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What’s New with U.S.-ASEAN Connect?
5 MINUTE READ
April 2, 2022

USAID and DFC Improve Plastic Waste Management in Indonesia

A recent investment from USAID Indonesia in partnership with Circulate Capital and the U.S. Development Finance Corporation will improve plastic waste collection and recycling infrastructure, develop innovative models of recycling supply chains, and prevent 400,000 tons of plastic from entering the oceans. Check out the video here: https://youtu.be/USe8pz5F8Sg

Where’s the Water: Mekong Dry Season 2022

2021 was the 9th driest year on record in the Mekong Basin. That’s making the 2022 dry season even drier and threatening agricultural productivity in the Mekong Delta. Join the STIMSON Mekong Dam Monitor team and discussants to explore the answers to these questions. You can access the full video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuSbTeHdihg

South-east Asia among regions hardest hit by climate change: IPCC report

The first major assessment from climate experts in nearly a decade predicts no end to rising temperatures before 2050 unless greenhouse gas emissions are slashed. Vulnerable Southeast Asia needs to mount stronger climate defenses. Read the full report here: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/

The United States to Host APEX 2023

The White House announced Feb 10 that the United States will host APEC in 2023, following on from the current host, Thailand. Read White House Release here.

United States Releases Updated List of Critical and Emerging Technologies

The White House has released an updated list of Critical and Emerging Technologies (“CET List”), which will serve to inform a forthcoming strategy on U.S. technological competitiveness and national security. Read the media note here.

NASA Mekong Water and Climate Study

NASA scientists published a study on how climate change and dam development could impact the Se Kong, Se San, and Sre Pok rivers in the Mekong region using space-based earth observations, hydrologic and climate models, and social surveys. They found that climate change will lead to increased precipitation, necessitating a shift in dam operations, from maintaining low flows to reducing flood hazards, and that existing water governance systems in Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia are ill-prepared to address the problem.

Read the full report from nature.com here.

USTDA Indo-Pacific Resource Guide

The U.S. Trade and Development Agency helps companies create U.S. jobs through the export of U.S. goods and services for priority development projects in emerging economies. USTDA links U.S. businesses to export opportunities by funding project preparation and partnership building activities that develop sustainable infrastructure and foster economic growth in partner countries.

This guide was prepared to provide U.S. companies and exporters an overview of infrastructure projects across the information and communications, transportation, energy, and public health sectors in the Indo-Pacific region primarily over the next three years.

Download the guide here.