Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - Luxembourg donates over $1M for Mekong

Luxembourg donates over $1M for Mekong

Content image - Phnom Penh Post
A handover ceremony of grant agreement between the Mekong River Commission (MRC) and the government of the grant Duchy of Luxembourg on January 21. MRC

Luxembourg donates over $1M for Mekong

Luxembourg has provided financial support of EUR 1 million (approximately $1.13 million) to the Mekong River Commission (MRC) to assist Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam to maintain the ecological functions of the Mekong River and strengthen resilience against climate risks, floods and droughts, according to an MRC press statement.

The grant will support a range of activities including core river basin management, data acquisition, and improve monitoring, modelling and assessment functions. In addition, the support will aid planning and forecasting and contribute to the MRC’s early warning and emergency response system.

The grant comes at a critical time for the Lower Mekong Basin as challenges posed by climate change, notably drought and flood increases, put pressure on the Basin’s sensitive ecological system.

“Without intervention, further deterioration of the Basin’s ecosystem may adversely affect the populations and the economies that depend on the Mekong,” said Anoulak Kittikhoun, MRC Secretariat Chief Executive Officer, at the signing ceremony in Vientiane on 20 January.

According to Anoulak, the MRC will ensure that water and related sectors are provided with the information and the tools required to achieve optimal and sustainable development, where new national power generation plans consider the full range of viable generation sources, and meet multiple purposes as well as the complementary use of wind and solar energy.

The CEO added the MRC would also explore how the operations of water infrastructures throughout the Basin should be coordinated to maximize their benefits and limit adverse environmental impacts on the Mekong mainstream and people.

Sam Schreiner, Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of Luxembourg to Laos, noted Luxembourg’s commitment to the Mekong Basin remained strong and that his government wanted to see prosperous and responsible development in the Mekong region.

“We believe this agreement will go some way to assisting the MRC and member countries in tackling the associated risks arising from climate change and change to the flow characteristics of the Lower Mekong Basin,” he said.

Over the last decade, Luxembourg contributed almost $4 million to the previous MRC Strategic plan 2016–2020, and supported the MRC Climate Change and Adaptation Initiative during 2010–2015.

MOST VIEWED

  • Wing Bank opens new branch in front of Orkide The Royal along Street 2004

    Wing Bank celebrates first anniversary as commercial bank with launch of brand-new branch. One year since officially launching with a commercial banking licence, Wing Bank on March 14 launched a new branch in front of Orkide The Royal along Street 2004. The launch was presided over by

  • Girl from Stung Meanchey dump now college grad living in Australia

    After finishing her foundational studies at Trinity College and earning a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Melbourne in 2022, Ron Sophy, a girl who once lived at the Stung Meanchey garbage dump and scavenged for things to sell, is now working at a private

  • Ministry using ChatGPT AI to ‘ease workload’; Khmer version planned

    The Digital Government Committee is planning to make a Khmer language version of popular artificial intelligence (AI) technology ChatGPT available to the public in the near future, following extensive testing. On March 9, the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications revealed that it has been using the

  • Wat Phnom hornbills attract tourists, locals

    Thanks to the arrival of a friendly flock of great hornbills, Hour Rithy, a former aviculturist – or raiser of birds – in Kratie province turned Phnom Penh tuk tuk driver, has seen a partial return to his former profession. He has become something of a guide

  • Ministry orders all schools, public and private, to close for SEA Games

    From April 20 to May 18, all public and private educational institutions will be closed to maintain order and support Cambodia's hosting of the 32nd SEA Games and 12th ASEAN Para Games, said a directive from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport. Cambodia will host the

  • Almost 9K tourists see equinox sunrise at Angkor Wat

    Nearly 9,000 visitors – including 2,226 international tourists – gathered at Angkor Wat on March 21 to view the spring equinox sunrise, according to a senior official of the Siem Reap provinical tourism department. Ngov Seng Kak, director of the department, said a total of 8,726 people visited Angkor Wat to