In 2020, the Lower Mekong Initiative was upgraded and expanded to the Mekong-U.S. Partnership (MUSP). The MUSP Track 1.5 Policy Dialogue series is a flagship initiative of the Partnership and includes seven virtual and in-person dialogues from 2021 to 2023 focusing on key policy and sustainability challenges facing Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. This discussion will launch the summary report to share takeaways and policy recommendations from the 7th Policy Dialogue, which was held in Chiang Rai, Thailand in July 2023 with a focus on on transboundary water governance. Discussions sessions included a deep-dive on needs and opportunities related to regulation and conservation of natural resources, optimization of dam management, policies and institutions related to water management, and nature-based solutions for water governance.
Keynote Speaker
Julien Katchinoff, Water Team Lead in the Office of Conservation and Water at the U.S. Department of State
Julien has worked for over a decade with the U.S. Department of State developing and implementing U.S. foreign policies on drinking water and sanitation, water resources management, and transboundary water issues. Prior to serving as the Water Team Lead, he was the Department’s primary action officer in implementing the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 between the United States and Canada.
Panelists
Kaneka Keo, Mekong Inclusion Project Manager, Oxfam Cambodia
Kaneka is the Mekong Inclusion Project Manager at Oxfam Cambodia. She has extensive experience in program management, public policy engagement, partner assessment, baseline and policy analysis and promoting a people champion advocacy approach. In more than 17 years in development work, she has strongly supported and promoted inclusion and diversity in the region.
Margaret Owensby, Research Hydraulic Engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Margaret Owensby is a research hydraulic engineer at the Engineer Research and Development Center in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Since joining the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2016, she has specialized in coastal numerical modeling and data analysis, and has worked on a variety of projects to aid decision-making for government and military agencies. She is a member of the Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory’s Coastal Storm (CSTORM) Modeling System team.
Youk Senglong, Executive Director of Fisheries Action Coalition Team (FACT)
Mr. Youk Senglong has worked on natural resource and fisheries resource management and livelihood improvement of local beneficiaries since 2000, with particular focus on fishers. He has affiliated with FACT since 2013 first as a Program Manager, then Deputy Executive Director, and now as Executive Director of Fisheries Action Coalition Team (FACT), Cambodia. He is also a founder of Tonle Sap Lake Waterkeeper (TSW) and a member of the US-based international alliance Waterkeeper Alliance.
Ha Huy Anh, National Project Manager for Sustainable Sand Management, WWF-Viet Nam
Ha Huy Anh is the National Project Manager for Sustainable Sand Management with WWF-Vietnam, working to maintain key ecological functions and reduce socio-economic vulnerability to climate change in the Mekong Delta. Anh joined WWF-Viet Nam from Dec 2019 and is based in the Ho Chi Minh City. Prior to joining WWF, Anh worked to develop information systems for forest land and forest management and on issues including but not limited to forest land allocation to ethnic groups and land governance.
Moderator
Courtney Weatherby, Southeast Asia Deputy Director, The Stimson Center
Courtney Weatherby is Deputy Director of the Stimson Center’s Southeast Asia and Energy, Water, & Sustainability programs. Her research focuses on sustainable infrastructure and energy development challenges in Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific, particularly the nexus of issues in food, water, and energy in the Greater Mekong Subregion. She supports the Mekong Dam Monitor, a platform for near-real time monitoring of dams and environmental impacts in the Mekong Basin. See her full bio here.