Harvested News

President Halimah Yacob delivered an address on Aug. 24 for the commencement of Singapore's 14th Parliament to establish the government's upcoming policies and priorities. Under the theme of "Adapting to New Norms and Building Our Home of the Future", three ministries have outlined their plans on how Singapore can thrive sustainably in a post-Covid-19 landscape, taking in mind the the looming threat of climate change. They are…

The World Resources Institute (WRI) Indonesia launched on Monday a smartphone application dubbed “Emisi” and website nol-emisi.id to track, count, reduce and reabsorb carbon emissions produced by daily human activities, so that people can participate in mitigating climate change. Energy consumption, which includes, among other things, transportation, electricity and heat, is by far the largest contributor to human-caused carbon dioxide emissions, contributing to 74 percent of greenhouse gas emissions…

The effects of climate change have had a devastating effect on the Cambodian economy, especially the agriculture sector, costing the country millions of dollars in losses. In Cambodia, the impact of climate change on agriculture activities, which depend on rain, has caused devastating impact to livelihood which are vulunerable to changing climate factors. The loss of paddy in Cambodia was 70 percent from floods and…

A multi-year comprehensive study to assess the potential impacts of different climate change scenarios including rise in sea levels among associated hazards in key cities across the Philippines is now in the works. According to Dr. Rodel Lasco, Executive Director of the Oscar M. Lopez Center, the study will look at key hotspots as case studies in selected cities of the Philippines, and will include…

In celebration of International Youth Day last Aug. 12, the Climate Change Commission (CCC) underscored the role of youth engagement in climate change action and vowed for strengthened and more inclusive partnerships with Filipino youth at all levels. With the theme “Youth Engagement for Global Action,” this year’s celebration aims to highlight the ways how engaging the youth at the local, national, and global levels enriches national and…

Vietnam expects to have more regulations on investment and managing green cities and climate-resilient urban areas as the Ministry of Construction is compiling a draft decree on the issue. The draft revised decree on Investment, Management of urban development would replace the current one from seven years ago. According to the Ministry of Construction, Decree 11/2013/ND-CP regulates investments in urban development but does not have…

The updated NDC of Vietnam identifies mitigation measures for the 2021-2030 period, and strategic adaptation tasks and measures to minimize damage caused by climate change that are specific to each sector. The Prime Minister on July 24, 2020 approved Vietnam’s updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). Accordingly, by 2030 Vietnam will reduce 9 percent of its total greenhouse gas emissions compared to the Business-As-Usual Scenario (BAU),…

Vietnamese young people should take actions to protect the environment towards enabling a better Vietnam for future generations. This was highlighted by participants at a celebration held in Hanoi on August 12 by the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union and the United Nations in Vietnam to mark 2020 International Youth Day. This year’s celebration has the theme “The Vietnam we want in 2030: The…

The Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) shares how social science research and zero-waste efforts will prepare the nation for a sustainable future. Harsh policies and tough crackdowns do the job, but there are more delicate ways to change behaviour. To deter speeding, Japan built some of its highways to play music when cars drive at exactly the right speed. To reduce littering, the…

Kalimantan, Indonesia’s portion of Borneo island, is no stranger to peatland fires. In early July, one of its provinces, Central Kalimantan, declared a state of emergency after over 700 blazes were detected there. The fires, usually started by farmers looking to cheaply clear land, are a right of Indonesia’s dry season. They produce a cloud of haze that can blanket villages, cities and even neighbouring…

Climate change is likely to alter the local physical and strategic environment profoundly, and potentially catastrophically. This week the ASEAN Joint Task Force on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) will meet via video conference, with the COVID-19 pandemic escalating just as some countries in the disaster-prone Indo-Asia Pacific enter their cyclone, drought, heatwave, or monsoon seasons. The overlaying of the pandemic with existing complex…

The National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM) launched a new information-sharing system over the weekend to safeguard vulnerable citizens against floods and natural disasters amid the rainy season. Areas along the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers were identified as higher-risk locations. Speaking at the launch of the Platform for Real-time Information Systems (Prism) over the weekend, NCDM first vice-president Kun Kim said improving Cambodia’s disaster…

Rampha Khamhaeng, a farmer in central Thailand’s rice-growing Suphanburi province, was sceptical when she first heard about a new farming method for paddy fields that could reduce both water use and greenhouse gas emissions. Read more.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) launched on Thursday its latest Web-based disaster risk reduction tool in time with the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the 1990 Luzon earthquake. Named GeoMapper PH, this web and mobile application was designed to collect and update natural hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and coping capacity data to further enhance natural disaster preparedness of the local government units.…

Officials of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) urged Caraganons to help protect the region’s rich bounty of natural resources by planting more trees “without let up” in support to the government’s Enhanced National Greening Program (E-NGP). As the Agusanons and Surigaonons poured the ample time by strictly adhering to health protocols during the community quarantine by exploiting vacant areas and communal garden…

Ho Chi Minh City is carrying out multiple methods and programmes to reduce air pollution and CO2 emissions in its aim to create a "clean, green and beautiful" city. Nguyen Thi Thanh My, deputy director of the city Department of Natural Resources and Environment, said that environmental programmes implemented since 2016 aim to reduce 70 percent of the total volume of emissions by transport. The…

Enhancing state management on climate change is one of the major measures set in the national plan on climate change adaptation for 2021-2030, with a vision towards 2050, recently issued by the Prime Minister. The plan emphasised the integration of climate change adaptation into strategies and planning schemes, the investment in adaptive activities, science and technologies, and the improvement of public awareness of this issue.…

British High Commissioner to Brunei Darussalam Richard Lindsay, in commemorating World Environment Day, underscored the important roles that Brunei Government and local NGOs (non-governmental organizations), as well as the British High Commission, played in preserving the environment in the country. “World Environment Day is marked on June 5. This year, as we are adjusting to the COVID-19 pandemic, we should reflect on the world around…

On June 5, 2020, Brunei Darussalam joined over 100 countries to commemorate World Environment Day, a global platform aimed at fostering and enhancing environmental awareness as well as encouraging the support and participation of each and every community to play its role in preserving the environment. The year 2020 marks the ‘Super Year’ for biodiversity. The theme ‘Time for Nature’ was chosen, focussing on the…

To mark World Environment Day, the UK High Commissioner calls on leaders and businesses to slash carbon emissions World Environment Day is marked on 5 June. This year, as we are adjusting to the COVID-19 pandemic we should reflect on the world around us, and the wider impacts when humanity’s relationship with nature breaks down. As we look to recover from the pandemic we have…