A section of the Mekong River in Luang Prabang, Lao PDR. Photo by Jipe7 (CC BY-ND 2.0)
The Mekong River Commission Joint Committee called on Lao PDR to address comments and recommendations from Cambodia, Thailand, and Viet Nam for the 1,460-megawatt Luang Prabang hydropower project.
Areenee Jasiti is a store assistant manager in Thailand where convenience stores have remained open, despite COVID-19. Convenience stores are one of Thailand's lifelines. Photo: UN Women/Ploy Phutpheng (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is providing a $1.5 billion loan to support the Government of Thailand’s response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
This brief presents new projections on the economic impact of COVID-19 and highlights policy implications.
This brief outlines the implications of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic for food security in Asia and the Pacific and suggests policy responses.
This brief estimates the initial impact of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on tourism enterprises in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR).
Green investments generate significant jobs and sustainable benefits to economies. Photo: ADB
In the popular imagination, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has been a boon for the natural world. With more than a third of the global population under some level of lockdown, we’ve delighted to see skies burst back into blueness and wild animals venturing into urban neighborhoods. It’s been easy to convince ourselves that wildlife and the environment have flourished. The truth, however, isn’t so reassuring. The pandemic has created an increase in poaching, animal trafficking, illegal fishing and other environmental crimes.
Conducted by Ministry of Health, Lao PDR, June–December 2018
Cambodian migrants arriving by train at Anranya Prathet, Thailand. Photo by Joe Lowry via IOM - UN Migration (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) © IOM 2014
When it comes to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak no one is safe until everyone is safe. This was one of the key points emphasized by Dr.
Medtecs Group, a supplier of personal protective equipment in Cambodia, employs 5,500 people at its Kampong Cham factory. It has provided stable jobs, contributing to the local economy, which is critical as Cambodia braces for the impact of COVID-19. Photo by Medtecs Group via ADB
In immediate response to global efforts to combat the pandemic, the Health Sector Group of the Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s Sustainable Development and Climate Change (SDCC) Department mobilized funding for Technical Assistance (TA) on Regional Support to Address the Outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the amount of $48.3 million in early 2020.
LocalFarm enables farmers and gardeners who had relied on tourism for their incomes to market seasonal fruits, vegetables, salads, and processed fruits directly to consumers. Photo courtesy of TakeMeTour via ADB.
The Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) impact investment platform, ADB Ventures, has teamed with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to support technology startup TakeMeTour to develop the LocalFarm online platform and help mitigate the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on Thailand’s tourism sector.
Greater Mekong Subregion Secretariat
Regional Cooperation and Operations Coordination Division,
Southeast Asia Department, Asian Development Bank
Address: 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City 1550, Metro Manila, Philippines
Telephone: +63 2 8632 4444 Fax: +63 2 8636 2226