Mekong - U.S. Partnership
Changes to Wildlife Law Debated at Top Thai University
On March 3rd, Thailand’s leading university, Chulalongkorn University, hosted a public Town Hall meeting to discuss the urgently needed revision of Thailand’s outdated wildlife protection law, the Wildlife Animal Preservation and Reservation Act (WARPA).The law was discussed and debated by academics, law enforcement officials, NGO representatives, and students who highlighted the weak penalties and legal…
Young Leaders from LMI Countries Visiting the U.S. Department of State
Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Evan Ryan, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Susan Stevenson and Lower Mekong Initiative Lead Officer Matt Yarrington met with a group of 17 young political leaders from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam at the start of their program at…
Airline Industry Joins Wildlife Protection Program
On February 20 and 21, flight attendants and cargo and baggage handlers from Delta Airlines and Kenya Airlines joined airport security and customs officials to learn how today’s traffickers are attempting to circumvent inspectors to smuggle rare and endangered wildlife through airports around the world. Together with Royal Thai Customs, Airports of Thailand, and the…
Newsletter to Promote Grassroots Equity in the Lower Mekong Forests
USAID's Grassroots Equity and Enhanced Networks in the Mekong Program recently released the second issue of its bi-annual newsletter that showcases news and views on social equity in forest-based climate change mitigation policy and highlights equity resources from the region and beyond.The most recent issue shares updates on ongoing and upcoming program activities such as…
Shark Fin Campaign Attracts Another Large Hotel Group
The Kasemkij’s Cape and Kantary regional hotel chain joined the Fin Free Thailand campaign this week, vowing never to serve shark fin soup on the menus of their 17 hotels. The entire Kasemkij Group joined the consumption reduction campaign which continues to grow, bringing the total of prominent hotels and restaurants joining the campaign to…
USAID Builds Foundation for Greenhouse Gas Reporting Programs in the Region
On February 4, 2014 at the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok, Thailand, experts from the USAID Low Emissions Asian Development (LEAD) program discussed the fundamentals and global best practices of corporate greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting programs with 24 officials from Thailand’s Greenhouse Gas Management Organization (TGO) under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.USAID…
Refining Climate Adaptation and Resilience Approaches for Local Communities in the Lower Mekong
The USAID Mekong Adaptation and Resilience to Climate Change project organized a two-day meeting in Bangkok, Thailand to focus on its technical approach to supporting community climate change adaptation in the Lower Mekong Basin. Participants, including International Union for Conservation of Nature, World Wildlife Fund, and Asian Management and Development Institute, represented project sites in…
Local Governance Tool Builds Climate Resilience in Thailand and Vietnam
Under the USAID Mekong–Building Climate Resilience in Asian Cities program, the Institute for Social and Environmental Transition, the Vietnam National Institute for Science and Technology Policy and Strategy Studies, and the Thailand Environment Institute released a new report, Assessing City Resilience: Lessons from Using the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) Local Government Self-Assessment…
USAID and Thailand to Cooperate on Corporate Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program
From January 20 to 24, experts from the USAID Low Emissions Asian Development program met with officials from Thailand’s Greenhouse Gas Management Organization under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to discuss development of a greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting program for businesses and organizations in Thailand.The U.S. and Thai programs agreed to collaborate on…
Fin Free Thailand Campaign Hits the Beach to Reduce Consumption of Shark Fin
On January 18, Fin Free Thailand hosted a Shark Conservation Awareness event on Koh Chang, Thailand’s 2nd largest island. Nearly one year since the USAID-funded Asia’s Regional Response to Endangered Species Trafficking project supported the launch of Fin Free Thailand, the consumption reduction campaign continues to gain strength with nearly 100 prominent hotels and restaurants…
Strengthening Capacity for Future Climate Change Leaders in the Region
From January 20 to 24, the USAID-funded Lowering Emissions in Asia’s Forests project convened 32 professors from 10 Southeast Asian universities and two U.S. universities in Bangkok to build capacity for climate change curriculum development.Developed collaboratively by the project, the U.S. Forest Service, and its university partners, the training modules on basic climate change and…
Engaging Thai Youth in Protecting Threatened Ecosystems
From January 15 to 17, the USAID-funded Lowering Emissions in Asia’s Forests project, in collaboration with the Thai Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, organized a youth training camp on water quality and river ecosystem monitoring. More than 30 children from five schools in the Mae Sa Catchment area, part of the Mae…
