Forest fires have contributed to the problem. The latest, in Chiang Rai province, northeast of Chiang Mai, began on Thursday and has affected 96ha of forest. Home to nearly 130,000 people, Chiang Mai is a gateway to Thailand’s hilly north, visited pre-pandemic by millions of tourists for its historic centreContinue Reading
Rough seas initially delayed the deployment of floating barriers to contain the spill. Oil has been found as far away as the western island of Palawan, more than 350km from where the tanker went down. Some oil has also drifted north to the Verde Island Passage, between Mindoro and theContinue Reading
MAYA BAY, Thailand: On any given day in Thailand’s Maya Bay, up to 40 blacktip reef sharks cruise in the cyan shallows while about 4,000 tourists visit its white-sand beach flanked by towering cliffs. Shark numbers have improved since almost every last one was driven from the bay by theContinue Reading
The Malaysian state of Sabah is determined to ramp up elephant conservation efforts. CNA looks at the challenges of protecting these mammals both in captivity and in the wild.Continue Reading
SEOUL: South Korea revised down its 2030 targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the industrial sector on Tuesday (Mar 21) but maintained its national goal of cutting emissions by 40 per cent of 2018 levels in what it called a reasonable adjustment. This is the first annual and sectoralContinue Reading
Only eight out of 296 regional cities in Southeast Asia – where data is recorded – met the World Health Organisation’s guideline for PM2.5 last year. PM2.5 are tiny particles that can cause serious health problems. Continue Reading
NAMIE, Japan: Jinichi Abe grins as he watches diggers working earth near his rice fields, knowing they are returning still more fields to productivity after Fukushima nuclear reactors exploded and sprayed the area with radiation over a decade ago. Even better, Abe knows the rice that he and a cooperativeContinue Reading
The trio are experimenting with using local red seaweed to make bioplastic that can degrade in four to six weeks, instead of hundreds of years like conventional plastic.Continue Reading
“There is always fear that it will happen again,” said Jimenez, who lives with her husband, youngest daughter, sister, nephew and mother. “Your heart sinks because you realise the things you worked so hard to buy will be destroyed again.” Jimenez blames environmental “abuses” upstream in the nearby Upper MarikinaContinue Reading
SAMARINDA, Indonesia: In Indonesia’s region of East Kalimantan, the country’s dependence on coal is on full display. Driving on the region’s toll road, passers-by can watch excavators digging coal from shallow pits as trucks filled with the carbon-rich rocks rush by. Under a bridge in Samarinda, the region’s capital, hundredsContinue Reading