Understanding water, climate and nature in Asia
Oil palm fruit being left to rot
Agriculture

Oil palm pioneers doubt crop will take off in Himalayan foothills

India’s efforts to reduce its dependence on palm oil imports come at a cost for farmers, communities and biodiversity

Latest news

Industrial Gas Storage Tank On Orange Sunset Sky. Lng Or Liquefied Natural Gas Storage Tank on orange sunset sky Article
fossil fuels

Asia’s bet on gas looks increasingly risky

Article
Agriculture

Climate change hits harvest of one of world’s priciest mushrooms in Himalayas

Opinion
climate action

Opinion: Pakistan’s new government must build on climate successes

A hospital ward in Assam, northern India. Article
climate impacts

Hospitals in Uttarakhand struggle to provide care due to lack of water

A man throws a tear gas canister back at riot police during a protest against the US Millennium Challenge Corporation grant in Kathmandu, Nepal Opinion
diplomacy

Opinion: Biggest US aid project in Nepal has created turmoil

Wind energy is part of Pakistan's long term change in its energy sector Article
policy

Roundtable: The future of energy in Pakistan

Men sleep in shade during a heatwave in Karachi, Pakistan, June 2015 Article
heat

South and Central Asia reel under early heatwave

Upper dam of the Purulia Pumped Storage Project Article
displacement

Hydro project in India resurrected despite threats to livelihoods

Article
negotiations

Global biodiversity deal running short on time and ambition

Sarus Crane pair calls out with other birds in the background watching Opinion
wetlands

Opinion: Floodplain wetlands of the Mekong – going, going, gone?

A reactor pressure vessel and steam generator for the first power unit of the Rooppur nuclear power plant are shipped from Russia to Bangladesh in August 2020 Article
nuclear

Questions over Russia-funded nuclear power plant in Bangladesh

Three women wearing brightly coloured clothes sit on the ground Article
migration

Despite repeated disasters in Assam, many have no desire to migrate

All articles

Top stories

  1. Roundtable: The future of energy in Pakistan
  2. Opinion: Pakistan’s new government must build on climate successes
  3. Hospitals in Uttarakhand struggle to provide care due to lack of water
  4. Opinion: Biggest US aid project in Nepal has created turmoil
  5. Hydro project in India resurrected despite threats to livelihoods
  6. Despite repeated disasters in Assam, many have no desire to migrate
<p>Taken in 2015, this image shows one of the last Irrawaddy dolphins in the Mekong’s Chheu Teal pool on the Laos-Cambodia border. The species is now extinct in this part of the river, with fewer than 90 adults surviving downstream in Cambodia. (Image © Thomas Cristofoletti / Ruom)</p>
Photo story

Cambodia strives to protect the Mekong’s last dolphins

With the death of the last Irrawaddy dolphin on the border with Laos, the few remaining in Cambodia’s deep river pools face a multitude of threats

Highlights

Article
tradition

For villagers in Nepali Himalayas, climate change is a signal of divine revenge

Residents of Walung in northeastern Nepal see disrupted snowfall and other environmental change as evidence of divine retribution for moral failings, risking a crisis among the community
A man climbs onto a fuel tanker Opinion
policy

Opinion: Fuel price crisis should accelerate India’s energy transition

The Russia-Ukraine war is creating inflation and economic hardship, emphasising the importance of boosting energy security through renewables
Article
policy

How will Pakistan stay cool while keeping emissions in check?

In its updated NDC, Pakistan revealed it is working on a ‘Cooling Action Plan’. As need for refrigeration and air conditioning grows, how will policymakers keep the sector in line with climate pledges?
Article
Fisheries

A tiny shrimp is a lifeline for communities by the Aral Sea

Cultivation of brine shrimp, or artemia, has brought livelihoods back to the West Aral in Uzbekistan, but depends on the lake’s condition remaining stable

Life in the shadow of a cement plant in Kazakhstan from The Third Pole on Vimeo.

Video

Life in the shadow of a cement plant in Kazakhstan

Local residents and activists say that the Gezhouba Shieli cement plant, part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, is polluting the air, water and soil of a village less than a kilometre away

Editorial Series

The struggle to save Asia’s wildlife The struggle to save Asia’s wildlife 10 Articles
Science

New frogs and pandas: How genetics can aid conservation in the Himalayas

The team from Thanamir village on the way to set up camera traps to monitor wildlife in the community forest, Ramya Nair
conservation

Interview: Indigenous-led conservation in Nagaland preserves rare wildlife

White-bellied heron in Bhutan
endangered species

World’s rarest heron on the brink in its last Himalayan stronghold

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The Third Pole is a multilingual platform dedicated to promoting information and discussion about the Himalayan watershed and the rivers that originate there.

Latest news

China Dialogue is an independent, non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting a common understanding of China’s environmental challenges.

Latest news

Diálogo Chino is the only independent journalism platform dedicated to better understanding the China-Latin America relationship and its sustainable development challenges

Latest news

China Dialogue Ocean is a bilingual platform dedicated to illuminating, analysing and helping to resolve our ocean crisis.

Latest news