Mekong - U.S. Partnership
The U.S. State Department launched the Mekong Water Data Initiative (MWDI) in 2017 as an umbrella initiative that consists of numerous efforts and programs with the goal of building the capacity of riparian countries and the Mekong River Commission (MRC) to improve the transboundary management of the Mekong River. The MWDI aims to strengthen the capacity of Lower Mekong countries to collect, analyze, and manage water and water-related data (e.g., land, weather, socio-economic data) and information products for the purposes of reducing water-related risks, improving regional responses to environmental emergencies, and promoting sustainable economic development across the water, food, energy, and environment nexus. The United States worked closely with LMI countries, the MRC, the Friends of the Lower Mekong, and more than 60 private, academic, and non-profit stakeholders to design and launch MekongWater.org, a clearinghouse for data and tools to empower LMI countries and the MRC to sustainably manage their shared natural resources. The platform incentivizes peer-to-peer connections among regional researchers and the U.S. scientific community.
Senior officials from the United States, Republic of Korea, and the Mekong River Commission (MRC) launched cooperation on July 20 on water data utilization and capacity building for the Mekong region. The partnership will see specialists and scientists from Korea Water Resources Corporation, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and NASA provide at least six training events to professionals from Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand, and Viet Nam on various decision-support system topics, including modelling, water data utilization and knowledge transfer.
The East-West Center, with support from the Mekong-U.S. Partnership, released the report from the Indo-Pacific Conference on Strengthening Governance of Transboundary Rivers on February 25.
Please join the East-West Center for the release of the Report from the Indo-Pacific Conference on Strengthening Governance of Transboundary Rivers. This webinar will feature discussion with U.S. government officials on the report, which details the findings of the October 2020 Conference that convened partners and stakeholders from across the Indo-Pacific region to share best practices and lessons learned related to the cooperative development and management of transboundary rivers.
Launched on December 15, 2020, the Mekong Dam Monitor (MDM) is the region's premier water monitoring tool. This monitor is open-source and freely available for users on the Mekong Water Data Initiative (MWDI) website - MekongWater.org. The Mekong Dam Monitor features virtual dam and reservoir gauges that use remote sensing, satellite imagery, and GIS analysis to provide weekly reports about environmental indicators in the Mekong Basin. The Stimson Center's Southeast Asia Program and Eyes on Earth, Inc. collaborative partnership developed the MDM with funding support from the Mekong-U.S. Partnership. This publicly available tool will significantly expand the water data available in the region, putting information into the hands of the people who need it the most so they can make informed decisions affecting livelihoods and regional security.
Mark your calendars for July 14 from 10:00 PM - 11:30 PM EDT for the Fostering Solutions and Collaboration for a Sustainable Mekong River Delta webinar, where global and regional experts will discuss the threats to the Mekong River Delta including increasing saltwater intrusion and drought. The Mekong River is home to one of the most productive and biodiverse…
Yangon, Myanmar, December 12-13, 2019. Over 100 researchers and scientists from the U.S. and the five countries of the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) – Myanmar, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand, and Vietnam – gathered for the LMI Young Scientist Program annual symposium in Yangon December 12-13. Forty young scientists from the five Lower Mekong countries presented their…
