A new global pact for nature expected to be passed at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference in 2022 should balance the needs of developing and developed countries in helping avoid ecosystem collapse.
The GMS Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability Program (CCESP) is hosting a consultation workshop in Cambodia and online to promote and generate support for the demonstration activities under the CCESP.
Demonstrations are one of the main activities of the CCESP in order to help enhance climate resilience, green growth, and environmental quality in the GMS. The program plans to have 27 demonstrations relating to the different themes (such as demonstrations on gender-responsive community resilience projects, and on the circular economy, pollution control, and waste management, etc.). Each demonstration project will have a budget of $40,000.
The Government of Cambodia on 30 May 2022 hosted the Mekong Dialogue on Labor Mobility chaired by Chuop Narath, Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training. The meeting discussed the promotion of safe migration, healthy labor mobility, and effective reintegration to support sustainable and inclusive development of the region.
Photo by Dennis Sylvester Hurd via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
Cambodia and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic have reported a steady drop in average COVID-19 cases per day in April 2022, according to a report on “Vaccination Rates, Effectiveness, and Safety” by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). In Cambodia, the average COVID-19 cases per day dropped from 164 to 18.4, and deaths decreased from 1 to 0.06, marking a fall in case fatality rate from 0.43% to 0.35%. In Lao PDR, daily infection rates declined steadily, averaging at 986 for April 2022 from 1102 in March 2022, while average deaths per day plateaued between 1 to 3.
Photo by Kaj17 via Flickr. (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
The Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has opened seven highway ports and one railway port for cross-border cargo with normalized customs clearance processes. Statistics from the GZAR’s Department of Commerce reported that 3,344 vehicles entered and exited through Guangxi’s border highway ports during the May Day holiday in 2022. The May Day holiday is one of the peak travel times in the country.
The Friendship bridge built with Australian funding and completed and opened in 1994, crossing the Mekong River and connecting Thailand to Laos. Photo by Jim Holmes / AusAID via Flickr. (CC BY 2.0)
The fifth friendship bridge between the Lao People‘s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) and Thailand is set to further enhance Lao PDR’s connectivity with its neighbors in the Greater Mekong Subregion. It will link Borikhamxay province (Lao PDR) to Bueng Kan province (Thailand), becoming a vital road link between Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. Spanning over 150km, it promises to be the shortest connecting link between the three countries and opens another regional trade and transit route.
Fisherwoman in Stung Sangke river, Battambang province. Photo by Eric Sales/ADB.
A proposed Asian Development Bank (ADB) project will help finance two standard ports that will boost the fisheries and tourism sectors of Cambodia’s Kep province.
A report by the Khmer Times shared provincial officials and ADB are working to establish the ports’ locations, according to Mr. Vao Sokha, Kep Deputy Governor.
Night scene in downtown Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. Taken in 2019. Photo by Gerhard Joren/ADB.
Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Viet Nam (CLV) are looking to revitalize tourism in the CLV subregion, and held a meeting on 4 May to discuss implementing the Tourism Development Plan for the Development Triangle Region (2020-2025) and Vision 2030. The working group plans to promote tourism in the triangle region through exhibitions, videos, logos and brands, with a focus on digital advertising.
A feasibility study will be undertaken for the construction of an expressway from Houaphanh, a province in eastern Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR), to its border with Viet Nam, reported the Vientiane Times. The project is part of a larger expressway construction project linking Houaphanh with the Lao PDR capital of Vientiane.
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
