-
Slow Down? Environmental Regulators Tap the Brakes on China’s High-Speed Rail
›China Environment Forum // Guest Contributor // Vulnerable Deltas // December 15, 2022 // By Xiao Ma
China’s high-speed railway (HSR) is the most recent poster child for the country’s rapid development, with more HSR tracks than the rest of the world combined. Since 2004, the Chinese government has invested more than 10 trillion RMB to build a 40,000-kilometer (km) network of trains that zip between stations at speeds reaching 350 km/hr (or 220 miles per hour). Not to be outdone, by 2035 the government aims to expand this train network by 75 percent to help the country reach its transport connectivity and low-carbon transportation goals.
-
Buen Vivir in Ecuador: An Alternative Development Movement for Social and Ecological Justice
›China Environment Forum // Guest Contributor // Vulnerable Deltas // December 8, 2022 // By Yiran NingEarlier in 2022, Ecuador’s capital was left “virtually paralyzed” after some 14,000 people, mainly Indigenous Ecuadorians, participated in 17 days of sometimes violent nationwide protests. The actions forced the Lasso government to the negotiating table for a 90-day dialogue with Indigenous leaders. By early September, the parties signed a temporary moratorium on the development of oil blocks and the allocation of new mining contracts. -
High Stakes: China’s Leadership in Global Biodiversity Governance
›China Environment Forum // Guest Contributor // Vulnerable Deltas // November 3, 2022 // By Jesse RodenbikerAs countries prepare to gather for the Fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in December 2022, the stakes for global biodiversity couldn’t be higher. Over the last half century, global wildlife population sizes plummeted by 60 percent. A 2019 UN report, one among many, warned that the current global response to this accelerating loss of species is insufficient and that “transformative changes are needed to restore and protect nature.”
-
The Complex Dance Around China’s Overseas Projects
›China Environment Forum // Guest Contributor // Vulnerable Deltas // October 6, 2022 // By Alvin Camba & Victoria Chonn ChingChina dominates the world in its overseas development finance into power plants, mines, dams, and other infrastructure. However, while many projects sail through, a good many get stalled. The results have less to do with Beijing and more with the strength of the host country partners. There is a complex dance between governments, elites, and bureaucrats to win the best “deal” with China, including Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects. These deals may benefit not just the economy, but also may empower one of these three actors.
-
Greenhouse Plastic Boom Blights Vietnam’s Vegetable Basket
›China Environment Forum // Guest Contributor // Vulnerable Deltas // June 30, 2022 // By Govi Snell & Thinh DoanCam Ly landfill was, until it was shut down in 2020, the primary dumping ground for the city of Dalat. A hilltop locale 5 kilometers from central Dalat, the landfill was the final destination for the majority of plastic used in agriculture in Vietnam’s Central Highlands region. But in August 2019, heavy rain prompted an outpouring of trash, sending plastic sheeting from greenhouses and untreated agrichemical bags and bottles rushing downhill. The incident covered lowland farms in thousands of metric tons of waste. -
Plastic River: Following the Waste That’s Choking the Chao Phraya
›China Environment Forum // Guest Contributor // Vulnerable Deltas // June 16, 2022 // By Wanpen Pajai & Mailee Osten-Tan (Photographer)The Chao Phraya River is born from mountain streams in northern Thailand, flowing hundreds of kilometers south to the sea. By the time the river travels through Bangkok and empties into the Gulf of Thailand, it is carrying huge quantities of plastic waste – an estimated 4,000 metric tons every year, equal to the weight of 26 blue whales. The plastic clogs the river along its course, drastically impacting communities and the waterway’s ecology. The Third Pole traveled from the Chao Phraya’s beginnings to the sea to explore what’s happening to one of Southeast Asia’s most important rivers.
Showing posts from category Vulnerable Deltas.
