News

Myanmar Times 27 October 2017 | Naw Betty Han  

Local people and civil societies have told Kayin State’s chief minister that they oppose a plan to build a coal-fired power plant in Hpa-an township of the state.

Chief Minister Daw Nan Khin Htwe Myint, who met with local people to discuss the issue on Tuesday, told them to focus less on the power plant, which is essential for the state’s economy, and more on the state’s drug problem.

The Nation 25 October 2017 | Chatrudee Theparat

The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) yesterday approved guidelines for land utilisation in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) in a bid to facilitate investment.

China Briefing  24 October 2017 | Alexander Chipman Koty  

China will ban the import of 24 types of waste by the end of the year as part of a campaign against “foreign garbage”.

Myanmar Eleven/The Nation 23 October 2017  

As Myanmar pushes to attract more foreign direct investment through its three special economic zones, civil society organisations have reiterated their recommendation to review and monitor the progress of the SEZs.

IPEN 22 October 2017

(Gothenburg, Sweden) Decorative paint containing levels of lead dangerous to children is widely available in more than 50 low- and middle-income countries, according to a new report released today by IPEN, an international organization promoting safe and sustainable chemical use. Lead in Solvent-Based Paints for Home Use -Global Report is the world’s most comprehensive review of lead in paint sold around the world and brings together data from all paint studies conducted since 2009 in 55 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe. The report also includes never before released data from new studies conducted in 2017 in 19 countries.

The Guardian 20 October 2017 | Damian Carrington

Landmark study finds toxic air, water, soils and workplaces kill at least 9m people and cost trillions of dollars every year

Pollution kills at least nine million people and costs trillions of dollars every year, according to the most comprehensive global analysis to date, which warns the crisis “threatens the continuing survival of human societies”.

Agence France-Presse via The Nation 20 October 2017

Pollution claimed the lives of nine million people in 2015, one in every six deaths that year, according to a report published on Friday.

Almost all the deaths, 92 percent, happened in low- and middle-income countries, it said, with air pollution the main culprit, felling 6.5 million people.

Bangkok Post 12 October 2017 | Apinya Wipatayotin

Axing public input 'wrong way to go'

Activists have urged the government to come up with a better alternative for its Environment and Health Impact Assessment (EHIA) process after it ordered the Independent Commission on Environment and Health (ICEH) to be axed this week.

The Nation 11 October 2017 | WICHIT CHAITRONG  

SOME large infrastructure projects in the Eastern Economic Corridor are opposed by local communities, while a number have high costs and may not be able to proceed at the desired pace, researchers at the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) have warned.

Although the EEC policy is the correct one to pursue, there are more challenging issues than was previously thought that the government has to overcome, TDRI president Somkiat Tangkitvanich said yesterday.

The Nation 06 October 2017 | Pratch Rujivanarom

AN ETHANOL factory in Suphan Buri will face several lawsuits for alleged violations of environmental and industrial laws as a result of its wastewater reservoirs being breached, severely polluting a large area spanning three districts in Suphan Buri province.

Thai Agro Energy Company reservoirs in Dan Chang district began leaking on Sunday, causing wastewater to flood more than 35 villages in three districts, Suphan Buri Provincial Industry Office said yesterday.