Showing 1 - 10 of 15
A non-native threat to Thai waters
News, Pimpavadee Phaholyothin & Michael Roy, Published on 31/07/2024
» Thailand boasts some of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet. From the lush forests of the North to the mangroves of the South, this country is a sanctuary for a plethora of wildlife species. These natural systems have evolved over millennia, during which time plant and animal species have slowly moved across the landscape as climatic and ecological conditions changed. These species adapted to their new environments, and the systems adapted to them. But times have changed, and species now move from their native environments across the globe at the speed of shipping, air transport, and rail. This results in the rapid invasion of new species into environments that have few natural mechanisms to keep them in balance with native species or the built environment.
Recover Mekong's forgotten fish
News, Lan Mercado, Published on 04/03/2024
» Fish that walk, and even ones that talk, stingrays the size of cars, minnows smaller than your fingernail, snail-eating pufferfish and ghostly salmon carp. These are just some of the 1,148 extraordinary fish species hidden beneath the surface of the Mekong river's murky waters for millennia.
The precarious life of gorillas
Oped, Assaf Levy, Published on 27/09/2023
» Have you ever wondered what it is like to stand face to face with a creature so powerful yet so achingly human in its gaze? Imagine, for a moment, to be in the heart of Africa's mystical forests, surrounded by towering trees and the ethereal sounds of nature. And there, in that sacred realm, you find yourself in the presence of gorillas -- these gentle giants, our kin in the animal kingdom, who hold a mirror to our own humanity.
Protect the guardians of the forest
News, Assaf Levy, Published on 31/07/2023
» What is your favourite place to connect with nature? Picture yourself in the heart of a vast and ancient jungle, surrounded by towering huge trees holding untold past secrets. The air is thick with nature's beauty, and the sounds of wildlife create a melody of life. A faraway roar sends shivers down your spine and is a reminder of the regal presence of the tiger, known as the "king of the jungle". This has become a rare scene these days. Today, the sounds of devastation drown out the echoes of their once-powerful dominion. This is the story of the tigers-a tale of struggle, resilience, and hope in the face of an ongoing attack on their homes.
Shocking hypocrisy
Oped, Postbag, Published on 13/03/2021
» Re: "Free detainees, govt tells junta," (BP, March 12).
The struggle for the soul of the Mekong River
Oped, Brian Eyler, Alan Basist, Courtney Weatherby and Claude Williams, Published on 31/07/2020
» In June of this year, the FAO's annual State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture report ranked the Mekong Basin as the world's most productive freshwater fishery, accounting for over 15% of global annual freshwater fish catch. Meanwhile, WWF Researchers estimate that the contribution actually accounts for a quarter of the world's freshwater catch. This massive inland fishery is critical to the food security of tens of millions living in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, and is fuelled by the Mekong River's natural flow cycle. Typically, the Mekong transitions like clockwork around this time of year from the dry season period of relatively low flow to an extreme wet season pulse bringing floodwaters that nourish the entirety of the basin.
Tiger industry continues to profit
News, Heather Sohl, Published on 19/02/2020
» In the wild, tigers are apex predators. Solitary animals that can travel almost 300km to find food and mates, they very rarely come in contact with other tigers or people.
Circular solution to plastic plight
News, Naina Subberwal Batra, Published on 24/12/2019
» We are drowning in plastics. Unless we change our behaviour, there will be more plastic by weight than fish in the ocean by 2050. Solving this crisis requires us to do more than just banning plastic straws. We need a paradigm shift. We must adopt deep structural changes to our plastic production and consumption patterns in order to move away from the extractive linear model of "take, make, use and dispose" towards a "closed-loop" circular economy -- an economy that is intentionally restorative.
Rising seas mean deltas need more sand and mud
News, Marc Goichot, Published on 22/10/2019
» Doubtless it sounds crazy to anyone who has watched a sandcastle crumble as the tide washes in but the key to stopping the world's densely populated deltas from sinking beneath the waves is sand. Or rather sediment: the combination of gravel, sand, silt and clay that large rivers carry down to the sea and deposit on deltas. Sediment that constantly and naturally replenishes deltas, keeping them -- and all the people, fields, industries, cities and wildlife that rely on them -- above the water.
Damming Isan's last free-flowing river for cash
News, David JH Blake, Published on 25/07/2019
» Something distinctly rotten is afoot along the northern periphery of Isan. The Songkhram River, the last river with a slight semblance of natural flow and connectivity with the Mekong River, is threatened by one of the least transparent bureaucracies, the Royal Irrigation Department (RID), and a handful of wealthy private interests. That is because the RID's plan to dam the river in Nakhon Phanom, which has been stalled, now looks like it might materialise.