Photo by Shanice Garcia on Unsplash
Agriculture has been a double-edged sword for the Greater Mekong Sub-Region: while it provides an ample source of nutrition and business for GMS countries, it also places undue pressure on the environment.
A new World Wildlife Fund (WWF) report highlights the discovery of 380 new species of flora and fauna in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). The study, conducted in 2021-2022 by an international team comprising scientists and researchers in the subregion, has classified a discovery of 290 plants, 19 fishes, 24 amphibians, 46 reptiles, and 1 mammal.
The program is now accepting demonstration applications for five of its six priority themes:
Please find the full descriptions of the priority themes in the full call for proposals below.
The Kim Thanh International Border Gate between Lao Cai (Viet Nam) and Yunnan Province (PRC) plays a vital role in the GMS northern corridor. Photo by ADB.
The Asian Economic Integration Report 2023 highlights the continued growth of integration in subregional initiatives and programs in Southeast Asia, including both in the GMS and the ASEAN, from 2006 to 2020.
The global community has gathered at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, in November 2022, for the COP27 climate conference
The COP, or Conference of the Parties, is the key decision-making forum of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address climate change and its impacts.
Credits: Photo by Lester Ledesma/ADB.
The first webinar on the Water-Food-Energy (WFE) nexus was conducted on 24 March 2022 to introduce the Nexus concept and discuss the relevance of Nexus trade-offs – these define trade-offs between water, food, and energy security – for stakeholders in GMS countries. The latter confirmed that the Nexus is of high relevance for decision makers and planners in all GMS countries as traditional processes have occurred in sector silos often triggering substantial unintended cross-sector trade-offs.
The Greater Mekong Subregion Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security Program (GMS SAFSP) is a program supported by the Asian Development Bank and driven by the vision of the Greater Mekong Subregion as a leading supplier of safe and climate-friendly agri-food products.
Foreign ministers of Mekong–Lancang Cooperation member countries vowed to strengthen their cooperation in economic integration, agriculture and food security, green development, innovation, public health and people-to-people exchanges, at the 7th Mekong - Lancang Cooperation meeting.
The meeting adopted four joint statements on strengthening agricultural cooperation, disaster prevention, customs and trade facilitation, and exchanges between MLC civilizations.
Demonstrations on Digital Agriculture in the GMS
The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Sustainable Agriculture Support Program funded under RETA 9916 is spearheading two interconnected pilot demonstrations on digital agriculture on the (i) Traceability of Durian Exports from Thailand to PRC and (ii) Traceability of Dragon Fruit Exports from Viet Nam to PRC.
Photo by ADB
Demonstrations or pilot farms were implemented in large scale in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) during the Core Agriculture Support Program (CASP) and will continue to form an important part in the GMS Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security Program (SAFSP). At least 12 demos will be set up across the subregion. These demos will offer important learning opportunities for target groups, especially the farmers, and practical results will provide feedback for policy making process.
Greater Mekong Subregion Secretariat
Regional Cooperation and Operations Coordination Division,
Southeast Asia Department, Asian Development Bank
Address: 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City 1550, Metro Manila, Philippines
Telephone: +63 2 8632 4444 Fax: +63 2 8636 2226
