The countries of the Lower Mekong are moving from largely agrarian fishing and farming, to agro-industrial sectors where people farm cash crops rather than those that directly supply their families’ needs. While there are many crops and food products across the region, rice and fish ...

The Mekong region holds a vital part of Southeast Asia’s industrial potential. As defined by Open Development Mekong, the industry category includes not only manufacturing, but also construction and tourism, which are important sources of employment and income in the region. [This page is under development, ...

Forests are an important ecosystem and key economic sector in Thailand, as well as being home to a large portion of the population.In 2018, forest products accounted for roughly 118 billion Thai Baht (3.9 billion USD) in exports1—or about 1.2% of all exported goods and ...

Though agriculture is still the largest employer in all Lower Mekong countries, the share of the agricultural sector has fallen by 20 percent in the past two decades in Vietnam and Thailand, which have seen steady advances by the service sector. Similarly in Cambodia, growth ...

The combined, estimated population for the Lower Mekong was 237.7 million in 2015. Vietnam had the largest population at 93.5 million, while Laos had the smallest at 6.8 million. In line with their various stages of development, higher income countries like Thailand have lower population ...

The coronavirus pandemic has been a challenging time for decision makers globally to respond accurately and in a timely manner to mitigate impacts while keeping the public informed. In fact, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to the intensification of inequality and so far disrupted income ...

SDG 1 – “End poverty in all its forms everywhere” – is made up of seven targets and 14 indicators. It covers not only income-based measures of poverty (1.1, 1.2) but also other dimensions (1.2), including access to social protection (1.3) and basic services (1.4), ...

Forestry Laws, Plans and Policies2017 Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand1941 Forest Law1961 National Parks Law (amended 2019)1964 National Reserved Forest Law1985 National Forest Policy (currently under the revision in 2020)1989 Logging Ban1181992 Wildlife Conservation Law (amended 2019)1992 Forest Plantation Law and its revisions2002 Chainsaw ...

Watersheds are impacted by many factors, through interaction with both natural elements and human activity in the area. The trees and plants in forests not only tap into the water within the soil, but they also affect the quality and composition of the soil itself, ...

As the most developed countries in the region, Thailand and Vietnam lead the Lower Mekong in their adoption, accessibility and investment in science and technology. Thailand is also the only Lower Mekong country to rank on UNESCO’s Atlas of research and experimental development. While all ...

In September 2015, the UN General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda). This contained 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), intended to drive action in critically important areas to the year 2030. These goals have been broken down into 169 targets ...

National Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMA) are voluntary, country-specific commitments to action that reduce emissions compared to ‘business as usual’ volumes.230 Recognizing that “economic and social development and poverty eradication are the first and overriding priorities of the developing country Parties,” the focus on NAMAs is ...

Synthesis Report: Ten Groups of Indigenous PeoplesIndigenous peoples in Thailand have struggled for decades against restrictions to accessing ancestral lands and public services. This is because many indigenous peoples have not yet been granted Thai citizenship. Studied in 2018, the synthesis report237 indicated that the ...

The monitoring framework for SDG 13 – “Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts” – is made up of five targets and eight indicators. These will be used to monitor progress in combating climate change as part of the 2030 Agenda. The ...

Read more our analysis on how COVID-19 measures have had an impact on Thai Labor Market.  ...

One of three mechanisms under the Kyoto Protocol, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) allows developing countries who have signed onto the UNFCCC Kyoto Protocol to pursue projects to reduce GHG emissions and earn certified emission reduction credits, which can then be sold to developed countries ...

Climate change adaptation is understood as the actions undertaken by communities to cope with actual or predicted impacts of  climate change.295 The actions may either reduce the level of harm or maximize the positive outcomes from climate change.296 Adaptaton differs from mitigation, which means taking action ...

What is mitigation? The impacts of climate change are undeniable. Mitigation and adaptation actions must be taken to address these consequences. So, clarifying what mitigation and adaptation actually means is necessary. Flooding on the Mekong River floodplain, Thailand and Laos. Photo by NASA Johnson, Flickr. Uploaded ...

COVID-19 in ThailandThailand was the first country outside of China to have confirmed a patient with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection on 13 January 2020. On March 1, 2020, Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) designated COVID-19 as a dangerous communicable disease under the Communicable ...