Vietnam Hosts First National Wildlife Heroes Awards

HANOI - On April 22nd, the Asia’s Regional Response to Endangered Species Trafficking Program partner, Education for Nature Vietnam (ENV), hosted Vietnam’s first national awards ceremony to honor five excellent individuals for their outstanding contributions to wildlife protection.  The Outstanding Service in Wildlife Protection Awards Ceremony recognized three law enforcement officials and two journalists for…

NEWS: Mekong Greatly Challenged by Climate Change

A new study on Climate Change Impact and Adaptation in the Lower Mekong Basin has revealed that the effects of climate change in the basin are worse than the global average.Final results of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded study, that were released recently at a regional workshop in Bangkok, indicate that changes…

NEWS: Mekong Region Facing Six Degree-Warming, Climate Extremes

BANGKOK - Temperatures in South-East Asia's Lower Mekong Basin are set to rise by up to three times the global average temperature increase, according to a USAID-funded study.Previous reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicted that the basin would see increases in line with the global average of around two degrees Celsius.But according…

PRESS RELEASE: Climate Scientists Forecast Dramatic Changes in Food Crop, Fisheries, and Livestock Production in ASIA

Findings to inform strategies for adaptation to climate change and food securityBANGKOK - A team of scientists today released the results from a study on climate change in the Lower Mekong Basin. A major finding in the study  forecasts changes in temperature and rainfall altering the suitability for some important industrial and food crops in Cambodia,…

PRESS RELEASE: Lower Mekong Initiative Convenes Infrastructure Best Practices Exchange

HANOI - The U.S. Departments of State and Commerce and Vietnam Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Transport in collaboration with the U.S.-ASEAN Business Council hosted a Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) Infrastructure Best Practices Exchange in Hanoi on January 14-15, 2013. The LMI Infrastructure Best Practices Exchange brought together senior U.S. and regional government officials and…

U.S. Embassy Helps Build Capacity of Professionals Working in Lower Mekong Region

Hanoi, November 29, 2012 -- The U.S. Embassy Hanoi, and Green Innovation and Development Center (GreenID) organized a conference for thirty one participants of U.S. Government sponsored exchange programs under the theme: “Cooperation for a Sustainable Future” from November 29 to December 1, 2012. Participants are government officials, NGO leaders and researchers from Lower Mekong region…

The U.S. Embassy Vientiane Launched a Program to Train Officials from All These Countries in English Language Skills

VIENTIANE - The Lower Mekong Initiative is a program to bring the nations that share the Mekong River (Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam) together to jointly confront issues such as education, health, environment, and infrastructure. In February 2012, the U.S. Embassy launched a program to train officials from all these countries in English language skills,…

U.S. Moves to Strengthen ASEAN by Boosting the Lower Mekong Initiative

By Ernest Z. Bower, Prashanth ParameswaranDuring her visit to Southeast Asia earlier this month, U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton revealed an important tactic in the U.S. effort to strengthen its engagement with ASEAN: boosting the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI). The LMI is part of a larger U.S. strategy that involves locking mainland ASEAN countries—Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar,…

Press Releases: The 5th Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) Ministerial Meeting and the 2nd Friends of the Lower Mekong (FLM) Ministerial Meeting

On 13 July 2012, Mr. Arthayudh Srisamoot, Director-General of the Department of ASEAN Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, representing the Minister of Foreign Affairs, attended the 5th Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) Ministerial Meeting and the 2nd Friends of the Lower Mekong (FLM) Meeting, on the sidelines of the 45th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in…

U.S. Supports Lao Officials to Learn English

The U.S. Embassy and the Ministry of Public Works & Transport successfully concluded a series of four seminars aimed at improving specialized English skills for Lao officials working on health, environment, and infrastructure issues. In total, 111 Lao officials from various Ministries received training on English communication skills during the program, which began in February…

Press Release: U.S. Embassy Launches English Seminars at Hanoi University through the Lower Mekong Initiative

HANOI – On Tuesday February 7 the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi launched the first of several English language training seminars for 17 government officials from Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos as part of a broader cooperative effort under the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI). The seminars are hosted by Hanoi University and Vietnam’s participants come from the…

Press Release: USAID Awards $9.4 Million Contract to Strengthen the Resilience of Mekong Communities to Climate Change

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has awarded Development Alternatives Inc. (DAI) a $9.4 million, five-year contract to help rural communities in the Lower Mekong River basin address the negative impacts of climate change. This new regional project will apply cutting-edge science and analysis to help communities in the four Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI)…