The Asian Development Bank is convening its first Healthy Oceans Tech and Finance Forum on 26-28 January 2022 that will cover 4 thematic tracks: (1) Plastic-free Oceans, (2) Coastal Resilience, (3) Ocean Finance, and (4) Blue Foods.
This joint publication explores how big data and digitalization can support sustainable tourism development and help revitalize and reshape the sector as it emerges from the pandemic.
This publication identifies investment approaches, opportunities, and finance mechanisms in Southeast Asia that can promote and catalyze funds for a sustainable ocean economy.
The Government of Thailand with assistance of the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO) virtually convened the 48th Meeting of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Tourism Working Group (TWG-48) on 17 September 2021. The meeting was attended by representatives of the National Tourism Organizations (NTOs) of the six GMS countries—Cambodia, the People’s Republic of China, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam—MTCO, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Bank, and other GMS development partners.
COVID-19 represents an ongoing global threat to public health, but it has been especially disruptive to agri-food supply chains and smallholder livelihoods that are dependent upon them.
Demonstrations or pilot farms were implemented in large scale in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) during the Core Agriculture Support Program (CASP) and will continue to form an important part in the GMS Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security Program (SAFSP). At least 12 demos will be set up across the subregion. These demos will offer important learning opportunities for target groups, especially the farmers, and practical results will provide feedback for policy making process.
The ageing agricultural labor force in most of GMS countries is causing significant obstacles for the development of agro production activities, not only in productivity but also in innovation. Developing or applying knowledge-based and innovative aspects such as climate smart agriculture, digitalization, block chain technologies and other innovations is crucial for the sector to become more sustainable and competitive. Youth in the region is the generation to continue to work in this essential field, and they play a pivotal role in transforming agri-food systems.
As a technical assistance (TA) program, the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security Program (SAFSP) itself will not satisfy the vast needs of some GMS countries for infrastructure and facilities. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) therefore recommends each GMS Agriculture ministry to capitalize on this TA, together with other efforts, to come up with investment projects. Mr.
Keeping accurate and immutable records is the bedrock for creating transparency and trust in food products’ origin, safety and quality. Record keeping in small & medium agribusinesses in the GMS is done mostly on paper, which is difficult to access across the supply chain. Reporting on a study on organic coffee at the 18th WGA Annual meeting, Dr. Suporn from the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) of Thailand, said that digital technology for e-traceability enabled chain actors to share data in a digital and standardized manner for the first time.
Read about the 18th GMS Working Group on Agriculture Annual Meeting and the webinar on GMS COVID-19 food security response and recovery, as well as planned demonstration sites of the GMS SAFSP, five priority areas of SAFSP support, and more. The newsletter also includes relevant news, knowledge products, and events in the subregion.