Mekong - U.S. Partnership
Thai Cities Share Experiences and Lessons from Flood Crises
The Mekong–Building Climate Resilience in Asian Cities (M-BRACE) program, in partnership with Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN), has built up a learning network for urban planners, meteorologists, hydrologists, Municipal Public Works officials, NGOs, and academics from seven cities across Thailand.On 26-27 November 2013 network members came together in Bangkok to discuss the implications…
H.R.H Princess Soamsawali Visits Shark Conservation Exhibit
On November 26, 2013, H.R.H Princess Soamsawali presided over the “The 7th Amazing Christmas” event at Bangkok’s Swissotel Le Concorde. The month long event began with a tree lighting ceremony and exhibitions for the visitors. The Fin Free Thailand campaign will be featured at the hotel throughout December culminating in a charity concert on December 21.…
Tools to Combat Wildlife Trafficking Showcased at Regional Workshop
On November 22, 2013, international and government organizations met in Bangkok for the 15th Meeting of Asian Partners Forum on Combating Environmental Crime (ARPEC). The regional forum provides a platform for stakeholders to showcase new efforts and further develop strategic partnerships to combat environmental crime, including the trafficking of Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS), hazardous materials,…
Wildlife Trafficking Awareness Campaign Continues Public Engagement
From November 21 through 22, the USAID-funded Asia’s Regional Response to Endangered Species Trafficking (ARREST) program held an iTHINK public outreach event at a large shopping center in Bangkok, Thailand.iTHINK is a wildlife consumption reduction campaign which utilizes Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs), influential, well know members of society, to encourage the public to abstain from…
Sustainable Mekong Factsheet
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ASEAN’s Chief Justices Responds to Environmental Threats
From November 15-18, 2013, the Third Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Chief Justices Roundtable on the Environment met in Bangkok, Thailand providing an opportunity for the region’s Chief Justices and senior judiciary to come together and share experiences and consider ways they can collaborate to enforce and even shape effective environmental law for the…
Green Growth for the Mekong
By William E. Todd, U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of CambodiaMy sincere appreciation goes out to our Cambodian readership for your thoughtful questions and ideas that help maintain our focus on important issues. Before I answer this week’s question, I would like to extend my thoughts and prayers to the people of the Philippines, who…
Thai Students Develop Software Products to Address Key Development Challenges in Asia
Microsoft has teamed up in Thailand with USAID for the Imagine Cup 2014, one of the world’s largest and most prestigious technology development competitions. One of the categories of the Imagine Cup, the World Citizen Contest, challenges students to develop software products that can directly impact people’s lives. USAID’s Regional Development Mission for Asia helped define…
NEWS: Lower Mekong Officials Meet to Support ASEAN Integration and Regional Cooperation
PHNOM PENH - Senior officials of the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) gathered for a two-day meeting in Siem Reap on 6-7 November 2013 for the 5th Lower Mekong Initiative Regional Working Group Meeting and an informal discussion on the Friends of the Lower Mekong (FLM). Delegates deliberated on the outcomes of the last LMI Ministerial…
Wildlife Trafficking Investigation Training Strengthens Thai Law Enforcement
From October 29-31, forty-three Thai law enforcement officers took part in a wildlife trafficking investigations training course in Bangkok, Thailand. Organized criminal syndicates profiting from illegal wildlife trade are becoming more sophisticated creating the need for advanced training on detecting wildlife trafficking.The training exposed officers, prosecutors and investigators to the methods commonly used by wildlife…
Developing Accounting Frameworks to Reduce Emissions and Strengthen Regional Forest Conservation
The USAID-funded Lowering Emissions in Asia’s Forests (LEAF) program recently held two technical meetings in Malaysia and Cambodia to discuss the development of national Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) accounting frameworks.The meetings convened government, private sector and REDD+ representatives to discuss ways to monitor and account for forest emissions at the national…
King of Tigers Training Leads to Capture of Rosewood Poacher
On October 31, 2013, the recently graduated King of Tigers ranger team arrested a Cambodian rosewood poacher in Thailand’s Pang Sida National Park in eastern Thailand near the Cambodian border.The high value of Siamese Rosewood, fueled by demand from China, has seen a sharp increase in the number of poachers and the consequent number of…
