For ethnic Lao living along the Mekong River and its tributaries, hydropower dams have negatively impacted their lives and livelihoods. Many impacts, however, remain invisible in social and environmental impact assessments but have profound repercussions for the well-being of these communities. This talk  by Akarath Soukhaphon, Geography PhD Candidate at University of Wisconsin-Madison, makes visible some of these impacts among ethnic Lao communities in and around the Pak Mun Dam in northeastern Thailand, the Don Sahong and Xe Pian Xe Namnoy Dams in southern Laos, and the Lower Sesan 2 Dam in northeastern Cambodia.

In an article for the New York Times, Emily Anthes interviews Joshua Plotnik, who has been studying Asian elephant cognition for 20 years. In his research at Salakpra Wildlife Sanctuary Thailand, his team had created personality profiles to direct mitigation tactics toward each  particular elephant's personality.

In an article for Mekong Independent, Gerald Flynn discusses Thailand's decision to delay the decommissioning of several coal-fired units at the 2,400-megawatt Mao Moh power plant, which has sparked health related worries amongst the community, as the plant is Thailand's largest carbon dioxide pollution project.

In this paper published by NYSEAN Partner ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, Angel Hsu and Silvia Landa discuss how the US government has withdrawn both domestically and globally from climate and clean energy engagement. This withdrawal has been marked by a dismantling of foreign development assistance, proposed rollbacks of the Inflation Reduction Act, and aggressive tariffs. They assert that these policy shifts undermine the possibility of bilateral clean energy and climate collaboration with Southeast Asian nations.