Showing 1 - 10 of 17
Cute posts, cruel trade
Oped, Editorial, Published on 04/11/2025
» For years, CITES -- the United Nations' multilateral treaty aimed at protecting endangered plants and animals from threats posed by international trade -- has focused on combating wildlife trafficking networks that smuggle exotic animals from forests and breeding centres to meet demand from private zoos and the traditional medicine trade.
Thai waters in peril
Oped, Editorial, Published on 15/01/2025
» Thailand's waterways and seas both face ecological crises that could devastate ecosystems, food security, and millions of livelihoods if left unchecked. Two protests this week reflect the urgency of these issues. Small-scale fishermen and environmentalists have gathered at the Senate to oppose an amendment to the Fisheries Act allowing trawlers to sweep clean the sea. Meanwhile, fishermen and aquaculture farmers from 19 provinces have rallied at Government House, demanding the government address the spread of the invasive blackchin tilapia, or pla mor khang dam in Thai, a fish wreaking havoc in river ecosystems across the country.
Dugongs on the brink
News, Editorial, Published on 13/11/2024
» In 2019, the struggles of a sick baby dugong named Marium captured the public's attention, which sadly ended with her dying with plastic waste later found in her intestines. Dugong deaths were alarmingly frequent that year, with five of these gentle marine mammals found dead off the coast of Krabi and Trang.
Modern parents need full support
Editorial, Published on 24/09/2023
» When it comes to demographics, Thailand is unique compared to its neighbours in Southeast Asia, in more ways than one.
Surrogacy needs care
News, Editorial, Published on 21/02/2022
» Commercial surrogacy in Thailand is illegal. Thai surrogate mothers can only be permitted if they are biologically related to the child.
Call for more baby bumps
Oped, Editorial, Published on 18/02/2021
» As the country's total fertility rate (TFR) hits a record low, with a plunge last year to below 600,000 or 1.51 against the WHO's ideal rate of 2.1, there emerges a need for solid measures to quickly boost the birth rate and stabilise demographic development.
War on plastic falters
News, Editorial, Published on 04/06/2020
» In 2016, the World Economic Forum foretold that without effective intervention, the amount of plastic waste would exceed fish in our oceans by 2050. The writing on the wall was clear -- act now or lose an ecosystem that generates half the oxygen we breathe. Thailand, ranked the sixth-worst ocean polluter, moved quickly to adopt the ambitious "Plastic Waste Road Map 2018-2030", a plan which promised to phase out consumer dependency on single-use plastics through specific targets with the ultimate goal of ensuring all plastic waste by 2027 is recyclable.
Help beyond handouts
Oped, Editorial, Published on 27/05/2020
» A series of alleged abuses of the public's charitable spirit and donations has prompted many to think twice before expressing their sympathy through money transfers.
Rohingya crisis deserves notice
News, Editorial, Published on 03/05/2020
» Day by day, the effects of coronavirus on society's most marginalised are laid bare. From dollar-a-day Afghan day labourers forced to pick between face masks and food to Thais driven to suicide after failing to secure baby milk, the price of contagion is pushing many of those on society's margins off the edge.
Take more care with park waste
News, Editorial, Published on 01/12/2019
» The death of a male deer in Nan's Khun Sathan National Park highlights the growing need for a plastic management plan in the country's conservation zone.