Mekong Commons is back. We resume our work as a platform for debate and organizing writeshops that support young writers in the Mekong Region to produce articles and films that offer topical and critical perspectives on regional environmental issues.
Open call: Grants for writing workshop by Mekong Commons
The call is open for all writers and researchers based in the Mekong Region to build their writing capacity and produce a written story on current environmental and development issues about the Mekong Region.
Looking back, moving forward: Reflecting on the Mekong Commons after six years
As we look back and reflect on all of this, it provides us further motivation. We are looking back so that we can move ahead.
Special Economic Zone plan for Trat province raises concerns of pollution, loss of coastal livelihoods
A province in eastern Thailand that once housed 100,000 Cambodian refugees during the Vietnam War era is eyed as a “Special Economic Zone” to promote tourism, food production and international trade. But concerns arise as to whether it will come at a cost to residents’ livelihoods and local business opportunities.
Will the Dawei Special Economic Zone benefit the people of Myanmar?
The Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) project in Myanmar will establish large-scale industrial estates for export-led industrialization. Japan has recently expressed interest in investing in the Dawei SEZ. Japan’s economy has been built on this model of industrial development. This development model has caused enormous environmental and health impacts. Minari Tsuchikawa questions whether it is appropriate for Japan to impose this type of “development” model on Myanmar rather than allow the people of Myanmar to find their own path of sustainable development.
Cambodia’s Prey Lang forest: Youth campaigns to prevent the destruction of this ecological treasure
Known as a national treasure of Cambodia, the Prey Lang forest in Preah Vihear province serves as the main source of livelihoods for indigenous people and is an indispensable part of the country’s forest ecosystem. In the last few years, the forest has come under destruction from logging and large-scale plantations. Youth campaigns are supporting the local communities, who depend on the forest, in an ongoing struggle to protect the forest areas from being completely wiped away.