Cambodia: Cambodia’s Tonle Sap shows what’s at stake in the Mekong’s dam-fueled decline; Wastewater treatment plant in Southern Phnom Penh to be built in late April; Indonesia: Jakarta's river troops remove 436 cubic meters of garbage; Lao PDR: Laos issues new decree on dams; Malaysia: Air Selangor to employ retention ponds as fallback against pollution-related disruptions; Myanmar: Water problems draining the pockets of Yangonites; Philippines: Congress should pass ‘Dept of Water’ bill; Thailand: PWA well-prepared for drought scenarios; Viet Nam: HCM City's major environment and sanitation project face slow progress; Singapore: S'pore's fourth desalination plant, which can treat both sea and reservoir water, officially opens; and more stories are provided.
The Hebei province is experiencing severe water shortages resulting in serious environmental and socio-ecological problems. To combat these issues, the provincial government has encouraged rainwater utilisation for agriculture as well as improving soil and water conservancy and vegetation cover. The most important lesson is that rainwater is able to alleviate water shortage particularly in dry season or dry zones.