Mekong - U.S. Partnership
Practitioners Advance Fire Management Expertise
More than 25 practitioners working on land and fire management issues came together from January 21 to 22 in Chiang Mai, Thailand for the Regional Training on Fire Management Planning for Northern Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states.While commonly used in Southeast Asia for agriculture and land clearing, fires in the region can…
Cambodian Universities Introduce Climate Change Curriculum
The Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP) and Royal University of Agriculture (RUA) worked with USAID Lowering Emissions in Asia’s Forests (USAID LEAF) and USAID Cambodia Supporting Forests and Biodiversity in Phnom Penh from January 15 to 16 on a national seminar to introduce the USAID LEAF Climate Change Curriculum countrywide.Eighty climate change leaders and…
USAID Project Trains Vietnam Villagers to Strengthen Climate Change Resilience in Shrimp Farming and Pig Raising
On January 7 and 8, the U.S. Agency for International Development's Mekong Adaptation and Resilience to Climate Change (USAID Mekong ARCC) project trained village members from Thuan Hua Commune in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta on adapting their livelihoods to the impacts of climate change.These trainings covered improving the management of shrimp farming to better address anticipated…
Report Estimates Lower Mekong Basin Economies Risk $34 Billion/Year from Climate Change
The U.S. Agency for International Development's Mekong Adaptation and Resilience to Climate Change (USAID Mekong ARCC) project has just released a report entitled “Climate Change in the Lower Mekong Basin: An Analysis of Economic Values at Risk.”Authored by Senior Economist John Talberth of World Resources Institute, a USAID Mekong ARCC partner, the report estimates that…
Thailand to Host the 7th Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) Regional Working Group Meeting
The Lower Mekong Initiative Regional Working Group Meeting will take place in Bangkok during 29-30 January 2015 with an emphasis on the cooperation on water, energy, and food issues.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will host the 7th Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) Regional Working Group (RWG) Meeting on 29-30 January 2015 in Bangkok.The topics of discussion…
Assessment of the Enabling Environment for Cross-Boarder Trade of Agricultural Inputs in Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia
This study assesses the agribusiness-enabling environment for cross-border trade in the Lower Mekong region by focusing on specific indicators of four key agricultural inputs: seed, fertilizer, pesticide, and fish fry. The study examines the country-level and regional issues in Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia with respect to (1) administrative (in)efficiency, (2) transaction costs, and (3) strength…
Training on Renewable Energy Modeling Tool Supports Green Growth Planning in Vietnam
The USAID Low Emissions Asian Development and Vietnam Forest and Deltas programs provided training from January 7 to 9 for 16 provincial government, academic and business partners in Thanh Hoa Province, Vietnam on map-based software to model and assess renewable energy potential.Attendees learned the functions and uses of the Geospatial Toolkit, an application developed by…
USAID Mobilizes $12.6 Million for 9.5 Megawatt Biomass Project in Thailand
With support from USAID’s Private Financing Advisory Network-Asia (USAID PFAN-Asia), Smo Thong Biomass Co. recently signed a memorandum of understanding with a strategic equity investor for $12.6 million to develop a biomass power project based in southern Thailand.The plant will use empty shells from palm oil production for fuel, transforming the organic waste into 9.5…
USAID Partner Promotes WildScan Species Identification App to Tourists in Thailand
USAID partner, Freeland, promoted their WildScan species identification app in December to tourists visiting Thailand. Through public outreach events, Freeland encouraged them to report wildlife crime. Banners at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport reached more than 100,000 passengers a day and there were also demonstrations to tourists in the beach resort towns of Pattaya and Phuket.Many of…
Mekong Neighbors Learn Counter Wildlife Trafficking Techniques Together
From November 27 to December 9, as part of the USAID-supported Asia's Regional Response to Endangered Species Trafficking Program, Freeland provided a two-part wildlife trafficking investigation training course for law enforcement officials from Laos and Thailand.The ASEAN-Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN) Nature Crime Investigator course included a basic and an advanced course for forestry officials, environmental…
Training on Energy Modeling Tool Helps Vietnam Province Assess Climate Change Mitigation Options
From December 17 to 19 in Thanh Hoa City, Vietnam, experts from the USAID Low Emissions Asian Development (USAID LEAD) and Vietnam Forests and Deltas programs provided training for 15 representatives from key provincial departments and academic institutions on the Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning System (LEAP) system, a software tool for energy and climate change…
Cambodia Consults Private Sector on Draft Environmental Impact Assessment Law
On December 5 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s Ministry of Environment (MOE) and the Vishnu Law Group, with support from the USAID-supported Mekong Partnership for the Environment project implemented by Pact, held a consultation forum with the more than 125 representatives from international and national companies and business associations, who provided input on the country’s draft…
