) through Prey Lang. The rainforest surrounding the plotted route provides habitat for a wide array of wildlife, including the endangered Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) and pileated gibbon (Hylobates pileatus), as well as the Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica) and banteng (Bos javanicus), both of which are listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List. Prey Lang also houses hundreds of plant species, including 14 known to be at risk of extinction&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/new-transmission-lines-cut-a-cambodian-rainforest-sanctuary-in-half/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Gibbons found to perform dance routines akin to ‘the robot,’ but why?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/gibbons-found-to-perform-dance-routines-akin-to-the-robot-but-why/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/gibbons-found-to-perform-dance-routines-akin-to-the-robot-but-why/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Nov 2024 15:00:36 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/11/11151224/2400-Banner-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=289951</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Laos, Southeast Asia, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behavior, Animals, Apes, Biodiversity, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Gibbons, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Mammals, Primates, Rainforests, Research, Tropical Forests, Videos, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Gibbons are famed for their graceful agility high in the forest canopy. Swinging effortlessly from branch to branch, their bodies spilling through the trees, the small apes seem to defy the basic laws of gravity. But it turns out their beauty in motion doesn’t stop there: They also perform captivating dances, according to the findings [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Gibbons are famed for their graceful agility high in the forest canopy. Swinging effortlessly from branch to branch, their bodies spilling through the trees, the small apes seem to defy the basic laws of gravity. But it turns out their beauty in motion doesn’t stop there: They also perform captivating dances, according to the findings of a new study. It documents the dance routines of four species of crested gibbons native to the dense but rapidly diminishing forests of mainland Southeast Asia. The researchers say the movements aren’t random gyrations. Rather, the gibbons are using their rhythmic vogueing routines of up to two minutes at a time as a visual communication tool. Biologists have long known that female crested gibbons perform sequences of peculiar and sudden rump, arm and leg twitches, both in captive settings as well as in the wild. A 2016 study, for instance, likened the dance of wild eastern black-crested gibbons (Nomascus nasutus) to the timeless human “robot dance.” However, the structure and circumstances surrounding the gibbon’s dance have remained largely shrouded in mystery. A northern white-cheeked gibbon at Mulhouse Zoo (left) and a female yellow-cheeked gibbon with young at Amsterdam Zoo (right). Images courtesy of Miriam Lindenmeier (l) and HHU/Kai R. Caspar (r). To unlock the secrets of the gibbon bop, Camille Coye, a postdoctoral researcher at the Jean Nicod Institute in France, and her colleagues from Germany and Norway meticulously scrutinized 37 videos of female crested gibbons kept in captivity at zoos and rescue centers&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/gibbons-found-to-perform-dance-routines-akin-to-the-robot-but-why/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Record-breaking floods in northern Thailand intensify scrutiny of Mekong dam project</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/record-breaking-floods-in-northern-thailand-intensify-scrutiny-of-mekong-dam-project/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/record-breaking-floods-in-northern-thailand-intensify-scrutiny-of-mekong-dam-project/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Sep 2024 11:26:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/09/24105937/Banner-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=287768</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Laos, Mekong Basin, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Business, Conservation, Dams, Energy, Environment, Finance, Fisheries, Flooding, Governance, Hydroelectric Power, Industry, Infrastructure, Politics, Rivers, Tropics, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi, communities in northern Thailand’s Chiang Rai province are taking stock of the toll wreaked by heavy rains and rising rivers. At least 33 people lost their lives in the country since mid-August amid hazardous conditions that devastated riverside homes, businesses and agricultural land. The flooding has heightened public and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi, communities in northern Thailand’s Chiang Rai province are taking stock of the toll wreaked by heavy rains and rising rivers. At least 33 people lost their lives in the country since mid-August amid hazardous conditions that devastated riverside homes, businesses and agricultural land. The flooding has heightened public and policymaker scrutiny of plans to build a major hydropower dam spanning the Mekong River at Pak Beng in Oudomxay province in Laos. Experts warn the dam, situated 97 kilometers (60 miles) from the Thailand-Laos border, has the potential to elevate water levels in the mainstream Mekong and thus exacerbate seasonal flooding along key tributaries in Thailand. Local communities and civil society groups have raised their concerns about the project for nearly a decade, claiming the developers and their Thailand-based investors have failed to consider the dam’s potential impacts on people living upstream. Against this backdrop, policymakers, community leaders and local residents met Sept. 20-21 at a forum in the flood-stricken province of Chiang Rai to discuss the implications of the controversial development. The dialogue was part of an investigation by the Thai parliament’s Committee on Land, Natural Resources and the Environment into the potential cross-border impacts of the scheme. Somsak Kemya and fellow farmers in Wiang Khaen district, Chiang Rai province hold a banner that states: &#8220;Our farmland is flooded, so halt the Pak Beng dam.&#8221; Image by Carolyn Cowan / Mongabay The investigation meeting hosted by the Thai parliament’s Committee on Land, Natural Resources&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/record-breaking-floods-in-northern-thailand-intensify-scrutiny-of-mekong-dam-project/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>On heavily dammed Mekong, tracking study tries to find where the fish are going</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/on-heavily-dammed-mekong-tracking-study-tries-to-find-where-the-fish-are-going/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/on-heavily-dammed-mekong-tracking-study-tries-to-find-where-the-fish-are-going/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Jul 2024 20:23:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Anton L. Delgado]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/07/24145631/A-fisherman-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=284969</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Mekong dams]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Laos, Mekong Basin, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Dams, Ecosystems, Environment, Fish, Fishing, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Hydroelectric Power, Infrastructure, Land Rights, Law, and Rivers]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Key migratory fish species travel hundreds of kilometers along the Mekong River, including through several active and planned hydropower dam projects in Laos, a recent Researchers outfitted hundreds of fish with tracking tags known as passive integrated transponders (PIT) before releasing them in the Laotian capital, Vientiane. Aimed at developing a better, data-driven understanding of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Key migratory fish species travel hundreds of kilometers along the Mekong River, including through several active and planned hydropower dam projects in Laos, a recent Researchers outfitted hundreds of fish with tracking tags known as passive integrated transponders (PIT) before releasing them in the Laotian capital, Vientiane. Aimed at developing a better, data-driven understanding of fish migrations in the Mekong, the resulting study, published this year, also found empirical evidence that at least some fish were able to make use of the fish ladder at the controversial Xayaburi Dam in northern Laos, a pathway previously considered untested. But of the hundreds of fish tagged, only five made it up the ladder. The study called for continued research to better understand “the migration patterns of fish in the face of upcoming developments” and cautioned that government plans to build yet more dams on the mainstream of the Mekong may turn this already treacherous fish migration into an impossible odyssey. “It is highly likely that [key migratory species] will be blocked from continuing long distance migrations, and subsequently completing their life-cycles, if planned [hydropower projects] are constructed without suitable fish passage measures,” the study says. A fisherman untangles his catch from the Mekong River on the Thai-Lao border by Chiang Saen. Image by Anton L. Delgado. Over more than a month in 2022, fishers in Vientiane captured hundreds of fish for the study. More than 230 individual fish were tagged and released, most of them gold tinfoil barb (Hypsibarbus malcolmi) and sharp-nosed&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/on-heavily-dammed-mekong-tracking-study-tries-to-find-where-the-fish-are-going/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Will the Mekong and Salween pay the price of China’s energy transition?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/will-the-mekong-and-salween-pay-the-price-of-chinas-energy-transition/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/will-the-mekong-and-salween-pay-the-price-of-chinas-energy-transition/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 May 2024 02:13:32 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2016/12/21121432/Kaw-Ku-agriculture-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=282249</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, China, Laos, Mekong Basin, Myanmar, Southeast Asia, Thailand, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate, Climate Change, Conservation, Dams, Ecosystems, Energy, Environment, Fisheries, Freshwater, Governance, Hydroelectric Power, Infrastructure, Politics, Renewable Energy, Rivers, Tropics, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The energy sector is the single largest source of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, spurring plans the world over to transition the sector away from fossil fuels and toward renewables. While decarbonization plans by some of the world’s top emitters have generally been welcomed, energy experts say decision-makers must take care while designing decarbonization strategies to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The energy sector is the single largest source of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, spurring plans the world over to transition the sector away from fossil fuels and toward renewables. While decarbonization plans by some of the world’s top emitters have generally been welcomed, energy experts say decision-makers must take care while designing decarbonization strategies to fully consider the unintended social and ecological consequences of rapidly scaling up renewable infrastructure. “If we think of any major technological change, they always have costs and unintended consequences,” said Stefano Galelli, an associate professor of environmental engineering at Cornell University in the U.S. “The sooner we realize and address them, the more sustainable and equitable the energy transition will be. We have to do it right.” In a new study published in Communications Earth &amp; Environment, Galelli and his colleagues from China and the U.S. evaluate how China’s plans to decarbonize its energy sector by 2060 could have inadvertent but severe impacts on local farmland and transboundary river basins, including the regionally significant Mekong and Salween. The researchers also consider how alternative solutions and new technologies could help minimize the most egregious impacts. “Decarbonizing is essential, we have to do it,” Galelli told Mongabay. “But we must think about trade-offs with the environment now, rather than afterwards. Getting an understanding of what could come in the next 40 years can give us an indication of the least-impactful pathways and give us an opportunity to steer the boat.” The 1,750 MW Jinghong Dam was built&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/will-the-mekong-and-salween-pay-the-price-of-chinas-energy-transition/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Banks backing Mekong hydropower failing on due diligence, report reveals</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/banks-backing-mekong-hydropower-failing-on-due-diligence-report-reveals/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/banks-backing-mekong-hydropower-failing-on-due-diligence-report-reveals/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 May 2024 14:01:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/05/20134939/Xayaburi_WA-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=282281</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Laos, Mekong Basin, Southeast Asia, Thailand, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Banking, Business, Conservation, Dams, Ecosystems, Environment, Finance, Fisheries, Freshwater, Funding, Governance, Hydroelectric Power, Industry, Infrastructure, Politics, Rivers, Tropics, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Major banks operating in Thailand and Vietnam aren’t doing enough to address the environmental and human rights consequences of their investments in large-scale hydropower dams along the Mekong River, according to a new report. The report, by Fair Finance Asia, a network of more than 90 civil society organizations led by Oxfam, and Netherlands-based sustainability [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[Major banks operating in Thailand and Vietnam aren’t doing enough to address the environmental and human rights consequences of their investments in large-scale hydropower dams along the Mekong River, according to a new report. The report, by Fair Finance Asia, a network of more than 90 civil society organizations led by Oxfam, and Netherlands-based sustainability research organization Profundo, scrutinized the policies of three banks based in Thailand and three based in Vietnam, including their capacity to uphold their publicly stated environmental, social and governance (ESG) commitments. The findings reveal regulatory shortcomings at national and regional levels that fail to hold banks accountable for their investment decisions. The report also uncovered a lack of meaningful implementation of international standards in environmental and human rights among Mekong hydropower funders. Given that the power purchase agreements that essentially greenlight hydropower projects ultimately hinge on the availability of long-term funding, the report says banks and investors play an important role in ensuring that environmental and social safeguards are implemented by companies during the construction, operation and decommissioning of hydropower plants. The water in Tonle Sap Lake in Cambodia, home of one of the world’s largest inland fisheries, is channeled from the Mekong and its tributary during the wet season. Image by Carolyn Cowan/Mongabay. Experts are calling on banks and investors to adopt more sustainable banking policies and practices when deciding which projects to support. In particular, they call on the region’s financial institutions to align their practices with international standards. “Large hydropower infrastructure projects&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/banks-backing-mekong-hydropower-failing-on-due-diligence-report-reveals/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/banks-backing-mekong-hydropower-failing-on-due-diligence-report-reveals/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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					<title>Tropical forest loss puts 2030 zero-deforestation target further out of reach</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/tropical-forest-loss-puts-2030-zero-deforestation-target-further-out-of-reach/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/tropical-forest-loss-puts-2030-zero-deforestation-target-further-out-of-reach/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Apr 2024 12:26:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hayat Indriyatno]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/09/13160907/canada-fire-wildfire-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=280650</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Amazon Illegal Deforestation, Global Forests, Indonesian Fisheries, and Indonesian Palm Oil]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Asia, Bolivia, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, Colombia, Congo Basin, Democratic Republic Of Congo, Indonesia, Laos, Latin America, Nicaragua, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, boreal forests, carbon, Carbon Emissions, Climate, Climate Change, data, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Drought, Environment, Fires, Forest Carbon, forest degradation, Forest Destruction, Forest Loss, Forests, Global Environmental Crisis, Monitoring, Palm Oil, Plantations, Protected Areas, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Remote Sensing, Threats To Rainforests, Trees, Tropical Deforestation, Tropical Forests, and Zero Deforestation Commitments]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — The tropics continue to lose primary forest at an alarming rate, with an area of tree cover half the size of Panama disappearing in 2023, new data from the University of Maryland&#8217;s GLAD lab show. Primary forest loss last year amounted to 3.7 million hectares (9.1 million acres), according to the data, available [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — The tropics continue to lose primary forest at an alarming rate, with an area of tree cover half the size of Panama disappearing in 2023, new data from the University of Maryland&#8217;s GLAD lab show. Primary forest loss last year amounted to 3.7 million hectares (9.1 million acres), according to the data, available on the Global Forest Watch (GFW) platform managed by the World Resources Institute (WRI). And while this marks or 9% decrease from 2022, it’s virtually unchanged from the 2019 and 2021 deforestation rates. On average, over the past two decades, the world has consistently lost 3 million to 4 million hectares (7.4 million to 9.9 million acres) of tropical forest every year. This leaves the planet well off track from achieving zero deforestation by 2030, a global target agreed to by 145 countries at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow in 2021. Forest loss, particularly in the tropics, releases huge volumes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Halting and reversing forest loss by the end of the decade is considered essential to meeting the Paris Agreement goal of capping the global average temperature rise at 1.5° Celsius (2.7° Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels. &#8220;Forests are critical ecosystems for fighting climate change, supporting livelihoods, and protecting biodiversity,” said WRI president and CEO Ani Dasgupta. “The world has just six years left to keep its promise to halt deforestation. This year’s forest loss numbers tell an inspiring story of what we can achieve when leaders prioritize action, but the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/tropical-forest-loss-puts-2030-zero-deforestation-target-further-out-of-reach/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>Land tenure lesson from Laos for forest carbon projects (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/land-tenure-lesson-from-laos-for-forest-carbon-projects-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/land-tenure-lesson-from-laos-for-forest-carbon-projects-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Apr 2024 15:29:54 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Melissa LoOluwole SoyinkaSheng Huan TangSimran KaurSong Fu]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/04/02144744/Op-Ed-Header-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=280572</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Laos, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Afforestation, Carbon Credits, Carbon Offsets, climate finance, Commentary, Community Development, Conservation Finance, Corporations, Deforestation, Development, Finance, Forest Carbon, Forests, Governance, Land Rights, Nature-based climate solutions, Solutions, Sustainable Development, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[It’s a hot and humid afternoon in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. Our contact at Burapha Agro-Forestry welcomes us to an empty boardroom full of maps. The meeting goes smoothly, though we can’t help noticing that our contact is the only employee in office. &#8220;Why is it empty?” we wonder. Before we get the answer, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[It’s a hot and humid afternoon in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. Our contact at Burapha Agro-Forestry welcomes us to an empty boardroom full of maps. The meeting goes smoothly, though we can’t help noticing that our contact is the only employee in office. &#8220;Why is it empty?” we wonder. Before we get the answer, we receive the striking news that Burapha Agro-Forestry – one of the first Lao private sector afforestation projects with credits approved through Verra – has terminated nearly all of its staff. With COP-28 delivering a reality check over the urgent need to halt and reverse forest loss by 2030 to achieve global emissions reduction targets, international attention has been drawn to financing nature-based solutions, such as forest carbon projects, in developing countries. This is especially true in Laos, which has lost approximately 4.37 million hectares of tree cover since 2001. However, forest carbon projects haven’t had a good track record of efficacy; in some cases, projects face major roadblocks before fully delivering their intended benefits. Burapha Agro-Forestry is the latest example. So, what’s happening? Donor-designed forest carbon projects and private sector companies like Burapha Agro-Forestry are facing insurmountable challenges from an age-old problem: land tenure insecurity. And, ultimately, the pursuit of sustainable development in Laos through carbon financing is struggling from a lack of contextual understanding amongst investors on just how tightly interwoven tenure security is with the implementation of forest carbon projects. Laos suffers deforestation from an array of activities, including rubber cultivation shown&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/land-tenure-lesson-from-laos-for-forest-carbon-projects-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/land-tenure-lesson-from-laos-for-forest-carbon-projects-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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					<title>Hydropower in doubt as climate impacts Mekong Basin water availability</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/hydropower-in-doubt-as-climate-impacts-mekong-basin-water-availability/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/hydropower-in-doubt-as-climate-impacts-mekong-basin-water-availability/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Feb 2024 03:02:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/02/21023908/IMG_3703-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=279039</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, China, Laos, Mekong Basin, Southeast Asia, Thailand, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate, Climate Change, Conservation, Dams, Ecosystems, Energy, Environment, Fisheries, food security, Freshwater, Governance, Hydroelectric Power, Infrastructure, Politics, Rivers, Tropics, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Shifting monsoonal climate patterns that affect the availability of water in the Mekong River Basin are raising questions among experts about the sustainability of hydropower as a long-term energy solution in the region. This was a major point of discussion at a recent online dialogue, hosted by the U.S.-based Stimson Center, in which regional experts [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Shifting monsoonal climate patterns that affect the availability of water in the Mekong River Basin are raising questions among experts about the sustainability of hydropower as a long-term energy solution in the region. This was a major point of discussion at a recent online dialogue, hosted by the U.S.-based Stimson Center, in which regional experts reviewed the findings of hydrological monitoring carried out by the Mekong Dam Monitor over the course of the 2023 wet season, and looked ahead to what might unfold during the upcoming dry season. The Mekong Dam Monitor, a collaborative project between the Stimson Center and satellite research consultancy Eyes on Earth, tracks 55 of the largest dams throughout the Mekong and gathers hydrological information about the river basin using satellite imagery, data from water gauges, and surface wetness trends. Panelists at the Jan. 26 event analyzed the complex interactions between dams and climate, questioning whether hydropower presents an economically viable long-term energy solution given that increasingly dry wet seasons are likely to compromise the productivity of dams in the river basin. They also proposed recommendations for improved management of the pivotal watercourse that traverses six countries. Scores of hydropower dams have been built in recent decades to harness the river’s flow for energy production, including 13 major projects that span across the river’s entire mainstream channel, with hundreds more either planned or under construction. Dams holding back water during the wet-season months to refill reservoirs have exacerbated severe droughts experienced by people and ecosystems downstream;&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/hydropower-in-doubt-as-climate-impacts-mekong-basin-water-availability/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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