Mekong - U.S. Partnership
University Outreach Aims to Reduce Tiger Bone Consumption in Vietnam
From April 14-18, Vietnamese students participated in a series of university outreach events to stop consumption of endangered species and their products. The events focused on encouraging students to refrain from using ‘tiger bone glue’, a substance common in Vietnam promoted to treat a variety of ailments.The outreach event was part of a larger region-wide…
Enhancing Capacity to Conduct Rigorous Forest Carbon Stock Assessments in Southeast Asia
From March 24 to April 4, USAID’s Lowering Emissions in Asia’s Forests program organized a Technical Training on Forest Carbon Assessment and Logging Emission Factor Development in Malaysia, which included participants from Malaysia, Vietnam, and Laos, and training experts from Winrock International. The first week of training consisted of a Forest Carbon Assessment based at…
Experts Spark Regional Dialogue on Women’s Inclusion in Climate Change and Forestry Programs
From March 26 to 27, over 60 land-use, forest governance, gender, and climate change experts from public and private sectors gathered in Bangkok for an Asia-Pacific Workshop on women’s inclusion for sustainable forests and climate.The USAID Lowering Emissions in Asia’s Forests program organized the workshop through a joint initiative with the UN-REDD Programme and Women…
Asian Policymakers Improve Energy and Climate Change Policy Analysis
In recent weeks, the USAID Low Emissions Asian Development program conducted two regional workshops to help government agencies track energy consumption, production and resource extraction in all economic sectors. Using an innovative tool, the Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning (LEAP) System, the government agencies learned to conduct energy policy analyses and greenhouse gas mitigation assessments.The first…
Promoting Grassroots Equity in Forests and Climate Change in the Lower Mekong Region
Last week, five civil society organizations (CSOs) in the Lower Mekong region won award of US$10,000 each from the USAID-funded Grassroots Equity and Enhanced Networks in the Mekong Program to promote social equity and inclusion in forests and climate change policies and practices.As part of the program’s small grant Challenge Fund, CSOs can compete for…
International Investigator Training Targets Wildlife Trafficking Hotspot
Law enforcement officers from Lao PDR and Thailand are now better equipped to stop wildlife trafficking after undergoing joint training at a major endangered species smuggling corridor.Twenty-six law enforcement investigators including customs, police, wildlife officers and prosecutors attended the training, which provided the participants from Lao PDR’s Department of Forestry Inspection with their first advanced investigations…
Press Release: Lao PDR Hosts Lower Mekong Initiative Regional Working Group
The Government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic hosted over 90 delegates from Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Viet Nam, the United States and the ASEAN Secretariat on March 20-21, 2014 for the 6th Lower Mekong Initiative Regional Working Group Meeting. The Lower Mekong Initiative is a multinational forum for addressing trans-boundary policy and development challenges in…
News: Lower Mekong Countries, U.S. Boost Cooperation
Five lower Mekong countries and the United States are taking steps to boost cooperation in key areas to drive development in the region with the U.S. pledging further support to help address challenges faced by the region.Around 100 delegates from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and the US met yesterday in Vientiane to discuss cooperation…
USAID Supports Regional Dialogue on Financing Green Growth in Southeast Asia
During March 12-14 in Hanoi,Vietnam, the USAID-funded Low Emissions Asian Development program organized a regional workshop on accessing finance for green growth and low emission development strategies that brought together approximately 150 government officials and experts from Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, as well as representatives from global climate change funds, state…
Asian Park Chiefs Trained with New Counter-Poaching Technology
From March 3-16, eighteen senior environmental officials from nine Asian countries came together in Thailand for the 4th Protected-area Operational and Tactical Environment Conservation Training (PROTECT) Managers course.The course is designed to help protected area enforcement managers counter the intense wildlife poaching and illegal logging taking place across Southeast Asia, which feeds the global multi-billion…
News: U.S. Meets with Lower Mekong Countries in Laos
VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times) -- Five Lower Mekong countries and the United States are taking steps to boost cooperation in key areas to drive development in the region with the U.S. pledging further support to help address challenges faced by the region.Around 100 delegates from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and the U.S. met yesterday in…
Remarks by Ambassador Clune at Lower Mekong Initiative Regional Working Group
Landmark Hotel, VientianeVice Minister Bounkeut, Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, and Ladies and Gentlemen:As you know, the Lower Mekong Initiative as created as a result of a meeting in 2009 between Secretary of State Clinton and the Foreign Ministers of the Lower Mekong countries as a vehicle for cooperation in facing shared challenges and opportunities in the…
