Fifth GMS Environment Ministers' Meeting
Chiang Mai, Thailand 30 January to 1 February 2018
Every 3 years the environment ministers from the six Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) countries gather to review progress and set the agenda for environmental cooperation in the subregion under the GMS Economic Cooperation Program.
The 5th GMS Environment Ministers’ Meeting was held from 30 January to 1 February 2018 in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The formal EMM-5 meeting of ministers on 1 February was preceded by 2 days of side events on 30 and 31 January.
The overall theme of EMM-5 was ‘GMS Environmental Cooperation Toward Inclusive and Sustainable Growth.’ The event generated high-level consensus from the GMS countries and development partners to scale up green investments to address environmental challenges in the subregion.
EMM-5 – the premier event of the GMS Working Group on Environment (WGE) - was organized by Thailand’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the ADB-led Environment Operations Center. Around 280 participants attended. Delegates included environment leaders and senior government officials from key ministries, senior Asian Development Bank staff, representatives from international and regional development organizations, and heads of green technology companies.
The EMM-5 events were as follows:
Days 1 & 2: Forum on Inclusive Green Growth: Investing for a Sustainable Future
Day 2: Senior Officials Meeting (closed meeting)
Day 2: Development Partners's Roundtable
Day 3: Fifth GMS Environment Ministers’ Meeting (formal meeting of ministers)
Meeting materials can be downloaded below and from the related event materials. Proceedings will be added when available.
Resources
| File Name | Size | Modified |
|---|---|---|
| Summary Program-EMM-5.pdf | 72 KB | 24-01-2018 |
| Agenda-Development-Partners-Roundtable.pdf | 42 KB | 23-01-2018 |
| Agenda-Formal-EMM-5.pdf | 62 KB | 23-01-2018 |
| Heads-of-Delegation.pdf | 1 MB | 24-01-2018 |
| CEP-Strategic-Framework-2018-2022-web version.pdf | 5 MB | 07-02-2018 |
| CEP Brochure-2018.pdf | 2 MB | 21-01-2018 |
| EMM-5-Participants-List.pdf | 427 KB | 19-03-2018 |
See also
Consultation Workshop on GMS Climate Change and Environment Sustainability Program (CCESP)
Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Climate Change and Environment Sustainability Program (CCESP): The proposed knowledge and support technical assistance (TA) on CCESP will build on the key achievements of two phases of the Core Environment Program and support the implementation of the GMS Core Environment Program Strategic Framework and Action Plan 2018-2022, which was endorsed at the Fifth GMS Environment Ministers’ Meeting held in 2018. The CCESP will focus on creating enabling conditions to leverage additional investment in priority areas such as (i) green technologies and sustainable infrastructure; (ii) natural resources and ecosystem services; and (iii) green growth, climate resilience and disaster risk management.
Consultation Workshop on GMS Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security Program (SAFSP)
GMS Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security Program (SAFSP): The proposed TA will build on accomplishments of the two phases of the Core Agriculture Support Program and support the implementation of Strategy for Promoting Safe and Environment-Friendly Agro-Based Value Chains in the GMS and Siem Reap Action Plan, which was endorsed by the GMS Agriculture Ministers in late 2017. The SAFSP interventions will focus on areas such as (i) climate-smart and gender-conscious agricultural value chains, (ii) food safety and quality, and (iii) water-food-energy nexus in a warming world (through the adoption of climate-friendly agricultural adaptation practices and technologies).
SAFSP will focus on ADB’s value addition in advancing the use of advanced digital technologies, leveraging investments and applying integrated solutions on the safe, environment and climate-friendly agro-based value chains in the GMS. The TA will assist GMS towards becoming a more integrated, prosperous, inclusive, resilient and sustainable subregion, by focusing on principles such as “food safety for all, climate-friendly agriculture, inclusiveness of small farmers, gender empowerment, corporate social responsibility, good governance, benefits for all GMS countries, and integration with ASEAN”.
The SAFSP will have the following themes to be implemented over 5 years:
1. Greening of agribusiness supply chains
2. Inclusive and gender-conscious food value chains
3. Financing climate-friendly agribusinesses
4. Food safety and quality standards, certification and traceability
5. Cross-border animal health and value chain development
6. Water for food security in a changing climate
7. Agricultural adaptation in the context of water-food-energy nexus
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) organized a workshop on the GMS SAFSP on 3-4 April 2019in Kunming, People’s Republic of China. The workshop was divided into six sessions, where each session discussed (i) key challenges for each seven themes, (ii) current status (e.g. policies, building capacities and mobilizing investment for infrastructure), and best practices that could be replicated, (iii) key priorities for action, and (iv) advantages or disadvantages in adopting a regional approach.
More than 80 participants attended. Delegates included senior government officials from 6ADB developing member countries, senior staff from international and regional development organizations, including ADB, non-government organizations, academia, and the private sector.
The agenda and presentation materials can be downloaded below.