Asia
See also China and India, as well as Labor and related pages. Also Forests
Sites:
Yale Environment 360 coverage.
Stories
Justice Denied for Murdered Thai Activist Who Defended His Community Against Coal 10/15.
Indonesia palm oil deforestation 5/15.
Thousands to Rally Today Against Taiji Dolphin Slaughter for “World Love for Dolphins Day” 2/15. see Marine Mammals.
China warns it will execute serious polluters 6/13 also starts carbon trading. Indonesia to seed clouds, try to put out huge plantation fires. 6/13.
Bhutan wants to be the world’s first 100 percent organic country. If Bhutan were a person, it would be that friend who somehow manages to eat only superfoods, go to yoga at least three times a week, and still be totally fun to hang out with. Best known for its Gross National Happiness model (on which it scores quite high), the tiny Himalayan country now says it wants also to be the first nation to go 100 percent organic.
Bangladesh: Tanneries Harm Workers, Poison Communities October 10, 2012. video.
Food for 9 Billion: Turning the Population Tide in the Philippines: While Philippine leaders debate, poor fishing families embrace birth control to ease pressure on over-fished reefs. Part of a new project called Food for 9 Billion that looks at the challenges of feeding the world in a time of social and environmental change. See Population.
Edwin Gariguez (Philippines) A Catholic priest, Father Edwin Gariguez is leading a grassroots movement against a large-scale nickel mine to protect Mindoro Island’s biodiversity and its indigenous people. Winner 2012 Goldman Award.
Biodiversity in Southeast Asia deforestation
Two more Tibetan women die in self-immolation protests against Chinese rule 3/12
Wildlife Crime: Vietnam Ranked Worst Country In New WWF Report On Animal Protection.
Cambodia -- A prominent environmentalist who was fatally shot last month by a policeman after investigating illegal logging was mourned Friday by more than 500 villagers who gathered in a forest that the activist had sought to protect. The memorial for Chut Wutty was in Koh Kong province in a forest near where the activist was killed after taking two journalists to look at a logging camp where a Chinese company is building a hydropower project. Chut Wutty's killing on April 26 drew worldwide condemnation and highlighted conflicts over land in Cambodia. "We want to send a very clear message to the illegal loggers that we are not afraid of them," ceremony organizer and rights activist Ou Virak said in a telephone interview. The government says a military policeman shot Chut Wutty during a heated argument, and then killed himself as a colleague tried to wrest his gun away from him.
Human rights and environmental groups have demanded a full investigation. Chut Wutty was aggressive in his work, and environmentalists say he earned powerful enemies. Illegal logging is rampant in Cambodia, and often occurs under the protection of government agencies or important people, environmental groups have charged. Some protests against land grabs by influential people in recent years have been suppressed with deadly force. On Monday, Prime Minister Hun Sen issued a directive temporarily suspending new land concessions to private companies in an effort to ease political pressure over the issue. link
