Mekong - U.S. Partnership
In a step forward for cross-border and regional collaborative efforts on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+),10 officials from Laos visited Hanoi and Vietnam’s Lam Dong Province the week of September 8 to learn and exchange information on the province’s Provincial REDD+ Action Plan. USAID's Lowering Emissions in Asia's Forests (LEAF) program has worked with UN-REDD and the Multiple Benefits REDD+ project to assist Lam Dong in developing the plan.
Officials from Vietnam’s Thanh Hoa province joined those from Laos’ Houaphan and Attapeu provinces as well as national government agencies for a week of discussions, presentations and a trip to Lam Dong province’s Bidup Nui Ba National Park. USAID LEAF collaborated with USAID’s Vietnam Forests and Delta Program to organize the tour. As a follow-up, tour participants agreed on exploring further collaborative cross-border actions under a memorandum of understanding signed between Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Laos’ Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
Suggested collaborative actions included REDD+ information exchange, forest patrolling and protection, information exchange on protected area management, agricultural production and reforestation actions.
Source: USAID/RDMA Regional Environment Office Weekly Update
