2023 Mekong Research Symposium: Data into action for a resilient Mekong

The focus of MRS 2023 will be on opportunities to access, interpret, and apply data to prioritize climate change adaptation and resilience in sustainable natural resources management.  The symposium will explore the use of emerging technologies such as data for forecasting, impact assessment and shared vision planning. Participants will have opportunity to share approaches and discuss how data is being used from the household and community level, through to local and national planning, and regional consensus building.

Building from recent regional, technical, and political dialogues, MRS 2023 will consider how data can be put to action for Mekong-driven solutions, including nature-based, locally-led solutions and other climate-sensitive approaches that will provide long-term, equitable benefits across the Mekong sub-region.

Symposium outcomes will be captured in a meeting report that will feed into deliberations of the Mekong-US Partnership (MUSP) and Friends of the Mekong — a grouping of governments and intergovernmental organizations — to support their own decision making. Messages from the report will address how donors and development partners can support environmental governance in the Mekong region.

Natural resource managers, academics, students, and early career and senior professionals in the Mekong region are welcome to attend. The meeting will include participants from all Mekong countries, including local civil society organizations, NGOs, and applied scientists. Simultaneous translation of the proceedings will be available in the six main Mekong languages.

Two back-to-back events will convene in conjunction with MRS 2023.

On 13 March, the NexGen workshop will take place. The NexGen MRS Prize Proposal workshop will help early-career researchers in the Lower Mekong region develop research proposals focused on the co-management of food, energy, water and biodiversity. See more about the competitive application process and apply through the NexGen website. Successful applicants will be fully funded to attend the one-day workshop and the Mekong Research Symposium.

On the afternoon of 16 March, the Mekong Implementers Workshop will convene international development partners and implementing agencies to discuss how lessons from MRS 2023 can be applied in programming and coordination.