Ethnic women in northwest Vietnam hold a treasure trove of knowledge about their forest biodiversity, including the uses of different trees and plants as medicine. But they face a number of challenges, chiefly from language barriers in sharing and disseminating their valuable knowledge to the next generation.
Planned Ywarthit mega-dam on Salween River threatens Karenni communities
The Ywarthit Dam in Karenni State, Myanmar is a huge hydropower project planned for the Salween River. To date communities living nearby have not been consulted, and there is little attention by the media or wider public. Ko Thaike highlights the social and environmental impacts of the project, and says it’s time we talked about it.
A nomadic woman’s story of environmental protection on the Tibetan Plateau
The herding communities of the Tibetan Plateau are facing many struggles to protect their grasslands and herding livestock that are integral not only to their livelihoods but also their culture and identity. Mkha Be explains the changes and challenges facing the herding communities through a nomadic woman’s personal story.
Development and change in ethnic C’Tu and Ve villages in Vietnam’s Central Highlands
Ethnic groups such as the C’Tu and Ve are predominant in Central Vietnam’s Tay Giang and Nam Giang communes in Quang Nam province. Karine Hoang’s photo essay shows how the recently introduced forest protection and rubber contract farming policies are affecting the traditional customs and ways of life of the ethnic communities.
Protecting the culture and identity of herders on the Tibetan Plateau
The herding communities in the Tibetan Plateau face many struggles to protect their grasslands and herding livestock that together form an integral part of their culture, identity and livelihoods. Mkha Be recollects her childhood experiences in rural Tibet and explains the changes and challenges facing the herding communities.
Passion and people’s power defend free-flowing Salween
Laofang Bundidterdsakul is a Hmong indigenous human rights lawyer. He initiated the Salween Youth Research Project to restore people’s power along the Salween River who are seeking to protect the Salween River from a proposal for a hydropower cascade and take back decision-making about the use of the river.
The politics of place naming reaches the Salween River
The debate about the power of naming is long-running and contentious, engaging citizens and colonizers, academics and activists. “South” of China, “East” of India, Southeast Asia is a name that came primarily from people not native to these regions who instead imagined the region through acts of war and nation building.