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US in key envt meeting with Mekong countries
AFP Thursday, 23 Jul, 2009
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/sci-tech/11-us-in-key-environment-meeting-with-mekong-countries--il--06
PHUKET: The United States held an unprecedented meeting Thursday with
countries from the lower Mekong basin in what Washington said showed
its commitment to combating climate change in Asia.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with the foreign ministers
of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam in the Thai island of Phuket
during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional
Forum.
Each country in the meetings pledged to set up working teams to
discuss further cooperation on water resources, education and human
resources development, Thai foreign ministry spokeswoman Vimon Kidchob
said.
Low-lying areas around the Mekong, Southeast Asias largest river, are
considered some of the worlds most vulnerable to climate change and
there is concern over pollution levels in the water.
During their meeting, the five nations pledged to hold annual
ministerial meetings to discuss progress.
The US told Mekong countries it has had similar environmental
problems with the Mississippi river, which resulted from natural and
man-made causes, Vimon told reporters.
On Wednesday, Clinton said the meeting would discuss our shared
interests and our emerging partnership on issues related to water,
health and the environment.
She also announced the US administrations commitment to deepen our
engagement in Asia on the critical issue of climate change.
They had asked Congress for a seven-fold increase in funding for
climate change aid in the region, she said.
The Mekong is a vital source of protein for 60 million people who live
along its lower basin and is the worlds largest inland fishery.
The WWF said in June that pollution in the Mekong has pushed
freshwater dolphins in Cambodia and Laos to the brink of extinction,
sparking a furious Cambodian government denial.
The conservation group, which is investigating how environmental
contaminants got into the Mekong, said it suspected that high levels
of mercury found in some dead dolphins came from gold mining
activities.
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