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ASIA
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The News N° 25
Organized under the auspices of the Lao
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environ-
ment,with the support of the FrenchEmbassy
and financial support of the Loire-Brittany
Water Agency, the seminar gathered over
100 experts from the Mekong River
Basin,
representatives of local and national
authorities, donors and the civil society.
The Lao Vice-Minister of Natural Resources
and Environment, Mr. Sisavath Vithaxay, the
French Ambassador to Laos, Mr. Yves Car-
mona, and the Chairman of the Loire-Brittany
BasinCommittee,Mr. Joel Pélicot, opened the
seminar.
Three thematic sessions allowed the Cambo-
dian, Vietnamese, Burmese, Chinese, Lao,
Thai and French delegations to exchange the
experiences and good practices in integrated
water resources management, developed by
the countries of theMekong River Basin.
The first two days of the seminar were an
opportunity to discuss recent progresses
made in some countries, at the national level
and in pilot river basins, to strengthen syner-
gies with the Mekong River Commission
(MRC), especially regarding
institutional
organization, data management and
funding.
A delegation of young representatives of the
countries of theMekongRiver Basin alsopar-
ticipated in the seminar and presented the
Declaration hereafter.
During the third day, the participants made a
field visit to theNamNgum River Basin.
INBO, IOWater and the International
Secretariat forWater (ISW)
provided tech-
nical support for the success of this event.
All the participants received their
“Blue
Passport of BasinCitizen”.
4
Mekong Youth Declaration
We, asMekong youth, strongly believe:
l
In the power of communication to
catalyze change in our society and
promote our Mekong Identity.
Through our creativity, wewill use com-
munication to educate citizens on the
water issues in our region.
l
That increased cooperation will
lead to reach sustainable develop-
ment.
We agree to strengthen coopera-
tion among the public andprivate sector
and civil society to ensure the inclusion
of all needs and opinions.
l
In sharing our knowledge and expe-
riences about theMekong.Wewill esta-
blish
the Mekong Youth Environ-
ment Network (MekongYEN)
that
will serve as a platform for cooperation,
capacity-building and intergenerational
dialogues.
l
That participation will improve
water resources management.
We
will identify key water messages from
the region and ensure that they are
heard in policy discussions and national,
regional, and global platforms such as
the 7
th
WorldWater Forum.
l
In the ability of young people to
achieve concrete and positive
change on the ground.
We will sup-
port youth by facilitating access to small
grants and mentorship to accelerate
implementation of community-based
projects in theMekong River Basin.
l
That education and raising public
awareness are ones of the most
efficient ways to change behaviors
of children, youth, and local communi-
ties in both rural and urban areas on
water conservationandwaste reduction.
We will organize creative competitions
for producing awarenessmaterials.
Our passion and commitments for our basin
will last long.We invite you toworkwithus,
the Mekong Youth. With your support, our
vision of theMekongwill come true.
4
Mekong River Basin
Regional seminar for exchange of experiences
on IntegratedWater ResourcesManagement
15, 16 and 17October - Vientiane - Laos
