Rapid economic growth in the Lower Mekong region has accelerated the flow of foreign direct investment at unprecedented rates, bringing crucial development finance and reducing poverty rates. At the same time this growth has increased natural resource extraction and infrastructure development. New investments in large-scale infrastructure and agriculture can have significant negative social, environmental and economic consequences if not properly planned and managed.
The U.S. Agency for International Development’s Climate Change Adaptation Project Preparation Facility for Asia and the Pacific (USAID Adapt Asia-Pacific) program helps countries gain access to international climate adaptation funding so they can enhance climate resiliency. The five-year, $17 million program shares information and best practices about fund requirements and provides technical assistance to governments so they can access the existing pool of international climate change adaptation funds along with their domestic budget and funding from the private sector. By linking climate funding organizations with eligible Asia-Pacific countries, the program helps prepare projects that increase resilience to the negative effects of climate change.
Today, U.S. Ambassador to Thailand Glyn T. Davies announced an additional $500,000 to continue disaster risk reduction activities to help schools and communities in Thailand be better prepared for flooding and other disasters.
The U.S. Government inter-agency Smart Infrastructure for the Mekong (SIM) program, coordinated by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), provides Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) partner countries with support to develop environmentally sound and socially equitable infrastructure, clean energy development, land and/or water resources use.
For the second consecutive year, a young video producer from Vietnam was selected as the winner of the ASEAN Youth Video Contest. Jos Quyen designed, developed and produced the video short entitled “Real Action, Real Volunteering,” which depicted youth volunteerism in Vietnam and its relation to the ASEAN Community spirit in a creative graphic animation form
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