RECOFTC Publishes Q&A Booklet on Equity in Forests and Climate Change Context

RECOFTC, the Center for People and Forests, recently published a new addition to its climate change handbook series, “Equity in Climate Change and REDD+,” with USAID and the Norwegian Agency for Development (NORAD) support through their respective projects, Grassroots Equity and Enhanced Networks in the Mekong and Grassroots REDD+.The projects identified a need for a…

Training Provides Leaders with Tools for Better Management of Protected Natural Resource Areas

From November 17 to 20 in Chiang Mai, Thailand, the USAID Low Emissions Asian Development (USAID LEAD) program provided training for 25 policymakers, national park managers, academics and other practitioners from Cambodia, India, Laos, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam on a methodology for guiding decisions related to management of protected natural resource areas.The workshop on “multi-criteria…

USAID Mekong ARCC, AMDI Engage Community Leadership in Adaptation Planning for Hotspot Province in Vietnam

From October 27 to 28, the USAID Mekong Adaptation and Resilience to Climate Change (USAID Mekong ARCC) project gathered key stakeholders in Hanoi, Vietnam, to discuss potential climate change adaptation options for Thuan Hoa commune where a USAID partner, the Asian Management and Development Institute (AMDI), will implement a climate adaptation pilot program over the…

Mekong Partnership for the Environment Supports EIA Dialogue at First-ever Major Conference on the Salween River Basin

On November 14 to 15, the USAID-funded Mekong Partnership for the Environment (USAID MPE) project helped support the “First International Conference on Salween-Thanlwin-Nu Studies” in Chiang Mai, Thailand.Hosted by Chiang Mai University, the event brought together over 200 experts to examine the basin’s future. USAID MPE held a roundtable discussion with representatives from the governments…

USAID Highlights Emerging Trends in Participatory Forest Monitoring

In Lam Dong Province, Vietnam, forestry experts from across Asia participated in a Regional Knowledge Exchange Event on Participatory Forest Monitoring that examined emerging models of how communities and government can work together to monitor forest resources.The event, hosted by the Lam Dong Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and co-organized by the U.S. Agency…

Leaders from M-BRACE Cities Meet to Share Challenges, Opportunities and Regional Linkages

Core stakeholders from four cities—Hue and Lao Cai, Vietnam and Phuket and Udon Thani, Thailand—met in Hue last week for the USAID Mekong-Building Climate Resilience in Asian Cities (USAID M-BRACE) project’s final workshop.The participants learned how their colleagues have been assessing and responding to the complex challenges posed by urbanization and climate change. The challenges…

Experts Conduct Gap Analyses of Rice/Shrimp Aquaculture Systems in Vietnam Mekong Delta

A team of specialists from Vietnam’s Can Tho University, the United States Agency for International Development’s Mekong Adaptation and Resilience to Climate Change project (USAID Mekong ARCC) and other USAID Mekong ARCC partners conducted a gap analysis of rice/shrimp aquaculture systems in the Thuan Hoa commune in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta.They assessed farming practices and interviewed…

U.S. Government Initiative Promotes Sustainable Development in Lower Mekong through Integrated Research

International experts in environmental research and policy gathered at a workshop on November 13, 2014 at the Fulbright Economics Teaching Program (FETP) Ho Chi Minh City. The event kicked off the new Lower Mekong Public Policy Initiative (LMPPI), supported with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The project fulfills goals of the U.S. Government’s Lower…

FACT SHEET: 2nd ASEAN-U.S. Summit

The White HouseOffice of the Press SecretaryFor Immediate ReleaseToday, President Obama met with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders and foreign ministers and the ASEAN Secretariat's Secretary-General at the 2nd ASEAN-U.S. Summit in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar. President Obama reaffirmed the importance of U.S.-ASEAN ties as a crucial element of the United States' strategic…

Dalat University Adopts USAID LEAF Climate Change Curriculum as Required Course

Vietnam's Dalat University has adopted materials from the United States Agency for International Development’s Lowering Emissions in Asia’s Forests (USAID LEAF) climate change curriculum to use in a mandatory course for all students. Developed over the past two years by 14 universities in USAID LEAF’s six core countries (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea,…

Mobiles for Development in Asia Award Applications Due November 14, 2014

USAID and FHI360 are sponsoring the Mobiles for Development in Asia Award and are now accepting applications. The award highlights promising mobile services, apps and other innovative uses of mobile technologies by Asia-based institutions that have the potential to impact development outcomes in climate change, food security, health, governance, biodiversity and fisheries.While applications from organizations…

Fin Free Youth Ambassador Extends Reach of Fin Free Campaign

On October 21, Fin Free Thailand representatives attended the Western Province Hotel association monthly meeting in Cha Am, Phetchaburi Province to promote the campaign to end the shark fin trade and to raise awareness of decreasing shark populations.Fin Free Youth Ambassador Phitchaya Thongthai, 13, presented the Fin Free Thailand campaign to more than 50 hotel…