The Lancang-Mekong River runs 4,909 km in length with its watershed covering an area of 810 thousand km2, ranking No.6 worldwide in terms of length. Lancang River is what it is called within the national boundary of China with the length of 2,139 km. Originated in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, it goes from north to south through three Chinese provinces of Qinghai, Tibet and Yunnan as well as other five countries of Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam and enters the South China Sea at the Mekong River delta near Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam, registering a major river in Asia. “Drinking the water from the same river” can be the specific and vivid depiction of the close interconnection and the sharing of weal and woe of Lancang-Mekong countries.
As the Lancang-Mekong River runs through six countries of China, the Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, all these countries are faced with similar problems and challenges in the fields of environmental protection and sustainable development. The Lancang-Mekong Environmental Cooperation Center aims to disseminate China’s theory of environmental governance, boost the capacity of environmental governance of each country and achieve regional sustainable development through the promotion of environmental cooperation among Lancang-Mekong countries.
In March of 2016, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang put forward the initiative that “China is willing to take joint efforts with Mekong countries to establish the Lancang-Mekong Environmental Cooperation Center, strengthen technical cooperation and the exchange of talents and information as well as enhance green, coordinated and sustainable development” at the 1st Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Leader’s Meeting, marking the formal integration of the construction of the Lancang-Mekong Environmental Cooperation Center in the activities under the Lancang-Mekong Dialogue and Cooperation Mechanism.
