The Lower Mekong grows with biodiversity
27 August 2007, Hanoi, Vietnam. Representatives from Cambodia, Lao PDR and Viet Nam today agreed on the most pressing challenges their region must address to meet the 2010 biodiversity target. Over the next three years, Countdown 2010 will help them and other partners of the initiative coordinate their activities to reduce biodiversity loss.
Economic growth in the Lower Mekong region has led to increased pressure on the region’s natural resources. New infrastructure projects like roads and dams change land use patterns and encourage new settlements. At the same time, authorities tasked with environmental protection lack staff and structures to deal with these problems.
Katherine Warner, IUCN Head of Country Group 1, explains: “Moving to 2010 means strengthening actors that can positively influence biodiversity loss beyond protected areas. Countdown 2010 in the Lower Mekong will help them link their activities towards a shared goal.”
The consultation meeting today gathered thirty experts from governments and civil society. They agreed that working on the region’s priority issues would require better communication and joint capacity development. Activities of the Countdown 2010 hub will include regional roundtables, studies and a regular newsletter.
Twenty partner organisations, including the Vietnamese Ministry of the Environment, launched Countdown 2010 on Biodiversity Day in May this year at a symposium on biodiversity and climate change.
