Guided by “implementing outcomes, constructing cooperatively”, the Lancang-Mekong Countries will promote the establishment of Lancang-Mekong Environmental Cooperation Center, enhance policy dialogue and communications, determine the Lancang-Mekong Environmental Cooperation Strategic Framework, as well as pragmatically promoting cooperation in prioritized areas such as mainstreaming environmental policies, environmental management capacity building, ecosystem management and biodiversity conservation, climate change adaptation and mitigation, urban and rural environmental governance, environmental friendly technology communication and environmental protection industry cooperation, and management of environmental data and information etc., for the purpose to implement the United Nations 2030 sustainable development agenda.
To support the implementation of the Lancang-Mekong Environmental Cooperation Strategy, the Lancang-Mekong Environmental Cooperation Center will carry out the “Green Lancang-Mekong Initiative” to promote the Lancang-Mekong environmental cooperation projects.
The Green Lancang-Mekong Initiative aims to promote the sustainable development of the six countries in the sub-region and promote the Lancang-Mekong ecological environmental protection cooperation; provide a dialogue platform for environmental and development policy in the sub-region countries to enhance environmental management capacity; and strengthen regional countries capacity-building cooperation. The Green Lancang-Mekong Initiative consists of four major parts:
- Lancang-Mekong Environmental Cooperation Action Plan
- Mainstreaming of Lancang-Mekong Environmental Policy
- Lancang-Mekong Environmental Capacity Building
- Lancang-Mekong Environmental Cooperation Partnership
Cooperative Objectives
The Lancang-Mekong Countries are at the stage of fast industrialization and urbanization, which gives rise to the issue ofhow to coordinate economic development and environmental protection and promote regional sustainable development on economy, society and environment.
Specific cooperative targets are as follows:
1) Facilitating regional sustainable development: jointly coping with global and regional environmental problems and challenges, implementing the Sustainable Development Goals in the Lancang-Mekong Countries.
2) Promoting Lancang-Mekong ecological environmental protection cooperation: boosting natural resources protection and ecosystem management in Lancang-Mekong region, protecting regional ecological environment together.
3) Establishing the platform of Lancang-Mekong Environmental Policy Dialogues: providing platforms for environment and development communications among the Lancang-Mekong Countries, strengthening cooperation among local government, environmental experts, and think tanks.
Improving regional environmental management capacity: promoting regional environmental management capacity building and improving environmental management capacity of the Lancang-Mekong Countries.
Cooperative Principles
The established principles to follow during facilitating Lancang-Mekong environmental cooperation are as follows:
1) Emphasizing secular, stable and sustainable cooperation
2) Taking full account of national conditions and development stages of the Lancang-Mekong Countries.
3) Following the principles of joint construction, sharing and mutual benefit.
4) Adhering to the spirit of tolerance, supplementing and coordinating with existing regional cooperation mechanism.
5) Adopting equal dialogues and cooperation within the terms of reference of environmental authorities of the Lancang-Mekong Countries.
6)Being open to the joint participation of other international and regional organizations, non-governmental organizations, private sectors and etc.
Priority Area
Lancang-Mekong Environmental Cooperation Strategy(2018-2022) is the main document to guide the next five years’ Lancang-Mekong environmental cooperation. The Lancang-Mekong Environmental Cooperation Center, as the main implementing agency, will promote the implementation of the "Green Lancang-Mekong Initiative" and boost the related work with the main prioritized areas for Lancang-Mekong environmental cooperation in accordance of the demand of Lancang-Mekong in terms of sustainable development goals nationally and regionally, including:
1）Mainstreaming Environmental Policies
2）Environmental Capacity Building
3）Ecosystem Management and Biodiversity Conservation
4）Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation
5）Urban Environmental Governance
6）Rural Environmental Governance
7）Environmental Friendly Technology and Environmental Protection industry
