Art Competition Encourages Vietnamese Youth to Speak Out About Wildlife Trafficking

Under the USAID-supported Asia’s Regional Response to Endangered Species Trafficking (USAID ARREST) Program, Education for Nature-Vietnam (ENV) received thousands of entries for its national artwork competition designed to reduce demand for illegal wildlife products. As of February 2, more than 3,900 entries have been submitted.ENV has worked closely with Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training,…

USAID Introduces Innovative Teaching Method for Climate Change Curriculum

Participants from Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam gathered in Bangkok from February 2 to 6 to test a role play training activity focused on the Low Emission Land Use Planning module of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Lowering Emissions in Asia’s Forest (USAID LEAF) climate change curriculum.Participants placed themselves in roles from communities…

Meeting of the Friends of the Lower Mekong

The Friends of the Lower Mekong, a donor coordination group, came together with the countries of the Lower Mekong to discuss the connection between water resources, energy needs and food security.U.S. State Department Counselor Thomas Shannon and Ambassador David Thorne were representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID),…

Seventh Lower Mekong Initiative Regional Working Group Meeting in Bangkok

Water, energy and food security challenges, as well as women’s empowerment and the promotion of gender equality, are among major issues raised for discussion at the Seventh Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) Regional Working Group Meeting.The meeting took place at the Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel in Bangkok on 29 – 30 January 2015, and it was…

Extraordinary Friends of the Lower Mekong: Conference on Mekong Sustainability Summary of Joint Discussion

Extraordinary Friends of the Lower Mekong Conference on Mekong SustainabilitySummary of Joint DiscussionOn February 2-3, 2015, the Friends of the Lower Mekong (FLM) – representatives of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, Viet Nam, the United States, the Asian Development Bank, Australia, Denmark, the European Union, Finland, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Republic of Korea, Sweden, World…

FACT SHEET: Extraordinary Meeting of the Friends of the Lower Mekong

Office of the SpokespersonWashington, DCOn February 2, Counselor Tom Shannon and Senior Advisor to the Secretary Ambassador David Thorne led a U.S. delegation to the Extraordinary Meeting of the Friends of the Lower Mekong in Pakse, Laos. This is the first time the Friends of the Lower Mekong, a donor coordination group, have come together…

Vietnam Steps up Wildlife Protection Training at Airports

Seventy-three Vietnamese airport officials took part in a new global training program in Hanoi this week to help stop illegal wildlife trafficking through airports.The Wildlife Friendly Skies workshop, organized in partnership with the Biodiversity Conservation Agency of Vietnam’s Environment Administration under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and the Northern Airport Authority of Vietnam,…

Thailand Hosts Regional Meeting on Lower Mekong Initiative

Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs is hosting the 7th Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) Regional Working Group Meeting to discuss cooperation in several areas, aiming at moving toward the ASEAN integration at year-end.Outcomes of the two-day meeting hosted by the Foreign Affairs Ministry will be used to review a draft of the Master Plan of Action…

Mekong Countries Meet to Address Drivers of Deforestation

USAID LEAF and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations gathered representatives from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam in Bangkok from January 20 to 21 to develop national action plans on drivers of deforestation and a decision support tool on forestry and climate change policy.Representatives from participating Mekong countries presented the results…

Cambodian Universities Introduce Climate Change Curriculum

The Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP) and Royal University of Agriculture (RUA) worked with USAID Lowering Emissions in Asia’s Forests (USAID LEAF) and USAID Cambodia Supporting Forests and Biodiversity in Phnom Penh from January 15 to 16 on a national seminar to introduce the USAID LEAF Climate Change Curriculum countrywide.Eighty climate change leaders and…

USAID Project Trains Vietnam Villagers to Strengthen Climate Change Resilience in Shrimp Farming and Pig Raising

On January 7 and 8, the U.S. Agency for International Development's Mekong Adaptation and Resilience to Climate Change (USAID Mekong ARCC) project trained village members from Thuan Hua Commune in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta on adapting their livelihoods to the impacts of climate change.These trainings covered improving the management of shrimp farming to better address anticipated…

Report Estimates Lower Mekong Basin Economies Risk $34 Billion/Year from Climate Change

The U.S. Agency for International Development's Mekong Adaptation and Resilience to Climate Change (USAID Mekong ARCC) project has just released a report entitled “Climate Change in the Lower Mekong Basin: An Analysis of Economic Values at Risk.”Authored by Senior Economist John Talberth of World Resources Institute, a USAID Mekong ARCC partner, the report estimates that…