Thailand

This video introduces how green freight approaches can provide environmental and economic win-wins for the transport sector in the GMS.

At this Roundtable, the edited version of the Watershed-scale Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessment guidelines will be reviewed.

Land use is constantly changing in the Greater Mekong Subregion. At the same time, land use planning processes are often poorly informed, risking decisions that may lead to social and environmental costs that outweigh intended benefits.

Senior environment and forestry officials from Yunnan and Guangxi met with representatives from the other five GMS countries to exchange experiences and lessons from biodiversity conservation work in transboundary landscapes.

This workshop will look at how Thailand's first biodiversity conservation corridor - in the Western Forest Complex - has made a difference to biodiversity and local livelihoods over the past decade. 

Government officials from Cambodia and Thailand met to look at ways to increase biodiversity conservation cooperation in border areas of the Cardamom and Elephant Mountains landscape.

A draft Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was tabled for discussion, outlinin...

Government officials from Thailand and Cambodia visited the Eastern Forest Complex to exchange experience on biodiversity conservation and to identify opportunities for collaboration in the Cardamon and Elephant Mountains landscape that straddles both countries. 

Specific objectives of the field visit were to:

• Discuss the establishment of a multi-sector policy and technical working group to plan and manage the Cardamom and Elephant Mountains TBL and collaboration mechanisms between relevant provinces in the two countries.
• To assess and identify the potential of a TBL management strategy, establishing biodiversity corridors, and to source investment opportunit...

A Green Freight and Logistics Day was held as a pre-event to the 9th Better Air Quality Conference in Buson, South Korea, to highlight green freight intiatives in Asia and key lessons and opportunities for future scaling up.

Truck drivers from over 100 freight companies in Lao PDR, Thailand, and Viet Nam have undergone eco-driving training as the Green Freight Initiative tests ways to lessen the environmental impacts of freight transport in the GMS.

This workshop was the first in a series of three that aim to build the capacity of government planners in the GMS to work with communities to integrate climate change adaptation into local level development planning.

Government officials, international experts, and private representatives from Southeast Asian countries met in Bangkok for two days to develop a regional agenda to scale up ‘green freight’ in the region.

More than 68 million tons of cargo crossed Asian borders between 2011 and 2014 thanks to better regional connectivity. Sanguan Sonklinsakul of Thailand’s Chiang Rai Chamber of Commerce says trade with neighboring countries has increased markedly due to the many news roads in the Greater Mekong Subregio...

This ADB study focuses on ?ve countries of Southeast Asia that collectively account for 90% of regional GHG emissions inrecent years—Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam. ...

Increasing Investments in Natural Capital in the Greater Mekong Subregion

The Natural Capital Dialogue brought together senior GMS government officials, international experts and a wide range of stakeholders to discuss the significance of natural capital in the context of inclusive and sustainable development in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). Occurring ahead of the 4^th GMS Environment Ministers’ Meeting (EMM4), the Natural Capital Dialogue presented an important opportunity to draw public and business sector attention to the need to increase investments in the Subregion’s natural capital.

Theme: Investing in Natural Capital is Investing in Youth

Overview

As emphasized in the Future We Want outcome document from Rio+20, youth are “custodians of the future” and have an essential role in helping achieve sustainable development. If engaged and empowered, GMS youth have the potential to drive the changes needed to ensure a sustainable future for their own and future generations. 

Every three years, environment ministers from the six Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) countries gather to take stock of environment challenges and opportunities, and set the direction for regional responses under the GMS Economic Cooperation Program.

Theme: Designing mechanisms and building partnerships for the strategic planning and management of transboundary and other biodiversity landscapes

Overview

Biodiversity landscapes constitute a large proportion of the natural capital remaining in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). They are a rich repository of globally important biodiversity, including many endemic and endangered species, and provide vital ecosystem services. This wealth of natural capital underpins the subregion’s security in terms of energy, food, and water. Seven of these landscapes cut across international borders. These transboundary biodiversity landscapes (TBLs), which are the focus of the GMS Core Environment Program, lie in juxtaposition to the GMS economic corridors, providing both challenges and opportunities for their effective management and conservation.

Theme: Investing in Natural Capital: Public Private Cooperation for Future Prosperity in the Greater Mekong Subregion

Overview

The Fourth GMS Environment Ministers’ Meeting emphasized the need to strengthen collaboration between governments, development partners, business sector, and civil society in order to find ways to maintain and enhance the region’s natural capital stocks. A key step was the need to strengthen collaboration and coordination between businesses, government, and/or civil society in ways that are demonstrably good for business, local livelihoods and for the protection and enhancement of the subregion’s natural capital. In this context the Natural Capital Business Forum engaged the businesses in their capacity as a beneficiary of public sector investments as well as the investors in economic activities associated with natural capital.

Looking forward to the Fourth GMS Environment Ministers Meeting (EMM4) and identifying roundtable collaboration priorities in 2015

At the fourth roundtable , partners identified the natural capital themed EMM4, scheduled for January 2015, as a key opportunity to influence environment leaders and policy makers. 

The National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT) and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) will undertake a case study on assessing climate change vulnerability and adaptation options in a ridge-to-reef setting that can serve to strengthen national and regional knowledge on appropriate assessment methodologies. The proposed site of the case study is the Sirindhorn International Environmental Park (SIEP) and its environs in Petchaburi Province.  A partnership arrangement has been established between the NRCT and the United States Forest Service (USFS) to undertake part of this work.

Transboundary biodiversity landscapes in the GMS are rich in natural capital, but are increasingly under threat from development and climate change pressures, leading to environmental degradation and more vulnerable local communities.

Collaboration with Roundtable Partners on the Fourth GMS Environment Ministers Meeting (EMM4) and the Regional Investment Framework (RIF)

At this fourth roundtable, partners discussed opportunities to raise the profile of climate change issues among environment leaders in the GMS and to ensure that environmental considerations are better integrated into the GMS Regional Investment Framework’s (RIF) $50 billion project pipeline.

This workshop launched a new CEP activity aiming to strengthen land-use modeling capacity in the GMS, targeting government planners and academic institutions.

This series of posters show how inefficient freight truck fleets in the GMS are impacting the environment, why greener trucks will benefit both businesses and environment, and how this will be achieved...

Bridging the Divide: Linking Science-based Adaptation Approaches and Climate Change Policy-making in the GMS

This third in a series of roundtable discussions bought together climate change experts and government officials to discuss how climate change adaptation science can better inform policy making in the GMS.

This animation describes the work of CEP in securing natural capital in the GMS.

This report presents the methodology and lessons from a climate change adaptation study conducted by the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Core Environment Program. The study yielded a framework and metho...

ADB’s Sanath Ranawana (and CEP project officer) was a panelist at the Forests Asia Summit on May 6 2014 in Jakarta, Indonesia. During the ‘Investing in Landscapes for Green Returns’ panel, he discussed the role of public financing to support environmentally friendly private sector investments in Asia’s landscapes (3:35–13:25).

Government and international organization representatives attended a two-meeting organized by EOC to explore collaboration opportunities for improving the management of Transboundary Biodiversity Landscapes (TBLs) in the GMS.

Overview

This training is a five-day intensive program designed to enhance understanding of energy and transport practitioners on issues and challenges which arise from climate change. It is a collaborative learning program in partnership with GMS Phnom Penh Plan (PPP) for Development Management.

The freight sector in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) is emerging as a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions, driven in part by regional economic cooperation and the associated development of economic corridors. In order to test interventions that could mitigate increases in emissions from freight transport, pilot projects are being implemented in Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam through the GMS Green Freight Initiative .

This animation describes the work of CEP in securing natural capital in the GMS.

This workshop was organized within the context of a UN ESCAP project entitled “Pro-poor and sustainable solid waste management in secondary cities and small towns”. As part of this project, ESCAP ...

This three-day conference held in Chiang Rai was organized by the Asia-Pacific Adaptation Network to facilitate discussion and share lessons about climate change adaptation, resilience and urban biodiversity in Southeast Asia.

ADB  SPEECH- 4 December 2013

Welcome remarks by ADB President Takehiko Nakao at the Second Asian Judges Symposium on Environment:
Natural Capital and the Rule of Law held in Manila, Philippines on 2 December 2013

An Asian Judges Network on Environment was officially launched at the Second Asian Judges Symposium on Environment to be held in Manila, 2 to 5 December.

This animation produced by the James Hutton Institute explains why Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes are attracting increasing interest as policy mechanisms to improve conservation and achieve sustainable development outcomes. PES initiatives aim to reach mutually beneficial agreements between providers and users of ecosystem services, entailing a reward mechanism for ecosystem managers for maintaining or improving the provision of the services valued by beneficiaries.

Chief justices from the region met last week to explore legal responses to pressing environment issues such as cross border threats from climate change, pollution, deforestation and the illegal trade in wildlife and timber.

This ADB book provides an energy outlook for the region up to the year 2035 to help identify policy, social, infrastructure, and technology issues that must be addressed to meet future energy needs of ...

The ADB annual Asian Development Outlook, generally launched in April, presents an analysis of developing Asia’s recent economic performance plus its prospects for the next 2 years. This Update s...

The Asia Low Emissions Development Strategies (LEDS) Forum aims to facilitate regional coordination; share tools, models, approaches, and best practices; and increase capacity and readiness of practitioners to lead and implement LEDS and green growth initiatives. Policymakers, donors, practitioners, and other experts involved in developing low-emission strategies in Asia will attend the annual event.

This workshop brought together government representatives and development partners to share experiences on measuring greenhouse gases from the transport sector. Naeeda Crishna Morgado, Climate Change M...

A delegation of 12 Officers of the National Environment Commission Secretariat from the Royal Government of Bhutan paid a study visit to the Environment Operations Center (EOC) to learn about Strategic Enviroment Assessment (SEA) application in the Greater Mekong Subregion.

This report features the discussions, experience and lessons learnt from a regional dialogue on New Opportunities for Natural Wealth Management in June 17-20, 2013.  This public private dialogue s...

The freight and logistics sector in the GMS plays a pivotal role in supporting the expansion of trade, and in turn, economic growth. A 2010 Core Environment Program study of the GMS East-West Economic Corridor – connecting Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam - found that promoting green freight through improved logistics management and fuel efficiency measures could reduce GHG emissions and lower freight company fuel costs.

This ADB report was produced under the Technical Assistance Grant: Determining the Potential for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) in Southeast Asia (TA 7575-REG), and is focused on an assessment of the...

This ADB paper examines the role of international trade in employment growth in micro- and small enterprises using a representative sample of manufacturing firms in six Southeast Asian countries

The Core Environment Program is helping further the green growth agenda in the GMS by bringing together public and private stakeholders to develop a shared understanding of green economy intiatives and how to operationalize them in the subregion. 

This ADB report examines prospects for ADB to ramp up efforts in the region for greater utilization of demand-side energy efficiency, the most cost-effective source of energy supply. The report further...

This 5-day training program aimed to provide planners and environmental assessment practitioners with the concepts, tools and approaches to systematically integrate environmental safeguards into the transport and energy sectors of the GMS Economic Cooperation Program. 

Climate change and associated extreme weather events will have a significant impact on economic growth and human development in the GMS. Key sectors such as agriculture, fisheries, and tourism support economic growth and local livelihoods and are highly dependent on climate-sensitive natural resources including forests, water resources, biodiversity and other ecosystem services. 

This brochure overviews the Core Environment Program; covering the development context, history of the program, areas of work and some major program results. Please find the brochure in Burmese, Chines...

The North-South Economic Corridor (NSEC) – linking Kunming to Bangkok, Kunming to Hanoi, and Hanoi to Nanning – is one of the flagship investments under the GMS Economic Cooperation Program.

Rural communities in the GMS are particularly vulnerable to climate change. While there is considerable indigenous knowledge within communities on managing climate-related risks, understanding how a community’s vulnerability profile will change from climate and non-climate risks is essential for empowering local people to develop strategies for a climate-resilient future.

In recent years, the border region around the Golden Quadrangle, involving PR China, Lao PDR, and Thailand, has received attention for potential tourism development. There is increased tourism development in the Xishuangbanna area and in Northern Lao PDR (both ecotourism and cultural tourism) and this area has been designated as a key development priority under the GMS Tourism Sector Strategy.

With support from ADB, ‘economic corridors’ are being developed across the GMS to improve transport connectivity and facilitate trade.  An upsurge in traffic and development along these corridors is leading to increased greenhouse gas emissions and environmental changes. These need to be carefully managed to ensure environmental sustainability.

This biodiversity conservation corridor is located in the Tenasserim Range in western Thailand, between the Western Forest Complex and the Kaeng Krachan Complex. To the west, the corridor borders forested areas in Myanmar.

The Strategic Environment Assessments and Safeguards Application in Transport and Energy Sector Planning in the Greater Mekong Subregion is a five-day intensive program designed to provide opportunities for enhanced understanding and awareness on how environmental planning...

A report documenting the achievements of the Biodiversity Conservation Corridors Initiative (BCI) from 2006-2011. It includes impacts and lessons learned, coverage of the eight pilot sites in Cambodia,...

This national language version of the Thailand Environmental Performance Assessment report was produced by the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning.

A publication on the Tenassarim Corridor produced in collaboration with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Thailand’s National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department. The repor...

This policy brief draws on current research to overview the anticipated climate change impacts in the GMS, particularly those relating to air pollution. In its key messages, the brief highlights ten ad...

Produced by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) with support from CEP, this country outlook  draws attention to key areas including forest protection, plantation deve...

The forest of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) nurture a remarkable biodiversity and provide resources vital to human welfare and the region's economic prosperity. But these same forests are fragmenting and disappearing under pressure from rapid economic development, land conversion, and overuse.

Conserving our Natural Heritage introduces the GMS Core Environment program, a joint action plan by Mekong countries to improve environmental management and promote sustainable development across the region.

A 2007 status report on six pilot sites of the Biodiversity Conservation Corridors Initiative (BCI) implemented by the Core Environment Program (CEP). The report covers background information on each o...

A report on the first environmental performance assessment (EPA) conducted in Thailand. The assessment covers seven environmental concerns: forest resources, water resources, land degradation, inland w...