Understanding water, climate and nature in Asia
River spirit ceremony on the banks of the Salween River, Karen State (Image: © Saw Mort / Karen Environmental and Social Action Network)
icon/64x64/culture Culture

Best of 2021: Indigenous understanding of Salween River key for biodiversity

As the first part of COP15 of the Convention on Biological Diversity convenes, decision makers must recognise that free-flowing rivers are essential to Indigenous understanding of reality and the preservation of biodiversity

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glaciers in the himalayas Explainer
glaciers

Best of 2021: The disappearing glaciers of the Himalayas

Bangladesh river dancing Illustration map
displacement

Best of 2021: Loss, longing and rivers – songs of Bangladesh

Groundwater sample India Khatauli village Uttar Pradesh Article
Water pollution

Best of 2021: Hidden water crisis behind India’s sugar dominance

Article
indigenous peoples

Best of 2021: A bittersweet conservation victory at Nepal’s flagship national park

Mekong river map Explainer
hydropower

Best of 2021: What are the impacts of dams on the Mekong river?

Article
development

Best of 2021: What is the cost of Bhutan’s mining boom?

A Siberian musk deer in captivity Article
wildlife trade

Best of 2021: Nepal’s controversial move to cash in on wildlife farming

Illustration map
displacement

Best of 2021: Lament of the Brahmaputra riverbank

The Gwadar Free Zone and port area, Shabbir Ahmed Article
Belt and Road

Best of 2021: Pakistan’s key CPEC port a long way from trade hub vision

Roshan Rathos, Arijit Sen / The Third Pole Video
Science

Best of 2021: The life of a researcher studying springs in the Himalayas

Mirlan Piridin, 26, stands in front of the destroyed house where he lived with his parents, in the border village Ak-Sai, Batken region, Kyrgyzstan. Hours before the house was destroyed by an artillery shell, the family managed to evacuate (Image: The Third Pole) Article
water disputes

Best of 2021: What drove the worst Kyrgyz-Tajik conflict in years?

Article
refugees

Best of 2021: Human traffickers prey on Rohingya refugees

Top stories

  1. Permafrost preserves treasures for 2,700 years in Kazakhstan
  2. Life in the shadow of a cement plant in Kazakhstan
  3. Review: ‘The Nutmeg’s Curse’ challenges dominant view of development
  4. Climate action 2022: What’s next for South, Central and Southeast Asia?
  5. What record warm winters mean for glaciers in the Everest region
  6. Clouded leopards may be rarer than wild tigers across mainland Asia
Video

‘There’s no water, and no birds’ – mourning the Queen Wetland of Kashmir

Facing devastation from badly conceived flood-protection plans, local birders and volunteers seek to keep one of Kashmir’s most crucial wetlands alive

Highlights

A climber on the summit ridge of a peak in the Solu-Khumbu Everest region in Nepal, Image: Christian Kober Article
glaciers

What record warm winters mean for glaciers in the Everest region

A new study suggests that Himalayan glaciers may be melting even during winter, when they were previously believed to remain stable
A stable for water buffalo in Mumbai. Livestock is the source of 63% of India's agricultural methane emissions Article
Agriculture

Why India is neglecting its methane problem

The world’s third-largest emitter of the potent greenhouse gas, India is hesitant to join global phasedown efforts
A snow leopard, Nobuo Matsumura Article
wildlife trade

Snow leopards hit by lack of joint database on poaching and trafficking

Scattered data is complicating efforts to protect snow leopards against illegal trade, as shown by examples from Uttarakhand, in northern India
Shrimp are weighed at Fishery Ghat market in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh Article
climate impacts

How Bangladesh’s shrimp industry is driving a freshwater crisis

Intensive aquaculture and sea level rise caused by climate change are turning land and water sources saline in the Ganga delta region
Pipes pump sand dredged from the Mekong River onto an area of land being reclaimed for property development on the outskirts of the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh (Image © Thomas Cristofoletti / Ruom)
Pipes pump sand dredged from the Mekong River onto an area of land being reclaimed for property development on the outskirts of the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh (Image © Thomas Cristofoletti / Ruom)
Photo story

Is Cambodia’s thirst for sand putting communities and the Mekong at risk?

The Cambodian government is embarking on a number of ambitious development projects, which critics say come at the expense of the environment and people’s livelihoods

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.

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

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

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  • China Dialogue Ocean

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

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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