Mekong Independent
  • Articles
  • About
  • Their country denies they exist, they refuse to be forgotten

    Their country denies they exist, they refuse to be forgotten

    Jul 30, 2025

    —

    by

    Rebecca L. Loot
    Rebecca L. Loot

    The Myanmar military burned villages but couldn’t destroy memories. Now Rohingya refugees are turning salvaged family photographs and faded certificates into evidence of their historical presence in a country that…

  • Laos’ illegal wildlife shops boom by duping Chinese mass tour groups

    Laos’ illegal wildlife shops boom by duping Chinese mass tour groups

    Jul 29, 2025

    —

    by

    Mongabay
    Mongabay

    Chinese tourists are tricked into paying high prices for illegal wildlife products they’re led to believe are sustainable, and a new report suggests the trade in Laos is expanding.

  • Indonesian palm oil company sues experts who helped secure $18m pollution ruling

    Indonesian palm oil company sues experts who helped secure $18m pollution ruling

    Jul 25, 2025

    —

    by

    Hans Nicholas Jong
    Hans Nicholas Jong

    Two top Indonesian environmental experts, Bambang Hero Saharjo and Basuki Wasis, are being sued by palm oil firm PT Kalimantan Lestari Mandiri for their court testimony that helped convict the…

  • Thai court rules eight defendants were trafficking victims, not criminals

    Thai court rules eight defendants were trafficking victims, not criminals

    Jul 22, 2025

    —

    by

    Nathaphob Sungkate
    Nathaphob Sungkate

    A Thai court cleared eight defendants of criminal charges, ruling they were victims coerced by Chinese scammer groups rather than willing participants – a verdict that exposes systemic problems in…

  • Viet Nam’s mega tourism project threatens langurs, livelihoods

    Viet Nam’s mega tourism project threatens langurs, livelihoods

    Jul 22, 2025

    —

    by

    Danielle Keeton-Olsen, Vũ Thanh
    Danielle Keeton-Olsen

    Conglomerate Sun Group pushes forward with land reclamation plan on Cát Bà island that many fear will affect UNESCO-listed site

  • Recurring groundwater floods signal intensifying extreme weather in northern Thailand

    Recurring groundwater floods signal intensifying extreme weather in northern Thailand

    Jul 17, 2025

    —

    by

    Kanokphorn Chanphloi, Visarut Sankham, Panit Pawaranggoon
    Kanokphorn Chanphloi

    More frequent, longer-lasting groundwater floods in Chiang Mai’s Mueang Na village raise urgent questions about disaster preparedness in a changing climate

  • Behind closed doors: Thailand moves toward secret proceedings in trials of activists

    Behind closed doors: Thailand moves toward secret proceedings in trials of activists

    Jul 16, 2025

    —

    by

    Panrapee Tiabtiam
    Panrapee Tiabtiam

    A growing number of Thai activists facing charges for political expression are being tried behind closed doors. In several recent cases, the courts ordered in camera trials and prohibited the…

  • The cost of cloud: Viet Nam’s data center push comes with a price tag

    The cost of cloud: Viet Nam’s data center push comes with a price tag

    Jul 15, 2025

    —

    by

    Nguyễn Đăng Anh Thi
    Nguyễn Đăng Anh Thi

    This article was originally published on Mekong Eye. Over the past year, global tech giants like Google, NVIDIA and Microsoft have expressed an interest in investing in data centers in…

  • Legal recognition at last for Thailand’s indigenous peoples?

    Legal recognition at last for Thailand’s indigenous peoples?

    Jul 14, 2025

    —

    by

    Nicha Wachpanich
    Nicha Wachpanich

    After decades of campaigning, Thailand’s six million indigenous people stand at the threshold of legal recognition. A landmark bill, set for July vote, could transform their struggle against statelessness, criminalisation…

  • Refugees and Thai agencies address Hun Sen’s leaked audio on dissident crackdown in Thailand

    Refugees and Thai agencies address Hun Sen’s leaked audio on dissident crackdown in Thailand

    Jul 11, 2025

    —

    by

    Prachatai
    Prachatai

    A Thai House Committee discusses security risks related to reportedly leaked call audio alleging that Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen ordered actions against refugees.

  • How Myanmar’s gold rush threatens international rivers

    How Myanmar’s gold rush threatens international rivers

    Jul 9, 2025

    —

    by

    Kannikar Petchkaew
    Kannikar Petchkaew

    Satellite data suggests unregulated gold mines near the Thai-Myanmar border may be polluting transboundary waterways

  • Not a Burden, But a Bond — Let This Border Be a Bridge of Shared Hope and Humanity

    Not a Burden, But a Bond — Let This Border Be a Bridge of Shared Hope and Humanity

    Jul 8, 2025

    —

    by

    Anonymous
    Anonymous

    Rather than burdening systems in Thailand, a Myanmar refugee and community organizer explores how Burmese in the border town of Mae Sot contribute to community life.

  • As Thailand’s fishing cats face habitat loss & conflict, experts seek resolution

    As Thailand’s fishing cats face habitat loss & conflict, experts seek resolution

    Jul 7, 2025

    —

    by

    Carolyn Cowan
    Carolyn Cowan

    Fishing cats have lost vast swathes of their former range in Thailand, where decades of wetland conversion to fish farms, shrimp ponds and plantations have decimated their numbers.

  • Mistrusting the Myanmar junta, grassroots communities deliver earthquake aid directly to victims

    Mistrusting the Myanmar junta, grassroots communities deliver earthquake aid directly to victims

    Jul 4, 2025

    —

    by

    Patchsita Rungrojtanakul
    Patchsita Rungrojtanakul

    Thai and Myanmar nationals in Thailand are collecting and delivering donations through grassroots networks, navigating logistics challenges to avoid giving to Myanmar’s junta government.

  • Battered in the creative city: the lives of Chiang Mai’s workers

    Battered in the creative city: the lives of Chiang Mai’s workers

    Jul 4, 2025

    —

    by

    Wanna Tamthong
    Wanna Tamthong

    Hear from Chiang Mai’s creative workers as they navigate rock-bottom wages, contract violations, and harsh working conditions, while employers cite obstacles to paying a living wage, and what makes it…

  • Fragile Peace Teeters at Metta Forest Pagoda

    Fragile Peace Teeters at Metta Forest Pagoda

    Jul 4, 2025

    —

    by

    Meng Kroypunlok, Danielle Keeton-Olsen
    Meng Kroypunlok

    Prum Socheat throws a meditation pad on the floor of the Metta Forest pagoda and squats, flipping through photos collected from pagoda events. The lead monk acts as a school…

  • Young activists risk all to defend Cambodia’s environment

    Young activists risk all to defend Cambodia’s environment

    Jul 4, 2025

    —

    by

    Andy Ball, Marta Kaszti
    Andy Ball

    One year ago, Cambodia jailed five activists from the award-winning environmentalist group Mother Nature Cambodia for plotting against the government, after they had sounded the alarm about river pollution and…

  • As U.S. doors close, Vietnam’s religious refugees find limbo in Thailand

    As U.S. doors close, Vietnam’s religious refugees find limbo in Thailand

    Apr 23, 2025

    —

    by

    Nathaphob Sungkate
    Nathaphob Sungkate

    They escaped Vietnam seeking safety in Thailand, with many betting on eventual resettlement in America. But Trump’s refugee restrictions have left them stranded – their future more uncertain than ever.

  • Yarnapund workers enter third week of hunger strike for severance pay

    Yarnapund workers enter third week of hunger strike for severance pay

    Apr 23, 2025

    —

    by

    Nicha Wachpanich
    Nicha Wachpanich

    Six Thai autopart workers enter their third week of hunger strike, demanding accountability after hundreds were unfairly dismissed.

  • Thailand ‘bringing back the bad old days’ for fisheries, say activists

    Thailand ‘bringing back the bad old days’ for fisheries, say activists

    Apr 10, 2025

    —

    by

    Tyler Roney
    Tyler Roney

    As protestors scramble to prevent rollbacks to environmental and labour protections, a leading politician defends the changes

  • The Mekong Delta’s highway conundrum

    The Mekong Delta’s highway conundrum

    Apr 10, 2025

    —

    by

    Lê Đình Tuyển
    Lê Đình Tuyển

    Expansion of the delta’s high-speed roads has been rocky, while the alternative, elevated highways, poses separate challenges

  • Southeast Asia’s environmental defenders on the frontline

    Southeast Asia’s environmental defenders on the frontline

    Apr 9, 2025

    —

    by

    Dialogue Earth Staff
    Dialogue Earth Staff

    Environmental defenders across Southeast Asia face threats, violence and legal hurdles in their fight for justice. Five share their struggles

  • Timber trade watchdog urges Poland to halt imports of Myanmar ‘blood timber’

    Timber trade watchdog urges Poland to halt imports of Myanmar ‘blood timber’

    Apr 8, 2025

    —

    by

    Carolyn Cowan
    Carolyn Cowan

    Environmental law watchdog ClientEarth is demanding immediate action from authorities in Poland to crack down on imports of sanctioned Myanmar teak into the country

  • Lost land, broken promises: Koh Kong’s evicted residents left in limbo after land deals

    Lost land, broken promises: Koh Kong’s evicted residents left in limbo after land deals

    Apr 4, 2025

    —

    by

    Sok Norkoreach, Sorn ChanMolina
    Sok Norkoreach

    Families promised a better future at relocation sites offered by a Chinese developer now struggle with infertile land, disappearing jobs and unfulfilled development pledges

  • Banana boom, soil bust

    Banana boom, soil bust

    Apr 3, 2025

    —

    by

    Mekong Eye
    Mekong Eye

    Long-term intensive chemical use in Laos’ banana farms has degraded the country’s once-fertile soil, and it may take nearly half a century to restore it

  • Cambodia’s LNG plans face energy security and cost issues

    Cambodia’s LNG plans face energy security and cost issues

    Apr 2, 2025

    —

    by

    Christopher Doleman, Sam Reynolds
    Christopher Doleman

    The country should approach gas-fired power development with caution, write the authors of a new report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis

  • New dams call into question Cambodia’s commitment to REDD+ projects

    New dams call into question Cambodia’s commitment to REDD+ projects

    Mar 30, 2025

    —

    by

    Gerald Flynn
    Gerald Flynn

    Three new irrigation dams have been approved in Cambodia’s Cardamom Mountains, overlapping with two carbon credit projects

  • Citizen scientists put land bridge plan under microscope

    Citizen scientists put land bridge plan under microscope

    Mar 29, 2025

    —

    by

    Pipope Panitchpakdi
    Pipope Panitchpakdi

    As Thailand’s ambitious land bridge project advances, grassroots efforts from citizen scientists and local researchers emerge to ensure that biodiversity and ecosystems are not overlooked

  • Underwater citizen science reveals the specter of ghost fishing in Thailand

    Underwater citizen science reveals the specter of ghost fishing in Thailand

    Mar 25, 2025

    —

    by

    Carolyn Cowan
    Carolyn Cowan

    Discarded or “ghost” fishing gear comprises 10% of all marine plastic debris in the ocean, persisting for decades and passively catching and killing species from sea snails to whale sharks

Mekong Independent

Mekong Independent is a space for journalists in Southeast Asia to publish articles about local issues.

Contributors

  • Dialogue Earth
  • HaRDstories
  • Mekong Eye
  • Mongabay
  • Prachatai

Social

  • Facebook