Strengthening the resilience of the Mekong region wetlands by means of a Ramsar regional initiative

The Mekong is one of the longest rivers in the world. Its wetlands are among the most important natural carbon sinks in Southeast Asia and their ecosystem services are crucial elements in the lives of millions of people. However, no effective regional management cooperation existed between the 24 identified Ramsar areas in the Mekong region and this is why the project carried out a weak points analysis and developed management plans to improve the climate change resilience of ten areas. The knowledge gained was shared with the remaining 14 Ramsar areas. The project also provided further training and grants to support joint action between municipalities and authorities, implemented platforms for exchanging information on wetlands, used case studies for political lobbying and seeked to exert greater influence for the protection of wetlands by means of publicity measures at national level./

Project data

Countries: Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Viet Nam
IKI funding: 2,481,301.37 €
Duration: 01/2017 till 09/2022
Status: completed
Implementing organisation: International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) - Asia Regional Office (ARO) - Thailand
Political Partner: Ministry of Environment (MoE) - Cambodia

Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MoNRE) - Lao PDR

Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning - ONEP - Thailand

Vietnam Environment Administration (VEA)
Online: https://www.iucn.org/regions

Skip to Project data

State of implementation/results

Project completed.
IBRRI Wetland Outlook developed.
Synthesis of case studies on small grants for EbA in wetlands developed. --19 small grants on Ecosystem-based Adaptation in wetlands implemented by civil society organisations, international non-governmental organisations, governments and universities.
Management plans developed for six of the ten project sites, integrating climate change adaptation options from stakeholder consultations.
IBRRI 5th Annual Meeting held virtually from 23-24 February IBRRI 5th Annual Meeting held to share achievements in 2021 and develop work in 2022.
Indo-Burma Ramsar Regional Initiative page launched.
136 wetland professionals trained by Mekong Wetland University Network.
70 citizen journalism reports on wetlands aired on national media.
IBRRI Strategic Plan published.
Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation Planning Guidance Note and Tools published:
- Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation Planning Guidance Note
- Village Vulnerability Assessment Tool
- Species Vulnerability Assessment Tool
- Habitat Vulnerability Assessment Tool

Latest Update:
12/2024