MEF at A Glance

About MEF

  • Mekong Environment Forum, or MEF, is a non-for-profit and independent organization for environmental scientific information, news and studies of the Mekong-nurtured ecosystems and wetlands, including the Lower Mekong Delta.
  • MEF began as an initiative championed by Nguyen Minh Quang and James Borton, and was established in June 2017 out of their shared passion for Mekong environment and wildlife.
    It is staffed by a group of committed individuals, and supported by a wide range of contributors many of whom are environmental activists, independent experts, students and volunteers in the Mekong Delta.
  • MEF was formed in response to the public’s growing concern about the impacts that Mekong mainstream dams and climate change would pose on the Lower Mekong Delta’s water and food security, and the livelihoods of millions of people.

Our Mission

  • MEF is an independent organization working to protect Mekong Delta’s ecosystems and support the rights of communities who depend on them. We work to prevent destructive projects and shape policies that will contribute to building a more sustainable and safer Mekong Delta.
  • MEF sounds the alarm to prevent poor governance and non-sustainable projects and deadly climate hazards. We build support for the good governance and inclusive politics that enable local governments and people to choose wiser options for their policy-making. We engage directly with a range of concerned actors to seek and share information, and to encourage intelligent action for sustainable development in the Mekong Delta.
  • Our work is urgently needed as the Lower Mekong Delta is confronted with a dramatic rise in transboundary impacts posed by Mekong mainstream dams and climate hazards, with devastating humanitarian, social and economic costs.
  • In a shrinking and integrating Mekong Delta, MEF’s work points a way forward. Dam-building and polluting projects are preventable; they are man-made disasters. We seek to mobilize political leaders to heed early warnings and take early action to avoid looming dangers. And we must build more creative and flexible frameworks for the involvement of various society groups such as local experts and activists, bloggers, youth, and farmers and provide concrete and up-to-date information for social media across the Greater Mekong Subregion.

Our Vision

  • MEF envisions a Lower Mekong Subregion where economic interests are met without degrading local wetlands or increasing social disorder, and where people and CSOs have the right to participate in decisions that affect their lives and local nature.
  • We endeavor to realize ideas facilitating cross-boundary collaboration among stakeholders, and to promote solutions deemed necessary for building a more sustainable and safer Mekong region.

Our Interdisciplinary Approach

Our portfolio of work is highly diverse, creative, and responsive to facts on the ground.
We work with local partners along the Mekong to shape and provide currents of information, knowledge and science for all to be informed.

Field Research

Undertaking fieldtrips to disaster prone areas.

Social Learning

Local wisdom is acknowledged as an important part of climate-resilience.

Communication

MEF delivers its public messages by a variety of means: workshops and publications.

Our Key Impact Areas

Livelihoods

MEF helps empower ordinary people, especially vulnerabale farmers and fishermen, with the information they need to secure their livelihoods and actively avoid impacts from changing environment. We introduce them mitigration measures and advanced climate-resilient models in coping with environmental changes.

Natural Conservation

MEF works with local youth, state agencies and activists to help communities sustainably benefit from the natural resources around them, from forests and water to cropland and mineral deposits. We identify and examine how economic projects impact on local ecosystems and seek for harmonious solutions to protect biodiversity.

Governance

MEF enables people, especially scientists, local experts and activists, to exercise their voice by fostering national, regional, and local governance that’s inclusive, transparent, and accountable. Our efforts to improve decision-making processes at both provincial and national levels.

Sharp Analysis

We publish triannually comprehensive reports and timely commentaries to inform decision making and shape the public debate on emerging threats and how to limit them to biodiversity conservation and sustainable development.