NEWS: Vietnam Joins ASEAN-US Dialogue

WASHINGTON D.C. - A Vietnamese delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Quang Vinh attended the 26th ASEAN-US Dialogue in Washington on May 2-3, which focused on orientations and measures to promote the two sides’ cooperation.At the meeting, the two sides highly valued positive progress of the bilateral cooperation in different areas such as politics-security, economics,…

NEWS: U.S. to Boost Cooperation under Lower Mekong Initiative

The U.S. will give priority to promoting cooperation with the Lower Mekong basin through its continued efforts to boost the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI), a US official said.U.S. Acting Assistant Secretary of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Joseph Yun made the statement at a seminar that discussed measures to expand cooperation under the LMI framework…

NEWS: Lower Mekong Initiative Meeting Wraps Up

HO CHI MINH CITY - The fourth Regional Working Group Meeting of the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI), co-hosted by the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry and the US Department of State, concluded in Ho Chi Minh City on April 26.During the two-day event, participants agreed to strengthen links between LMI and the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI)…

NEWS: Mekong Countries Promote Sustainability

HO CHI MINH CITY - A prosperous and environmentally sustainable Mekong region will help build a strong and united ASEAN and contribute to maintaining peace, stability, cooperation and development in Asia and the world.The statement was made by Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son at a meeting of the Lower Mekong countries held in HCM…

NEWS: Fin Free Blue List Earth Day Launch

BANGKOK - As part of global Earth Day initiatives, Thai celebrities, students, conservationists, and leading hospitality industry representatives gathered to launch a Blue List promoting hotels in Thailand that are 100 per cent shark fin free.“Many hotels are taking shark fin off their menus out of concern for endangered shark populations threatened by overfishing. They…

NEWS: Lower Mekong Initiative’s Meeting Kicks Off

HO CHI MINH CITY - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the US Department of State jointly hosted the fourth Regional Working Group Meeting of the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) in Ho Chi Minh City on April 25.As many as 90 officials from the US, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam attended the event.The meeting…

Climate Study Resources at the Final Results Workshop

On March 28-29, 2013, the USAID Mekong ARCC Program, in coordination with Thailand's Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP), convened the Final Results Workshop for the Mekong ARCC's "Climate Change Impact and Adaptation Study for the Lower Mekong Basin" in Bangkok, Thailand. More than 120 expert participants from Lao PDR, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam,…

NEWS: Identifying and Addressing Drivers of Deforestation and Forest Degradation Workshop

BANGKOK - From April 9-10, LEAF and the ASEAN Regional Knowledge Network on Forest and Climate Change (ARKN-FCC) held a workshop in Bangkok on “Identifying and Addressing Drivers of Deforestation and Forest Degradation”.  Twenty-three participants, including fourteen women, from ASEAN Member States and Papua New Guinea drafted a framework for a regional decision support tool…

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…

Joint Statement of LMI Third Regional Working Group Meeting: Phuket, Thailand (Sept 27-28, 2012)

On 27-28 September 2012, senior representatives of the Lower Mekong Basin countries, namely Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, Viet Nam, and the United States gathered in Phuket, Thailand, for the Third Regional Working Group Meeting of the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI).  Members of the six delegations reviewed progress on the LMI Plan of Action and…

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,…