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…

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Mekong Climate Change Adaptation Roundtable Strengthens Science-Policy Links

At the end of July, the USAID RDMA Regional Environment Office hosted the 3rd Roundtable Discussion on Climate Change Adaptation in the Greater Mekong Subregion in Bangkok.  The event, held in coordination with the Greater Mekong Subregion Environment Operations Center of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and co-organized by the USAID Mekong ARCC project, brought together a core group…

ASEAN-WEN and USAID ARREST Share Best Practices at South Asian Wildlife Enforcement Network Annual Meeting

On August 28, the chairperson of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations – Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN) and a representative of the USAID-funded Asia's Regional Response to Endangered Species Trafficking (ARREST) Program shared best practices and key lessons from ASEAN-WEN with delegates attending the second Annual Meeting of the emerging South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network…

Mekong Partnership for the Environment Launches Local Grants Program

The USAID-funded Mekong Partnership for the Environment (MPE) has launched a new grants program to help local organizations strengthen their work on ensuring responsible development in the Mekong region.  From the release of its Annual Program Statement (APS) on August 29, MPE expects to increase civil society’s capacity to take part in decisions surrounding the development of…

NEWS: Sustainable Future for the Mekong Basin

On the sidelines of the 47th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting, the seventh Lower Mekong Initiative Ministerial Meeting and the fourth meeting of Friends of Lower Mekong Meeting were took place under the chairmanship maintenance of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Myanmar and United States Secretary of State. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affair Minister Pham Binh Minh…

Regional Water Cooperation and Flood Preparedness Event Highlights Lower Mekong Initiative Progress

Bangkok, Thailand, August 1, 2014 –Bulbul and red avadavat dance from the shrubs and grass, as a gentle rain falls musically on the Golden Triangle.  The mighty Mekong River slowly drifts down its banks, obliviously to the precipitation.  In the distance, mountains brood with curling ominous clouds.  These clouds indicate that the gentle rains currently…

NEWS: Thailand Meets with Mekong Neighbors to Bolster Cooperation

NAYPYIDAW, 10 August 2014 (NNT) – The Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs has called on neighboring countries within the Lower Mekong River Basin to step up their cooperation towards regional development during the 47th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.In his capacity as Acting Foreign Minister of Thailand, Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs Sihasak Phuangketkeow attended the…

NEWS: Vietnam Pledges to Manage Mekong River Water Resources Sustainably

(VOV) – Vietnam attaches high importance to and prioritizes efforts to develop and use water resources of the Mekong River Basin effectively and sustainably in the context of global climate change, affirmed Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh.The deputy PM made the statement at the seventh Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) Ministerial Meeting and the fourth…