NEWS RELEASE
XIENGKHOUANG, LAO PDR (2 April 2013) – Senior agriculture and environment officials from the six Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) countries met today to discuss environmentally sustainable agriculture and natural resource management in the region.
Agriculture remains the backbone of economies in the GMS and directly supports the livelihoods of nearly 200 million people. However, agriculture gains have come at the expense of the environment, causing forest and biodiversity loss, water pollution and shortages, soil degradation, and greenhouse gas emissions.
“Agriculture cannot afford to continue undermining the healthy natural ecosystems it relies on. We must create opportunities to use more environmentally friendly approaches that simultaneously conserve land and water resources and at the same time increase the productivity and profitability of agriculture, particularly for small-holder farmers,” said Javed Mir, Director of the Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Division for the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Southeast Asia Department.
Delegates discussed opportunities for increased collaboration between the Working Group on Agriculture and Working Group on Environment, co-hosts of the event and two of nine working groups under the ADB-supported GMS Economic Cooperation Program. Both working groups must work together to tackle the growing concern for water scarcity, climate variability and volatility, and consequent rising risks of food and ecosystem service supply disruptions.
More than 130 participants attended the meeting, including officials from energy, transport, and tourism ministries, as well as representatives from ADB and development partners, national development organizations, and other stakeholders.
On Wednesday the two working groups will hold their annual meetings, followed by a joint field trip on Thursday to visit environmentally friendly agriculture projects in Xiengkhouang, one of the ‘green’ provinces in Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR).
In late 2012, both working groups began implementing the second phase of their flagship initiatives: the $14 million Core Agricultural Support Program, and the $23.1 million Core Environment Program.
The six Mekong countries are Cambodia, People’s Republic of China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam.
Since 1992, the GMS Program has invested more than $15 billion in subregional roads, airports, railways, power facilities, tourism infrastructure, and disease prevention.
ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members – 48 from the region.
Published: 1st April 2013
Event
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Date: 26 to 27 July 2011
Representatives of Cambodia, PRC, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, the Union of Myanmar, the Kingdom of Thailand, and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam met to discuss and decide on the continuing collaboration on the most important resource that countries in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) share - the environment.
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Shanghai, PRC
Date: 23 to 24 May 2005
The first GMS Environment Ministers Meeting (EMM) was held in Shanghai, PRC on 25 May 2005. The overall theme of the meeting was “Managing Shared Natural Resources for Sustainable Development“. The meeting took stock of achievements in GMS environmental cooperation and discussed future directions for regional cooperation in environment and natural resources management.
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