{"id":2404,"date":"2017-06-16T06:29:31","date_gmt":"2017-06-15T23:29:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/?p=2404"},"modified":"2017-06-16T12:19:11","modified_gmt":"2017-06-16T05:19:11","slug":"mekong-resources-forum-iii-development-impacts-and-resilience-in-agriculture-and-forestry-in-the-mekong-region","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/mekong-resources-forum-iii-development-impacts-and-resilience-in-agriculture-and-forestry-in-the-mekong-region\/","title":{"rendered":"MEKONG RESOURCES FORUM III: Development Impacts and Resilience in Agriculture and Forestry in the Mekong Region"},"content":{"rendered":"

The third Mekong Resouces Forum with tittle: “Development Impacts and Resilience in Agriculture and Forestry in the Mekong Region” <\/em>was held on\u00a015 \u2013 16 June 2017, in Hoa Binh, Vietnam by PanNature<\/a> in\u00a0co-operation with\u00a0ADDA<\/a>, the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry\u00a0(ICRAF<\/a>), and Vietnam-Lao-Cambodia Association for Economic Cooperation\u00a0Development (VILACAED<\/a>). There were about 100 participants from community and non-state organizations in the Lower Mekong region, research and academic institutions, representatives from governmental\u00a0agencies, media and other interested parties took part in the event. The main objectives of the forum:\u00a0To share issues, concerns, lessons learned, good practices and perspectives in\u00a0agriculture and forestry sectors in relation to resilience and adaptation to\u00a0environmental changes at different levels; and\u00a0To discuss and promote better development alternatives and approaches in\u00a0order to secure fair and equitable access to natural resources, improve\u00a0livelihoods and quality of life and ensure sustainability of our living environment.<\/p>\n

In the time of globalization, free trade, rising power of the private sector and much of\u00a0uncertainty, nations in the Lower Mekong Region, therefore, have been influenced by\u00a0changes from geopolitical competition, development trends, environmental degradation\u00a0and the climate crisis. While the general social economic context is improving, there is\u00a0the glooming picture of injustice, inequality and instability in terms of fair sharing of\u00a0wealth and prosperity among different groups and communities among our society. On\u00a0the other hand, there\u2019s hopeful movement on the ground where communities find their\u00a0ways to resilience and adapt to changes, as well as steer the bottom-up development.\u00a0<\/p>\n

ASEAN is anticipated to be one of the most dynamic economic regions. In 2015, the\u00a0establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) has marked a step of the state-led regionalization process to boost further connectivity and cooperation within the\u00a0region with hope to create higher economic growth. With AEC, there expects to be an\u00a0increasing trends of flows of capital and investment within the block. In the Lower\u00a0Mekong, the intra-region trade and investment has increased in recent years between\u00a0Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. Thailand and Vietnam, with more\u00a0advanced economies, have become important investors in the region. For Vietnam\u2019s\u00a0investment, agro-forestry is the second largest sector in overseas investment structure,\u00a0and it ranks third in Laos\u2019 and Cambodia\u2019s foreign direct investment and domestic direct\u00a0investment receipt during 2011-2015.<\/p>\n

As part of the economic integration and regionalization, there are numerous\u00a0government-led initiatives, bilateral and multi-lateral, among regional states for\u00a0promoting economic development, trade and investment. These inter-governmental\u00a0projects, however, often lack inclusive participation of their utmost constituents and still\u00a0far from the \u201cpeople-centered\u201d approach, one that has been the motto of ASEAN. The\u00a0space for meaningful engagement of civil society and local communities in these process\u00a0is limited.<\/p>\n

While governments aim high to change economic structure to more industries and\u00a0services, agriculture and forestry still play crucial role in regional economies. In addition\u00a0to their endurance to external challenges, especially during economic crisis, these\u00a0sectors provide a safety net as they are sources of food security and livelihoods for the\u00a0majority of population, including those most vulnerable in rural and poor communities.<\/p>\n

Despite obstacles and social political challenges, there has been a growing efforts from\u00a0the ground by communities and civil society groups working to compliment the\u00a0development gaps and resilience to changes in these sectors. Some successful lessons\u00a0have been scaled up to local and national policy levels.<\/p>\n

This Mekong Resources Forum hopes to connect ideas and efforts of communities and\u00a0non-state groups across the Lower Mekong region in promoting resilience in agriculture\u00a0and forestry, as well as reducing negative impacts from development on our natural\u00a0resources and ecosystems. In addition, we hope to continue the discussion on rethinking\u00a0development that comes from bottom-up toward prosperity and peace, people-centered\u00a0approach, equity, and non-destructive alternatives.<\/p>\n

Some pictures from the Forum:<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"
Mr Trinh Le Nguyen, PanNature’s Executive Director, opened the Forum.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"\"
Plenary Session<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"\"
Mr. Bui Tuong Lan, Vice Chairman of Vilacaed, co-chaired Plenary Session with the representatives of PanNature and ADDA<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"\"
Mr. Nguyen Viet Dung, PanNature’s Deputy Executive Director co-chaired Parallel Parallel Session about Forestry with Mr. Nguyen The Hien,\u00a0Chief of the secretariat of\u00a0Vilacaed.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

DOCUMENTS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Forum Program<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Context of Agriculture and Forestry in the Mekong: Views from the Ground<\/strong><\/p>\n

Agribusiness and investment flows in the Lower Mekong<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
\n Chrek Sophea, Focus on the Global South<\/em><\/p>\n

Climate-smart agriculture: Application and lessons learned<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
\n Marianne Norgaard Jensby, ADDA Denmark<\/em><\/p>\n

Sub-regional collaboration on transboundary displacement<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
\n Mr. Nguyen Huu Dung, UN-REDD Program<\/em><\/p>\n

Water resources for development and multi-sectoral conflicts: A case-study of the Mekong Delta<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
\n Dr. Le Anh Tuan, Can Tho University<\/em><\/p>\n

Assessment of Fish Conservation Zones in Lao PDR<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
\n Mr. Sinsamout Ounboundisane, FishBio (Lao PDR)<\/em><\/p>\n

Establishing resilient forests for hydrological services: Evidences from Vietnam<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
\n Dr. Pham Van Dien, Vietnam National University of Forestry<\/em><\/p>\n

Forests and Forestry \u2013 Maintaining Ecosystems and Sources of Livelihoods<\/strong><\/a>
\n By Mr. Ouk Vannara,\u00a0Deputy Executive Director of NGO Forum on Cambodia<\/em><\/p>\n

Resilience and Adaptation: From the Bottom-up<\/strong><\/p>\n

Parallel Session I: Connecting Resilient and Sustainable Agricultural Practices in Mekong Region<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Climate-smart agriculture and beyond<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
\n Mr. Do Trong Hoan, ICRAF<\/em><\/p>\n

Connecting Resilient and Sustainable Agricultural Practices in Laos<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
\n Ms. Hongnapha Phommabouth, Green Community Development\u00a0Association<\/em><\/p>\n

CAD and Activities in Agriculture in Myanmar<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
\n Ms. Helen Naw Naw Shio, Community Agency for Rural Development<\/em><\/p>\n

Facilitating climate change adaptation in\u00a0agriculture in socio-economic planning at local\u00a0levels in the Northwestern Mountains of\u00a0Vietnam<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
\n Mr. Nguyen Duc To Luu, PanNature<\/em><\/p>\n

Parallel Session II: Forests and Forestry \u2013Maintaining Ecosystems and Sources of Livelihoods<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Lessons learned from sustainable forest plantation in Vietnam<\/strong><\/a>
\n Dr. Tran Kim Hao,\u00a0Institute of Rural and Community Development<\/em><\/p>\n

Forestry and livelihood development<\/strong><\/a>
\n Mr. Tem\u00a0Ven, Ponlok Khmer.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

FREDA and activities in forestry in Myanmar<\/strong>
\n <\/em>Ms. Tin Tin Ohn, FREDA<\/em><\/p>\n

Would health of forest ecosystems determine the sources of forest dependent community\u00a0incomes?<\/strong> <\/em><\/a>
\n Mr. Keo Tai, NTFP-EP Cambodia Program<\/em><\/p>\n

Impacts of Mega-scale Development and Mitigation: Regional Perspectives<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mega-scale development: The case of sugar concession in Cambodia<\/strong><\/a>
\n Eang Vuthy, Equitable Cambodia<\/em><\/p>\n

Impacts on natural resources and livelihoods of small holder farmers<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
\n Mr. Sinthavong PHUANGCHAMPA, Global Association for People and the Environment (GAPE)<\/em><\/p>\n

Stepping out of the REDD+, FLEGT and PES: What\u2019s in it for local communities?<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
\n Dr. Pham Thu Thuy, CIFOR<\/em><\/p>\n

Responsible and accountable business sector: Voluntary guidelines, laws, and corporate engagement<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
\n Ms. Nguyen Hoang Phuong, PanNature<\/em><\/p>\n

Sustainable Poverty Reduction through Restructuring Land-use Patterns and Crops in Vietnam\u2019s Central Highlands<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
\n Mr. Nguyen Van Minh, Institute for Sustainable Development Research in Vietnam and ASEAN<\/em><\/p>\n

Toward a Better Governance Mechanism of Land Contracting for Inclusive and Sustainable Development<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
\n Ms. Ta Thu Trang, Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n

Mekong Resources Forum<\/a> is an initiative that aims to facilitate meaningful dialogues among\u00a0regional organizations in the Lower Mekong Region. This non-state platform includes a wide\u00a0variety of dialogues, exchanges, and cooperation activities built upon mutual interests and power\u00a0of knowledge for bettering natural resource governance in the region. The first forum was\u00a0organized in December 2011 in Hanoi. The second forum was organized in May 2013 in Tam Dao.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The third Mekong Resouces Forum with tittle: “Development Impacts and Resilience in Agriculture and Forestry in the Mekong Region” was held on\u00a015 \u2013 16 June 2017, in Hoa Binh, Vietnam by PanNature in\u00a0co-operation with\u00a0ADDA, the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry\u00a0(ICRAF), and Vietnam-Lao-Cambodia Association for Economic Cooperation\u00a0Development (VILACAED). There were about 100 participants from community and non-state organizations in the Lower Mekong region, research and academic institutions, representatives from governmental\u00a0agencies, media and other interested parties took part in the event. The main objectives of the forum:\u00a0To share issues, concerns, lessons learned, good practices and perspectives in\u00a0agriculture and forestry sectors in relation to resilience and adaptation to\u00a0environmental changes at different levels; and\u00a0To discuss and promote better development alternatives and approaches in\u00a0order to secure fair and equitable access to natural resources, improve\u00a0livelihoods and quality of life and ensure sustainability of our living environment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2434,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[88,51,76,65,85],"post_series":[],"class_list":["post-2404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-projects","tag-climate-change","tag-mekong","tag-mrf","tag-sustainable-development","tag-sustainable-livelihoods","entry","has-media"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2404"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2404\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2445,"href":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2404\/revisions\/2445"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2404"},{"taxonomy":"post_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_series?post=2404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}