The Mekong watershed nurtures extraordinary biodiversity, with new species of plants and animals discovered every year. It has also nurtured humans. Tens of millions of people—much of the population of Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam—depend on the Mekong. Planners think the Mekong has a gift to give: hydropower. ...

(KPL) Laos’ first petroleum refinery, located in the energy and chemical precinct of Saysettha Development Zone, Vientiane, is expected to open its commercial production for domestic consumption on Nov 30. The refinery project began in 2015 under Laos-China Dongyan Petrochemical with Yunnan Dongyan Industrial holding ...

PM Thongloun Sisoulith issued an order to tighten the regulations against the hunting and smuggling of protected wildlife. Any officials who breach the order are to be deposed and prosecuted.More ...

(Vientiane times/ANN) The developer of the That Luang Marsh Special Economic Zone in Laos has spent $200 million on the project’s development since it began operations in 2012.More ...

Bokeo provincial hospital in Laos and a major medical facility in Xishuangbanna province, China, have agreed to extend cooperation in sustainable medical practices in Laos-China border areas. Under the agreement, cooperation will aim at developing administration protocols, improving clinical standards and changing practices around service delivery ...

The Lao government and World Wide Fund for Nature in Laos have agreed to implement Phase 5 of the Sustainable Rattan-Bamboo Harvesting and Production project. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the project was signed on Monday at the National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute ...

Vientiane policymakers have proposed that Party and state officials should set an example in adhering to traffic regulations and that those breaking the rules should be subject to an additional penalty.The policymakers listed this proposal in the draft of an administrative order from the Vientiane ...

Most of the cases have occurred in Vientiane, prompting the municipal authorities to declare a strict lockdown for two weeks beginning Sunday. Under the new restrictions, residents will be forced to stay in their homes unless obtaining food or medicine, or making their way to ...

Laos today received its first shipment of COVID-19 vaccine doses through the COVAX facility, a partnership between the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, UNICEF and the World Health Organisation (WHO). Keep reading  ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen on November 7 urged garment workers to improve their productivity in order to prevent factories from closing shop and moving to such countries as Laos, Bangladesh and Myanmar, all of which have lower minimum wages. His comments came during a graduation ceremony ...

The German government today provided an additional 2 million euro ($2.2 million) to the Mekong River Commission (MRC) to increase cross-border water dialogue, cooperation, and support efforts in monitoring trans boundary environmental impacts from Mekong mainstream dams. The funding agreement was made in a signing ceremony ...

Environment Ministry official Eang Sophalleth said on February 20 that he has made a request to the Mekong River Commission that Laos adequately investigate the potential impacts of the proposed Pak Beng hydropower dam ahead of a meeting this week.​ State news agency AKP on February ...

When the state tabloid China Daily ran a paid advertisement in the New York Times extolling the virtues of Beijing’s proliferating dams in Laos, the piece sparked a new cold war controversy. Entitled “Employment on hydroelectric project in Laos delivers better lives”, the piece stated that ...

The Bolaven Plateau in the south of Laos will be developed into the country’s top agri-business and agri-tourism destination thanks to its year round temperate climate. The Bolaven Plateau runs through Champassak province’s Pakxong district, Saravan province’s Lao-ngam, and Xekong province’s Thataeng district and boasts ...

‘Water grabbing’ refers to a situation in which public or private entities are able to take control of, or reallocate, precious water resources for profit or for power — and at the expense of local communities and the ecosystems on which their livelihoods are based.[] Many ...

Cambodia and Laos have formed a joint committee aimed at preserving and increasing the population of freshwater fish in the Mekong River. The committee was formed because of declining fish stocks in part due to illegal fishing and the construction of hydropower dams. In a ...

The children of Dakcheung district in Xekong province now have a brand new secondary school, built with 9 billion kip (US$1 million) in grant funding from the Vietnamese government.The school, in Nonsavan village, was officially handed over to Lao authorities last week.The event was attended ...

The last known endangered freshwater Irrawaddy dolphin on a stretch the Mekong River near Cambodia’s border with Laos died this week, after it was reported snagged in a fishing net, wildlife officials and villagers in the Southeast Asian countries said. “We are deeply saddened by the ...

An exodus of nearly 300,000 migrant workers is expected from April 5-30 when they visit hometowns for the Songkran festival in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. Labour Minister Pol General Adul Sangsingkeo, following a meeting of the Migrant Worker Management and Anti-Human Trafficking Sub-committee on Wednesday, ...

Open Development Laos supports the work of the Open Development Initiative on Indigenous data sovereignty (IDS) across the Mekong region. Read more about this work here. ...