Earth Day

Earth Day is a good time to read these recommendations to U.S. President Biden from a taskforce on Southeast Asia policy, one of which is: “The U.S. must focus its attention on climate change as the defining geostrategic threat in the Indo-Pacific and work closely with Southeast Asian nations to help mitigate the damage. Southeast Asia is one of th… Read more

Last week, heads of state from Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand met for the third Mekong River Commission (MRC) Summit in Siem Reap to discuss the threats to the Mekong River region, among them how to develop effective coping strategies for climate-related vulnerabilities. Cambodia is already feeling the effects: the country recently endured a… Read more

Approximately 12 percent of the world’s population relies upon fisheries and aquaculture for their livelihood, and over half of the world’s people get a significant source of their animal protein from fish and seafood. In Southeast Asia, this proportion is significantly higher. The region’s seas not only serve as a major source of food and liveliho… Read more

Sitting beside the Mekong River, sipping a cold drink and enjoying the scenery is a welcome break for tourists and locals alike in Laos. You can usually see men out in their boats following the large seine nets that float down the river, and women dipping and then hoisting their large lift nets as they catch fish for their supper. But as one’s gaze… Read more

April 22 marks Earth Day around the globe. I was in 8th grade when Earth Day was first commemorated in 1970, and to mark the day, I participated in annual trash clean-up events at my school. At that time, my world was pretty much the town where I grew up in New Jersey and I didn’t think very much about the rest of the world, I just wanted my neighb… Read more

The Indonesian province of Riau declared a state of emergency last month as haze from agricultural fires across Sumatra continued to envelope the region. The fires are the result of an early dry period, which comes all too quickly after last year’s extended dry season that saw agricultural fires burn over two million hectares of peatland mostly in… Read more

Bangladesh’s economy grew 7.05 percent in the first three quarters of the financial year, averaging over 6 percent a year for the past decade. A major driver of the country’s impressive economic growth is its vibrant ready-made garment (RMG) sector, earning a reputation as a global leader in low-cost, high-quality manufacturing. Bangladesh’s RMG se… Read more

Bangladesh’s highly productive leather sector, under growing international scrutiny for destructive environmental practices, now seems poised for new growth as a major environmental upgrade nears completion. For decades, pollution from Dhaka’s tanneries has poured into the…

South Asia has witnessed rapid social and economic transformation over the last two decades. Undeterred by a global slowdown, the region’s economic growth rate is expected to remain at a respectable 6 and 6.4 percent for 2015 and 2016….

This February, the Cambodian Council of Ministers announced that they would review and possibly revoke the capital city’s contract with solid waste collector CINTRI. CINTRI has held the 49-year monopoly contract since 2003. Like growing cities throughout the developing world, Phnom Penh has struggled for years with dismally inadequate garbage collection.

Last month, China unveiled its grand urbanization plan to increase the number of people living in cities to 60 percent, or around 100 million additional people, by 2020. In fact, China’s migration plan reflects a global trend: right now, about half of the world’s population…

Bangladesh’s Buriganga River, which flows along the southwest border of Dhaka, has long been a lifeline for this sprawling capital of over 15 million, and is today a vital economic link to the rest of the country connected by an intricate network of rivers and tributaries.

The burgeoning growth of the apparel industry in Vietnam offers an opportunity to foster best practices in sustainable manufacturing processes. While China may be best known for, and is currently the leading global exporter for apparel, many multinational companies…