Climate Change Tackled by Australia-MRC Partnership
The Mekong River Commission (MRC) and the Government of Australia are joining together to study climate change in the Mekong region, and to help the governments of the area develop strategies to adapt to new environmental conditions.
Under the new agreement, researchers from Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and the MRC will work together to assess the potential impacts of climate change in the countries of the Lower Mekong Basin: Cambodia, the Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam.
he partnership is funded by a 450,000 Australian dollar (US$409,000) contribution from the Australian state development agency, AusAID, to CSIRO and the MRC. Jeremy Bird, the new Chief Executive Officer of the MRC, called the project “an important step forward in meeting the challenges posed by possible climate change”.
“Australia is already providing important support to the MRC’s work across the basin”, said Mr Bird, “particularly in the fields of basin development planning and capacity building. This project will show the value of Australian technical expertise and the MRC’s ability to coordinate scientific research within the region”.
The MRC will use the results of the project in advising its Member States how to ensure that climate change does not further disadvantage the poorest people in the Lower Mekong Basin.
-ends-
For More Information
Ms Tiffany Hacker, Interim Communication AdvisorTel: +856 56120695 or +856 21 263 263 Ext. 4703
Email: damian@mrcmekong.org
Mr Khy Lim, Communications Officer
Tel: +856 20 5622 8131
Email: khy@mrcmekong.org
