NEWS: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to Participate in LMI Ministerial Meeting

Washington: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Myanmar and Australia this week.In Myanmar, he would participate in a series of meetings with ASEAN leaders, in Australia, he along with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, will participate in the US-Australia Consultations.On August 9, Kerry will arrive in Naypyitaw to meet Burmese government leaders and…

Press Statement: Secretary of State John Kerry’s Travel to Burma, Australia, Solomon Islands, and Hawaii

Jen PsakiDepartment SpokespersonWashington, DCAugust 2, 2014Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Naypyitaw, Burma; Sydney, Australia; Honiara, Solomon Islands; and Honolulu, Hawaii August 8-13, 2014.On August 9, Secretary Kerry will arrive in Naypyitaw to meet Burmese government leaders and to attend the U.S.-ASEAN, Lower Mekong Initiative, Friends of the Lower Mekong Initiative, ASEAN Regional…

Training Video Explains Gender Equity in the Context of Forests and Climate Change

The USAID-funded programs Grassroots Equity and Enhanced Networks in Mekong (GREEN Mekong) and Lowering Emissions in Asia's Forests (USAID LEAF) have collaborated to produce a training video on gender equity.The video compliments training programs that target climate change and community forestry practitioners; it emphasizes gender equity as a key element for sustainable climate change initiatives…

Training Manual Launched to Improve Social Equity in Forests and Climate Change Context

The USAID-funded Grassroots Equity and Enhanced Networks in the Mekong (GREEN Mekong) program recently completed a seminal training publication entitled “Improving grassroots equity in the forests and climate change context”.The manual aims to develop the knowledge and capacities of grassroots facilitators to conduct meaningful participatory processes that can improve social equity and inclusion in forest-based…

USAID, USEPA, and UNFCCC Cooperate to Strengthen National Greenhouse Gas Inventory Systems in Asia

Experts from the USAID Low Emissions Asian Development (LEAD) program, in cooperation with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), trained country teams from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam on international best practices for sustainable national greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory systems from July 21-23, 2014…

Regional Model for Low Emission Provincial Planning Nears Completion

25 key experts met on July 14 in Da Lat, Vietnam to integrate technical and policy components of the Lam Dong Provincial REDD+ Action Plan (PRAP), which aims to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the province’s forest estate by 27% by 2020.The plan has been developed through two years of close collaboration among stakeholders…

Mekong Partnership for the Environment Seeks Journalists to Participate in Workshops

The rapid pace of development leading up to the ASEAN Economic Community is creating opportunities for journalists to find innovative and important environmental, business, investment, health and culture stories.  USAID-supported Mekong Partnership for the Environment (MPE) is hosting a series of workshops for Mekong-area journalists who report on social and environmental impacts of development projects…

Climate Resilience Action Plan for Hue City Approved

At a ceremony on June 27, 2014, the People’s Provincial Committee of Thua Thien Hue Province gave final approval for the Climate Resilience Action Plan for Hue City.  The Action Plan was developed under USAID's Mekong – Building Climate Resilience in Asian Cities (M-BRACE) program, which is implemented by the Institute for Social and Environmental…

Vietnam Educators and Partners Engage on Climate Change Curriculum

The USAID Lowering Emissions in Asia’s Forests (USAID LEAF) program advanced development of its Climate Change Curriculum in Vietnam with open seminars at universities in Hanoi on June 19 and 20 and Da Lat on June 25 and 26.The seminars reached over 120 educators at Hanoi’s Vietnam Forestry University and Da Lat University with information…

NEWS: Results of the Lower Mekong Initiative and the Friends of Lower Mekong Senior Officials’ Meeting

As head of the Thai delegation, the Director-General of the Department of ASEAN Affairs, Mr. Arthayuth Srisamoot, has attended the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) and the Friends of the Lower Mekong (FLM) Senior Officials’ Meetings.These two events took place in Yangon, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, on 8 June 2014.Founded in 2009, the…

The LMI English Support Project Phase Two Symposium on English for Specific Purposes: Collaboration and Innovation

Over one hundred ministry of education officials, university English department heads, researchers, and lecturers from the five Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) countries (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam), Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, participated in a two-day symposium, an activity under the Education Pillar in Bangkok, Thailand.The culminating event of the 2013-2014 LMI English Support…

NEWS: Cooperation in the Lower Mekong Stepped up

Senior officials of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam met with those from the United States to discuss sustainable economic growth in the Mekong sub-region in Yangon, Myanmar on June 8.The Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) SOM meeting, which involved the five Mekong countries and the U.S., touched upon cooperation for the next five years and…