AFP
Deforestation caused by rubber vastly underestimated: study
Deforestation for rubber cultivation has been “substantially underestimated”, and is two to three times higher than generally assumed, a new study said Wednesday.Using satellite data and cloud computing, scientists said they compiled the first detailed accounting of deforestation for rubber production in Southeast Asia — ...
Humans increasingly settling in high-risk flood zones, study warns
Humans are increasingly settling in areas highly exposed to dangerous flooding, particularly in China, Vietnam and Bangladesh, a study warned Wednesday (4/10). The research, led by a World Bank economist, warns that settlement growth in flood zones has vastly outpaced growth in safe areas since ...
China pressed on Mekong dams after record low water levels
Mekong River Commission (MRC) pressed China on Tuesday to show more transparency over its dam operations on the Mekong River, months after downstream water levels hit record lows and threatened millions of livelihoods.China has built 11 dams on its section of the river while downstream ...
AFP
Mineral misery: Vietnam salt farmers battered by imports, climate
The work is punishing and the incomes unstable, subject to seesawing demand swayed by foreign imports, and increasingly unpredictable weather patterns.Vietnam produced about one million tonnes of salt in 2015, according to the latest official data, and often clocks surpluses, but it still ships salt ...
AFP
Activists call for movement on transgender rights law in Vietnam
As more than 1,000 Vietnamese joined Hanoi’s Gay Pride parade Sunday to support the LGBT community, activists called on the government to make a long-tabled transgender rights law a reality. Vietnam in 2015 changed its civil code to allow transgender people who have undergone surgery ...
AFP Reporter
