Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI)

Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI), launched in 2009, is a multinational partnership among Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and the United States to create integrated sub-regional cooperation among the five Lower Mekong countries.  LMI serves as a platform to address complex, transnational development and policy challenges in the Lower Mekong sub-region.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjLLkc3o6Uw

Building Community Response for Good

By Kristie A. Kenney, U.S. Ambassador to ThailandOne month ago, we were stunned by the natural catastrophe unleashed by Super Typhoon Haiyan on our friends nearby in the Philippines.  Within days of the devastating storm on November 8, Thailand joined the international community in an outpouring of goodwill and humanitarian assistance.  Thailand contributed to the…

U.S. Ambassador Daniel Clune Hosts Close Out Ceremony for USAID/RDMA’s Laos Program

U.S. Ambassador Daniel A. Clune welcomed Lao and U.S. officials and private sector representatives to his residence for a closing celebration for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)'s Laos-U.S. International and ASEAN Integration Project.  Under the project, over 4,000 Lao officials and businesses benefited from training in intellectual property, agricultural and industrial goods standards, and…

Cambodia Hosts Lower Mekong Initiative Meeting to Build Sustainable Regional Cooperation

The Royal Government of Cambodia hosted over 80 delegates from Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and the United States in Siem Reap on November 6-7, 2013 for the 5th Lower Mekong Initiative Regional Working Group Meeting.  Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the foreign ministers of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand, and Viet Nam…

Smart Infrastructure for the Mekong Factsheet

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NEWS: Cambodia to Host 5th Lower Mekong Initiative Regional Working Group Meeting

Cambodia will host the 5th meeting of regional working group of Lower Mekong Initiative to be held from 6-7 Nov in Siem Reap province, the media release said.The meeting will focus on agriculture, food safety, education, energy safety, and environment and water resource and health issues and other related issues.The meeting will be chaired by Mr.…

Climate Proofing Communities in Cambodia

The USAID-funded ADAPT Asia-Pacific project in partnership with the Ministry of Rural Development (MRD) of the Royal Cambodia Government held a workshop in Siem Reap, Cambodia to disseminate the results of the study on 11 pilot community ponds for climate proofing in Banteay Meanchey Province.  More than 30 government officials representing the national and provincial…

Integrating Gender Equality in Climate Change Planning in Vietnam

From October 21-25, the Lowering Emissions in Asia’s Forests (LEAF) program held a Gender Integrated Planning in Climate Change/REDD+ Training in Nghe An Province, Vietnam.  Held in partnership with Women Organizing for Change in Agriculture and Natural Resources Management (WOCAN) and the Vietnam Forestry Administration (VNFOREST), this was the second training in a regional series…

Shared Vision Planning Helps Build Urban Resilience in Thailand

Shared vision planning is a decision-making process that uses scenario-planning tool and models to assess different options for building urban resilience to climate change.  From October 2-4, USAID’s Mekong-Building Climate Resilient Asian Cities (M-BRACE) program, in collaboration with ISET-International and the Thailand Environment Institute (TEI), hosted a shared vision planning workshop in Udon Thani, Thailand…

U.S. and Thailand Plan Cooperative Activities under Global Climate Program

On October 10, more than 30 officials from 10 Thailand government agencies met with counterparts from seven U.S. Government agencies and programs under the Enhancing Capacity for Low Emission Development Strategies (EC-LEDS) initiative.  EC-LEDS is a global U.S. Government program that supports the efforts of more than 20 partner countries to accelerate sustainable, climate-resilient economic…

Strengthening National Forest Monitoring Systems Across Asia

From October 15-17, the USAID-funded Lowering Emissions in Asia’s Forests (LEAF) program partnered with UN-REDD and SilvaCarbon to host the 4th UN-REDD Regional Lessons Learned Workshop on National Forest Monitoring Systems (NFMS) for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+).  NFMS enable countries to collect information required to provide measurable, reportable and verifiable estimates…

Poachers Beware! Elite Wildlife Ranger Team Graduates

On October 16, Thailand’s new elite wildlife ranger team, the “King of Tigers,” graduated from the groundbreaking 8-week intensive tactical training course to combat crimes against nature.  The graduates are now tasked with enforcing Thailand’s laws pertaining to environmental crime including poaching, wildlife trafficking, illegal logging, and illegal fishing.The King of Tigers is Thailand’s first…