Story | 06 Mar, 2018
Celebrating World Wetlands Day in Savannakhet, Lao PDR
On 9 February, IUCN Lao PDR organised an event in Phonsim Village, Savannakhet Province, to celebrate World Wetlands Day, which falls on February 2. The event took place at Phonsim Upper Secondary School, close to the site of the local Phonsim Wetlands. The event aimed to raise awareness about…
Story | 21 Nov, 2017
EU Court orders Poland to stop Białowieża logging or face €100,000 daily fine
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ordered Poland to cease logging in the ancient Białowieża forest, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, or face a possible fine of at least €100,000 per day. The Polish Ministry of the Environment has argued that the logging is necessary to counter a…
Story | 31 Oct, 2017
Importance of gender equity in safeguarding water resources highlighted at recent regional forum
IUCN’s BRIDGE programme and the Oxfam Inclusion Project, in collaboration with the Lao Women’s Union, facilitated a regional forum on gender equity and women’s leadership in transboundary water governance from 13 to 15 September in Vientiane, Lao PDR. The forum, which provided a platform for…
Story | 18 Jul, 2017
U.S.-ASEAN Conference on Marine Environmental Issues to be held in Bangkok, Thailand
The Stimson Center, on behalf of the U.S. State Department and in collaboration with IUCN and the Mangroves for the Future (MFF) Programme, is co-chairing the U.S.-ASEAN Conference on Marine Environmental Issues.
Press release | 05 Jul, 2017
Kraków, Poland, 05 July 2017 (IUCN) – The UNESCO World Heritage Committee has adopted a decision today urging Poland to immediately halt all logging and wood extraction in the old-growth forests of Białowieża. The decision follows the advice of the International Union for Conservation of Nature…
Story | 26 Jun, 2017
New tools to assess vulnerability of wetlands in the Mekong
From June 19 to 21, IUCN staff, partners, and local officials from the Xe Champhone and Beung Kiat Ngong Ramsar sites in Lao PDR gathered in Champhone District for a training on the use of a new series of tools to assess the vulnerability of the areas’ wetlands. The…
Story | 19 May, 2017
Milestone: CEPF awards $1 million in small grants
The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) has reached another milestone in Indo-Burma: over US $1 million in small grants have been disbursed to conservation projects within the region.
Story | 15 May, 2017
During the weekend of Earth Day 2017 celebrations, over 80 individuals gathered in a four-day Forum and launched the BalkaNatureNet, set up to become a transnational meeting point for all individuals working in the fields of nature conservation and education for sustainable development (ESD) in…
Press release | 03 Apr, 2017
Enhancing regional cooperation to protect and restore Indo-Burma wetlands
The importance of regional cooperation took centre stage at the first Steering Committee meeting and inception workshop for the Indo-Burma Ramsar Regional Initiative (IBRRI), held on 29 and 30 March in Bangkok, Thailand.
Story | 02 Mar, 2017
Significant development of the Mekong triggers study of conservation priorities
The Mekong, which runs through six countries – Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam – is of fundamental cultural, ecological and economic importance to the entire Mekong region. What stands to be gained from the river’s development for economic purposes is as great as the…