Greater Mekong Subregion Core Environment Program: Strategic Framework and Action Plan 2018-2022

The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) remains on a steady trajectory of economic growth and poverty reduction. This trend is expected to accelerate following the establishment of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Community, and the implementation of the $64 billion GMS Regional Investment Framework 2022. The GMS countries’ economic success is anchored on the region’s rich natural resources. However, a steady depletion of natural stocks is resulting in the decline and degradation in ecosystem services and environmental quality, which threatens to undermine sustainable development. Green growth provides an opportunity for GMS countries to achieve their Sustainable Development Goals. In recognition of emerging environmental challenges and opportunities, the GMS Core Environment Program (CEP) was initiated in 2006. The program implementation was planned over three successive phases comprising a pilot period followed by scaling up interventions, and finally the consolidation of activities. The program is currently implementing Phase II, which will be completed in March 2018. Since its inception, CEP has strived to improve environmental quality and climate resilience across the subregion by creating an “environmentally friendly and climate resilient GMS Economic Cooperation Program.” The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is the CEP executing agency while the GMS Working Group on Environment (WGE) provides overall leadership and direction for the program. The GMS Environment Operations Center (EOC) in Bangkok, Thailand coordinates program implementation and provides secretariat support to the WGE.