Mekong - U.S. Partnership
Art Competition Encourages Vietnamese Youth to Speak Out About Wildlife Trafficking
Under the USAID-supported Asia’s Regional Response to Endangered Species Trafficking (USAID ARREST) Program, Education for Nature-Vietnam (ENV) received thousands of entries for its national artwork competition designed to reduce demand for illegal wildlife products. As of February 2, more than 3,900 entries have been submitted.ENV has worked closely with Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training,…
USAID Introduces Innovative Teaching Method for Climate Change Curriculum
Participants from Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam gathered in Bangkok from February 2 to 6 to test a role play training activity focused on the Low Emission Land Use Planning module of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Lowering Emissions in Asia’s Forest (USAID LEAF) climate change curriculum.Participants placed themselves in roles from communities…
Meeting of the Friends of the Lower Mekong
The Friends of the Lower Mekong, a donor coordination group, came together with the countries of the Lower Mekong to discuss the connection between water resources, energy needs and food security.U.S. State Department Counselor Thomas Shannon and Ambassador David Thorne were representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID),…
Seventh Lower Mekong Initiative Regional Working Group Meeting in Bangkok
Water, energy and food security challenges, as well as women’s empowerment and the promotion of gender equality, are among major issues raised for discussion at the Seventh Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) Regional Working Group Meeting.The meeting took place at the Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel in Bangkok on 29 – 30 January 2015, and it was…
Vietnam Steps up Wildlife Protection Training at Airports
Seventy-three Vietnamese airport officials took part in a new global training program in Hanoi this week to help stop illegal wildlife trafficking through airports.The Wildlife Friendly Skies workshop, organized in partnership with the Biodiversity Conservation Agency of Vietnam’s Environment Administration under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and the Northern Airport Authority of Vietnam,…
USAID and the U.S. Forest Service Train Fire and Land Managers on Fire Emissions Estimation Techniques
USAID LEAF, the Thailand Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, the U.S. Forest Service, and the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific brought together fire and land managers in Chiang Mai from January 27 to 29 for a training on simple and practical methods for estimating…
USAID Trains Gender Champions in Strategic Planning and Negotiation Skills
More than 30 gender specialists representing government and civil society groups from around the region gathered in Siem Reap, Cambodia from January 26 to 31 to learn strategic planning for safeguards in climate change and REDD+.The workshop was the third in a series of trainings under the USAID Lowering Emissions in Asia’s Forests (USAID LEAF)…
Interfaith Forest Blessing Ceremony Held in Thailand to Preserve Ecosystem Services Important to Climate Change Adaptation
Last week, Kok Klang villagers in Thailand’s Sakon Nakhon Province hosted a unique ceremony that brought Buddhist and Catholic clergy together to bless the forests around their village. The event acknowledged the community and local government’s support for the restoration and preservation of these forest ecosystems.The ceremony also launched a set of climate change adaptation…
Thailand Hosts Regional Meeting on Lower Mekong Initiative
Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs is hosting the 7th Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) Regional Working Group Meeting to discuss cooperation in several areas, aiming at moving toward the ASEAN integration at year-end.Outcomes of the two-day meeting hosted by the Foreign Affairs Ministry will be used to review a draft of the Master Plan of Action…
Water Supply and Sanitation Assessments in Villages in Thailand and Laos to Inform Communities’ Climate Resilient Adaptation Measures
In late December 2014, the USAID Mekong Adaptation and Resilience to Climate Change project (USAID Mekong ARCC) began water supply studies in communities in Sakon Nakhon, Thailand and Khammouan, Lao PDR to gain a better understanding of water sources and sanitation methods to inform community climate adaptation plans and measures.During previous fieldwork, these communities identified…
Mekong Countries Meet to Address Drivers of Deforestation
USAID LEAF and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations gathered representatives from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam in Bangkok from January 20 to 21 to develop national action plans on drivers of deforestation and a decision support tool on forestry and climate change policy.Representatives from participating Mekong countries presented the results…
USAID Partners with Johns Hopkins University to Support Off-grid Solar in Cambodia
Over the past several months, USAID’s Private Financing Advisory Network-Asia (PFAN-Asia) has been collaborating with a team of four graduate school consultants from the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) to research and develop a report, The Business Case For: Off- grid Solar in Cambodia.The purpose of this study is to identify…
