Mekong - U.S. Partnership
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…
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…
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,…
Forest Rangers Complete WildScan Species Identification Training
On October 16, 15 forest rangers from Thailand and Cambodia received in-depth training on WildScan, a new species identification and response application to combat wildlife trafficking now available for free on Android devices. The training was part of the Protected-area Operational and Tactical Enforcement Conservation Training (PROTECT) Team Leaders Course.Participants will pass on to their…
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…
Cambodia Holds Public Consultations for Draft Environmental Impact Assessment Law
From October 13 to 14, Cambodia’s Ministry of Environment and the Vishnu Law Group, with support from the USAID-supported Mekong Partnership for the Environment project implemented by Pact, held a public consultation workshop in Battambang province on Cambodia’s new Draft Law on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).More than 124 representatives from government ministries, civil society groups…
USAID and NASA Using Technology for Development in Lower Mekong
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) today announced a five-year project that will promote the use of satellite imagery to help Asia’s Lower Mekong region better predict and cope with floods and other natural disasters and increase resilience to the negative effects of climate…
Lower Mekong Initiative Road Management II Workshop
The Roads Management Workshops aim to provide participants from the ASEAN countries, particularly those in the Lower Mekong with an enhanced understanding of good design and practices in road and traffic management for safe transport and better connectivity between the countries. Improving traffic safety through technical exchanges and harmonization of transportation design standards is planned…
Article: Improving Road Safety in Cambodia
When I sit in Phnom Penh’s traffic, I watch with astonishment as motorbikes (motos), tuk-tuks, bicycles, and pedestrians compete for space on the road with cars and trucks. Cambodians are very resourceful at navigating through traffic, but that has not stopped the country’s number of fatal road accidents from rapidly rising over the past decade.…
USAID/RDMA Signs Agreement with US Environmental Protection Agency to Strengthen Environmental Impact Assessments in Lower Mekong
USAID/RDMA recently finalized a four-year inter-agency agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) as part of a Lower Mekong Initiative deliverable announced by Hillary Clinton and the USAID-supported Mekong Partnership for the Environment. Under the agreement, USAID, USEPA and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) partner to promote regional integration by strengthening environmental and social…
Gender Champions Gain Competencies to Address Strategic Gender Issues in Climate Change
“Men can be true advocates for women’s leadership and this Leadership Program that empowers both men and women for transformative gender relations is a need for this time, both for our work and our lives,” said Dr. Kinnalone Phommasack, Deputy Director of the Laos Department of Forestry at the Equality in Climate Change at the…
Journalists Learn to Use Environmental Impact Assessments in Reporting at the Mekong Partnership for the Environment Workshop
Sifting through a mountain of government technical documents can be daunting to a journalist, but those who participated in “Mekong Matters: Reporting on Development Projects Using Environmental Impact Assessments” now think differently. The USAID-supported Mekong Partnership for the Environment project held the workshop in Chiang Mai from September 15 to 19 to train Mekong-region journalists…
