Southeast Asia

Almost two-thirds of the heavy rare earths dysprosium and terbium on the global market come from Myanmar. How should Germany and Europe deal with the mining of urgently needed rare earths in the civil war-torn country of Myanmar?

Cambodia must choose its course wisely between China and the USA. The second Trump administration will redefine its diplomatic relations with Cambodia - but destroyed a lot of trust right from the start.

Southeast Asia’s geographical location is blessed with abundant natural resources – minerals, forests, and wildlife. For hundreds of years, these resources have been a source of livelihood and even life for Indigenous peoples, as well as local communities. However, the capitalist perspective of development is rapidly encroaching on the mineral-rich lands of these peoples. 

Climate-smart mining appears to be a better alternative to traditional mining, known for its destructive nature. By hyphenating ‘climate’ with smart mining, it is a repackaged tool to attract the mineral-rich but developing countries. 

The purpose of Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETPs) is to decarbonize energy systems in emerging countries. In Vietnam, the partnership is ambitious but underfunded, unjust, and riddled with high political costs.

The results of the July 2023 elections show that Cambodia is far from achieving its stated vision of gender equality and equitable political participation for women. A reflection.

Six experts from different asian countries discuss the issues, consequences and expactations of elections in Southeast asia.

Regenerative aquaculture is emerging as a promising solution to address the sustainability challenges faced by the aquaculture industry. Integrating Gracilaria seaweed and brackish water tilapia in pond systems in Johor, Malaysia, has shown great potential.

On February 1, 2021, the Myanmar military conducted a military coup, tarnishing the nation's history with its notorious record of atrocities. Internationally infamous for its genocide of the Rohingya, the military has since then been striving to seize control of the state by resorting to arrests, torture, and killings of civilians.

Preventing the opposition from meaningfully participating in this election has once again ensured the landslide victory for the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP).

As Indonesia and Vietnam start on their respective JET-P journeys, funding is pivotal in determining the nature of ‘partnership’ in just energy transition. Can they clear the path away from debt and fossil fuel-laden projects to navigate the way transparently with the IPG towards clearer benefits for all and respect for human rights? 

The judge's words still sometimes echo in her mind, even years after Juthamat Srihatthapadungkit observed the trial against a group of community rights defenders in northeastern Thailand. "What do you know about anything? Do you even have a fourth grade education?" the judge's voice thundered across the courtroom. The incident shook the young law student, leaving her with a nagging doubt about Thailand's justice system. She began questioning her dream of becoming one of the country's few female judges, an ambition she had worked hard for. But it also opened up a new path for her. 

Dressed in colourful traditional garb, the village's female elders gather around a young woman as two large cameras begin recording. In a soft but firm voice, 18-year-old Pornchita Fahpratanprai explains why they are standing up against a coal mine threatening their peaceful community in the mountains of northern Thailand.

At the age of 18, Natthapan Saengtab crashed her motorcycle into a stranger's car. It set off a chain of events that would see her parents lose their land, sending the family on a downward spiral. But against all odds, the fateful accident set Natthapan on the path to becoming a prominent land rights defender in southern Thailand. 

Alisa, who goes by the nickname Fon, went to a high school located right at the beach, prompting her to develop a deep interest in the coastal communities of her hometown. She then became inspired to pursue a career in law, hoping to bring the voices of local communities into the country's environmental laws and regulations. Today, the young activist is one of the pioneers of encouraging young people in Thailand's South to raise their voices for change. She became one of the few youth representatives in national politics dedicated to community struggles in the country’s coastal areas. 

Until the second grade, Songseang Supanya did not see a problem with commuting to school in a saleng, a three-wheeled cart her parents used for scavenging in the streets of Bangkok. Then, in third grade, she switched to a school van, supervised every morning by teachers. "One day, I overheard a teacher talk about picking me up from home. 'She lives in a slum!' she said. I felt terrible. I questioned whether living in a slum meant I was not a [good] student," Songeang recalls.

Yureesa Sama was a high-school student when the police officers showed up at her doorstep for the first time in 2010. Her family lived in a small house surrounded by rice paddies in a Malay-Muslim community in Pattani province in Thailand's Deep South. The officers questioned her parents, family members and neighbours. Then they left, only to return the following week, the one after that and so on. Sometimes they just hung around the house for hours watching who came and went. Yureesa sensed her parents' concern and knew something was wrong, but she didn't quite understand what was going on. Finally, she was told not to worry and focus on her studies. In most other places in Thailand, the officers' conduct would have raised eyebrows, but the Deep South has been ruled by martial law since 2005. Growing up in a region affected by a prolonged separatist insurgency, Yureesa was taught not to ask too many questions. 

Small-scale beekeeping with native species is a resourceful way of tapping into local honey production alongside increasing household incomes in Southeast Asia. Finding honey bee species most suitable to the native landscape will result in more resilience.

At the age of nine, Nalutporn was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy. For the rest of her life, she would use a wheelchair – and for the first part of that life, she had to make it through the Thai educational system. People with disabilities in Thailand have few rights sanctioned – a hot political issue for Nalutporn.

Sitting in front of Songkhla’s city hall, a seaside city in southern Thailand, a young woman dressed in a hijab wrote a letter to the country's prime minister. Choosing each word with care, she called on him "to listen to the stories of the fisherfolk’s children who grew up and bonded with the sea, protected and took care of it." It was in May 2020, two days before a week-long public hearing session for the Chana Industrial Estate project that is poised to transform the quiet fishing villages of Songkhla province into an industrial zone.