Open Development Mekong - Sharing information about Mekong and its development with the world. (original) (raw)
Empowering Women Environmental Defenders’ Voices through Data Storytelling
In today’s ever-changing world, where we navigate a landscape overflowing with information, the ability to make sense of data and use it for informed decision-making becomes essential. Yet for many Women Environmental Defenders (WED), their stories are often lost or told in ways that dehumanize them and in some circumstances vilify them. By focusing on building capacity for data literacy and storytelling, we can help WED to take control of their own narratives.
Hydropower and Foreign Investment in the Lower Mekong
Between 2004 and 2012, the trade in hydropower technologies between South-to-South increased from below 10% of total global trade to nearly 50%. China has been a strong financier of infrastructure projects as part of its Belt and Road Initiative, investing nearly $25.85 billion globally. Hydropower is seen as integral in the push towards green energy development in the Lower Mekong Region, with countries such as Vietnam and Thailand outlining their plans for green growth.
Photo: Moe Bye Dam in Shan State which is the main source for Baluchaung (Lawpita) Hydropower Plants. By Kantabon – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0
REDD+ in the Mekong Region
All five countries of the Lower Mekong Region are participating in REDD+, but they are at different stages of readiness and implementation. Because REDD+ implementation is fragmented and complex, it is difficult to get a full and accurate sense of all REDD+ related projects and activities. Below are some examples of related projects by country.
Photo: Mountainous forest Seen from the Mekong River by Klim Levene | CC-BY-2.0.
Data Literacy: If data were an open forest - would anyone use it?
The Open Development Initiative (ODI) has been facilitating the collation and release of data and information for over eleven years now. The demand and need to provide data for our civil society constituents is summarized through a threefold process. Read more
Photo by Stephen Dawson on Unsplash
Towards Effective Advocacy in Mekong Region with Data Literacy
The Open Development Initiative (ODI) first began working with our constituents on data literacy in 2019, with a 3-month data literacy programme for journalists in Myanmar. Since then we have localized our Data Literacy Curriculum, adapted from the World Bank Certificate Program, to meet the needs of specific groups, such as forestry advocates, educators, women’s networks, and Indigenous Peoples in Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and Laos.
Mekong Women in Open Data
Gender inequality underscores the lives of women all over the world. At the Open Development Initiative, we wanted to understand how this impacted women in the Mekong countries of Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, and Vietnam (CLMV) in their access to open data. In 2019, we conducted and completed a study on this topic, the results of which have now been published on the Open Development Mekong platform.
Photo by Mimi Thian on Unsplash. Licensed freely on Unsplash.
Vietnam–Laos ties: strategic cohesion
- 16 December 2025
Vietnam and Laos have scaled up bilateral relations to the highest level of friendship and cooperation, known as “Great friendship, special solidarity, comprehensive cooperation and strategic cohesion”. It is a new framework between the two former Indochinese countries. The emphasis is on strategic cohesion. Vietnam’s Party ...
BANGKOK — A new satellite analysis from U.S. think tank the Stimson Center has identified 517 suspected mines along rivers in Laos, including major tributaries of the Mekong, Southeast Asia’s longest river, heightening concerns about contamination of waterways that sustain local communities. Stimson has not ground-truthed the ...
Dec. 3 (UPI) — Unregulated mining across the Mekong region is accelerating at a pace that environmental researchers warn is outstripping governance, enforcement and ecological safeguards. From Myanmar’s jade-rich northern highlands to informal gold pits along Laos and Cambodia’s riverbanks, mineral extraction is expanding in some of ...
The People’s Party (PP) has called on the government to tackle arsenic contamination from foreign mining, spreading from northern rivers to the Mekong in the Northeast. It is urging immediate talks with China, Myanmar and Laos. PP deputy spokesman and Chiang Mai MP Phattarapong Leelaphat posted ...
Rare earth mining expands into Laos, threatening entire Mekong River
- 20 November 2025
Satellite data show at least 27 new rare earth mines have opened across Laos since 2022, mostly in protected areas and many within the Mekong River Basin, raising transboundary pollution risks for Vietnam and the wider Mekong system. New data show a recent proliferation of rare ...
Lancang-Mekong countries vow to target telecom and cyber fraud
- 20 November 2025
Senior officials from China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam pledged at a ministerial-level meeting on Friday to deepen law enforcement cooperation and launch coordinated crackdowns targeting telecom and cyber fraud. Delegates from these countries convened in Kunming, Yunnan province, to focus on combating telecom and cyber fraud. They ...
Call for Applications: Writing Workshop for Indigenous Journalists
- 13 February 2025
The Knowledge for Development Foundation (K4D) is hosting a three-day writing workshop for Indigenous journalists from South and Southeast Asia, taking place from April 22–24, 2025. This workshop focuses on long-form journalism and ethical storytelling from an Indigenous perspective. Participants will receive hands-on training, attend lectures by experienced journalists, ...
JOB OPPORTUNITY: TOR of Mangrove Conservation Assistant
- 12 February 2024
TERMS OF REFERENCE Mangrove Conservation Assistant Assignment: Mangrove Conservation Assistant Location: Southern Thailand, with possible regional travel Contract Type: Full-time, on site. Reports to: Foundation Director Duration: 2 years (contingent on performance and funding continuation) Start: Immediately Deadline: 2 March 2024 or Until filled Position: This position is open to Thai nationals and those eligible to work in Thailand OVERVIEW The Knowledge for ...
JOB OPPORTUNITY: OD Myanmar Coordinator
- 12 February 2024
Open Development Initiative is looking to hire a local Myanmar Coordinator to help manage our OD Myanmar activities. This position will provide program support and technical assistance to the Director and work alongside the lead partner Landesa, their local team and the national Open Development Myanmar platform. To explore the ...