Sustainable Development in the Lower Mekong: Prioritizing Environmental Security

Dec 8, 2016 | US-Asia Institute
Washington, DC
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This will be a discussion on sustainable development in the Lower Mekong Delta region in Asia. The United States launched the Lower Mekong Initiative in 2009 with the foreign ministers of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, and Burma in order to enhance cooperation in environment, health, education, and infrastructure development. Development mistakes such as the construction of upstream dams along with natural processes such as climate change and salination are drowning the resource-rich Mekong Delta. What are the effects of environmental degradation on long-term economic welfare of the countries in the region? How does it affect regional stability in the Asia-Pacific?

Panelists:

Jacob Levin

Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs

U.S. Department of State

Courtney Weatherby

Policy Analyst, Stimson Center

Moderator:

James Borton

Senior Fellow, US-Asia Institute