Story | 23 Aug, 2019
New climate change assessments report future threats to Lao PDR’s largest peatlands
IUCN’s Mekong WET project recently conducted Climate Change Vulnerability Assessments at Lao PDR’s two Ramsar sites, Beung Kiat Ngong and Xe Champhone, to understand how climate change impacts will affect species, habitats, and livelihoods. Results show that changes in rainfall will negatively…
Story | 22 Aug, 2019
Assessing the Management Effectiveness of the Xe Champhone Ramsar Site through R-METT
From June 24th to June 27th 2019, IUCN Lao PDR facilitated a participatory assessment in Savannakhet Province, to evaluate the management effectiveness of the Ramsar designated Xe Champhone Wetland. The assessment was carried out using the Ramsar Management…
Story | 29 Jul, 2019
Celebrating the extension of the Ohrid Region World Heritage site in Albania
The oldest and one of the most biodiversity rich lakes in Europe is now recognised as World Heritage in its entirety. The already inscribed part of the Ohrid region, located in North Macedonia, was extended at the 2019 World Heritage Committee meeting held earlier this July in Baku to include…
Story | 19 Jun, 2019
Mekong transboundary cooperation: Making a problem bigger
When asked about his success as a soldier and politician, U.S. President Eisenhower said: “Whenever I run into a problem I can’t solve, I always make it bigger. I can never solve it by trying to make it smaller, but if I…
Story | 17 Jun, 2019
Six years of conservation progress in Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot
More than 100 conservation and development practitioners attended the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) Phase II Final Assessment Workshop, held from 28 to 30 May in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Story | 14 Jun, 2019
From 28-30 May 2019, government officials from Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam gathered in Bangkok to discuss the status and progress of wetland policies in the region. The discussion was part of a regional dialogue organised by the Indo-Burma Ramsar…
Story | 04 Jun, 2019
In the Maldives, Aminath lives close to a vast protected wetland area within the Fuvahmulah Nature Park on Fuvahmulah Atoll. Aminath goes to the wetland at least once a month to harvest taro from her…
Story | 21 May, 2019
APAP welcomes new Country and Associate Members
APAP has welcomed three new Members and Associate Members since December 2018: the Protected Area Management Division of Lao PDR’s Department of Forestry; the Maldives’ Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); and the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (…
Story | 07 May, 2019
Mekong water and power: Some recent trends
Perhaps more than in any other transboundary river basin, in the Mekong, energy, water, and fisheries, and biodiversity are inextricably linked, with energy and specifically hydropower being by far the dominant sector. Major decisions on the Mekong…
Story | 07 May, 2019
Towards Natura 2000 in Albania
The centrepiece of EU nature policies, Natura 2000 is the largest coordinated network of protected sites in the world. Despite being on a steady rise, the Albanian system of protected areas is facing numerous challenges, stemming from the country’s fast development in recent years. To help…