News

The Nation 10 September 2017 | Pratch Rujivanarom

Hundreds of opponents of the Thepa coal-fired power plant marched in Songkhla’s Thepa district to protest against the expedited construction of the project.

Starting in the early morning on Sunday, opposition groups waved green flags and marched in protest against the 2,200-megawatt power plant, which is under the purview of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand.

CITYLAB 05 September 2017 | Teresa Mathew

A recent report “Thirsting for Justice: Transparency and Poor People’s Struggle for Clean Water in Indonesia, Mongolia, and Thailand,” from the World Resources Institute examines what happens when water quality data is inaccessible to local communities.

The report is the result of a three-year investigation into the efficiency of approaches these governments are taking to release water quality data. Even though some countries, like Thailand, have freedom-of-information and right-to-know laws, their implementation is often unsuccessful.

 

The Nation 04 September 2017 | Pratch Rujivanarom

NEGOTIATIONS to end the conflict between the Thai government and Australian gold mining conglomerate Akara Resources are progressing well, with the possibility that the company’s closed mine in Phichit will reopen.

The Nation 28 August 2017 | Pratch Rujivanarom

STUDY FINDINGS PUT MORE PRESSURE ON AKARA RESOURCES

A REPORT on the health impacts has confirmed that people living near a gold mine in Phichit province have been exposed to higher than average levels of heavy metals.

The Nation 26 August 2017 | PRATCH RUJIVANAROM

A GROUP OPPOSING the Thepa coal-fired power plant in Songkhla province vowed to return with a bigger protest in September, as it claimed the project did not respect the Islamic faith of the local people and neglected people’s rights.

The Manila Times 24 August 2017  

Environmental groups are pushing the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) to act on plastic pollution in the region.

Concerned groups urged the regional body to invest in Zero Waste Solutions to reduce the use and consumption of disposable materials, including materials that are used for packaging.

Bangkok Post 24 August 2017 | Apinya Wipatayotin

Want 'farcical' EHIA study redone

A group of Thai-Muslims opposed to the Thepa coal-fired power plant project in Songkhla staged a sit-in protest in front of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment yesterday in the hope of halting a project they see as a development disaster.

23 August 2017 | EARTH Editorial Team

On 22-23 August 2017, a team from Ecological Alert and Recovery – Thailand (EARTH) visited the mangrove areas in Ranong province, southern Thailand, to collect the environmental samples after receiving the complaint from Ms Sureeporn Kulmaliwan, a local resident who lives 400 meters from a private company’s waste dumping site.

The Asahi Shimbun 21 August 2017 | EDITORIAL

The U.N. Minamata Convention on Mercury, which sets international rules for regulating the use of mercury, has come into force.

Minamata disease is the crippling neurological syndrome caused by wastewater polluted with methyl mercury that was dumped into the sea by a chemical plant in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture. Many local residents have suffered from impairment of cerebral functions and other serious health problems due to mercury poisoning.

The Nation 20 August 2017 | PRATCH RUJIVANAROM

AN ACADEMIC claims that the Environmental and Health Impact Assessment’s (EHIA) approval for the Thepa coal-fired power plant was unjust, because local people did not have a chance to present to the expert committee before a final decision was made, and because the report was inconclusive.