Mekong - U.S. Partnership
RECOFTC Publishes Q&A Booklet on Equity in Forests and Climate Change Context
RECOFTC, the Center for People and Forests, recently published a new addition to its climate change handbook series, “Equity in Climate Change and REDD+,” with USAID and the Norwegian Agency for Development (NORAD) support through their respective projects, Grassroots Equity and Enhanced Networks in the Mekong and Grassroots REDD+.The projects identified a need for a…
USAID Project Promotes Youth Job Skills and Education in the Lower Mekong
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced a new project to train hundreds of instructors and students to prepare youth for employment in the Lower Mekong countries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. The USAID Connecting the Mekong Through Education and Training project, to be implemented by the Education Development Center, Inc., focuses on…
FACT SHEET: The President’s Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative
The White HouseOffice of the Press SecretaryFor Immediate ReleaseToday in Rangoon, Burma, President Obama announced a significant expansion of the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) at a town hall with 400 youth from the member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).YSEALI is the President’s signature initiative to strengthen leadership development across…
Experts Conduct Gap Analyses of Rice/Shrimp Aquaculture Systems in Vietnam Mekong Delta
A team of specialists from Vietnam’s Can Tho University, the United States Agency for International Development’s Mekong Adaptation and Resilience to Climate Change project (USAID Mekong ARCC) and other USAID Mekong ARCC partners conducted a gap analysis of rice/shrimp aquaculture systems in the Thuan Hoa commune in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta.They assessed farming practices and interviewed…
Leaders from M-BRACE Cities Meet to Share Challenges, Opportunities and Regional Linkages
Core stakeholders from four cities—Hue and Lao Cai, Vietnam and Phuket and Udon Thani, Thailand—met in Hue last week for the USAID Mekong-Building Climate Resilience in Asian Cities (USAID M-BRACE) project’s final workshop.The participants learned how their colleagues have been assessing and responding to the complex challenges posed by urbanization and climate change. The challenges…
FACT SHEET: 2nd ASEAN-U.S. Summit
The White HouseOffice of the Press SecretaryFor Immediate ReleaseToday, President Obama met with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders and foreign ministers and the ASEAN Secretariat's Secretary-General at the 2nd ASEAN-U.S. Summit in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar. President Obama reaffirmed the importance of U.S.-ASEAN ties as a crucial element of the United States' strategic…
U.S. Government Initiative Promotes Sustainable Development in Lower Mekong through Integrated Research
International experts in environmental research and policy gathered at a workshop on November 13, 2014 at the Fulbright Economics Teaching Program (FETP) Ho Chi Minh City. The event kicked off the new Lower Mekong Public Policy Initiative (LMPPI), supported with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The project fulfills goals of the U.S. Government’s Lower…
Dalat University Adopts USAID LEAF Climate Change Curriculum as Required Course
Vietnam's Dalat University has adopted materials from the United States Agency for International Development’s Lowering Emissions in Asia’s Forests (USAID LEAF) climate change curriculum to use in a mandatory course for all students. Developed over the past two years by 14 universities in USAID LEAF’s six core countries (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea,…
Fin Free Youth Ambassador Extends Reach of Fin Free Campaign
On October 21, Fin Free Thailand representatives attended the Western Province Hotel association monthly meeting in Cha Am, Phetchaburi Province to promote the campaign to end the shark fin trade and to raise awareness of decreasing shark populations.Fin Free Youth Ambassador Phitchaya Thongthai, 13, presented the Fin Free Thailand campaign to more than 50 hotel…
Mobiles for Development in Asia Award Applications Due November 14, 2014
USAID and FHI360 are sponsoring the Mobiles for Development in Asia Award and are now accepting applications. The award highlights promising mobile services, apps and other innovative uses of mobile technologies by Asia-based institutions that have the potential to impact development outcomes in climate change, food security, health, governance, biodiversity and fisheries.While applications from organizations…
Center for International Forestry Research Publishes Paper on Payments for Environmental Services in Cambodia
With USAID support, the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) recently published, “A review of payments for environmental services experiences in Cambodia.” The paper examines the legal and policy status of payments for environmental services (PES), including how they have been promoted by nongovernmental organizations and international donors and applied by the government in Cambodia.In…
USAID Supports Improved National Forest Monitoring Systems in Asia
Over 90 participants from 18 countries in Asia attended the Fifth Regional Forest Monitoring Systems and Reference Levels for REDD+ workshop, held from October 20 to 22 in Hanoi, Vietnam. Hosted by UN-REDD, USAID’s Lowering Emissions in Asia’s Forests project (USAID LEAF), SilvaCarbon and the Vietnam Administration of Forestry, the workshop brought together participants to…
