The international conference on “Sustainable development through green growth in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam” was organized on 29 October 2013 by Lao Academy of Social Sciences (LASS), Royal Academy of Cambodia (RAC), and Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS) in the collaboration with Korea Environment Institute (KEI) and Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) in Thakhek district, Kham Muon province, Laos.
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Chairpeople at the Conference
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The delegates from VASS attended the conference included Prof.Dr. Nguyen Xuan Thang, Member of the Party Central Committee, President of VASS; Prof.Dr. Nguyen Quang Thuan, Deputy President of VASS; and scholars and managers from VASS departments and units.
From RAC, there was the attendance of Dr. Khrot Thi Da, President of RAC; Prof. Chan Som Bun, Deputy President of RAC; and scholars and managers from departments of RAC.
The delegates of LASS were Assoc. Prof.Dr. Thongsalit MangnoMek, Acting President of LASS; Dr. Khamphon Bunadi, Deputy President of LASS; Dr. Silamun Thalavong, Deputy President of LASS; and scholars and managers from LASS departments and units. The conference also received the representatives from Lao ministries and agencies as well as the presence of Mr. Khambay Damlat, Member of the Central Committee of Lao People’s Revolutionary Party, Secretary of Kham Muon Provincial Party Committee, Governor of Kham Muon province.
The Korean delegates included Dr. Byung-Wook Lee, Director of KEI; Mr. Joo Sueb Lee, Country Director of GGGI in Cambodia and Vietnam; and scholars and managers from GGGI, KEI, Korea Rural Economic Institute. The conference also received the presence of two inviting speakers, Dr. Jenny Gronwall, Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI, Sweden) and Mr. Anand Upadhyay, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI, India).
Chairpersons of the conference included Assoc.Prof.Dr. Thongsalit MangnoMek, Acting President of LASS; Mr. Khambay Damlat, Member of the Central Committee of Lao People’s Revolutionary Party, Secretary of Kham Muon Provincial Party Committee, Governor of Kham Muon province; Prof.Dr. Nguyen Xuan Thang, Member of the Party Central Committee, President of VASS; Dr. Khrot Thi Da, President of RAC; Dr. Byung-Wook Lee, Director of KEI; and Mr. Joo Sueb Lee, Country Director of GGGI in Cambodia and Vietnam.
The welcome speech was delivered by the Acting President of LASS and the Governor of Kham Muon province. In the introductory speech, Dr. Byung-Wook Lee, Director of KEI, emphasized the themes of this year’s conference was the relationships between food, water and energy for sustainable development. The discussion at the conference would focus on the solutions to promote the agricultural development in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam based on the most up-to-date research results of the topics related to sustainable use of natural resources.
The conference received 18 papers which were presented in four sessions:
The plenary session: Promoting green growth through sustainable development in the Greater Mekong Sub-region chaired by Dr. Young Joon Lee, KEI, had four papers presented: 1) Global green growth trend (Mr. Joo Sueb Lee, GGGI); 2) Opportunities and challenges for sustainable development in Laos (Mr. Feuangsy Laofung, Director of the Institute for Political Studies, LASS); 3) Fundamental factors behind the challenges and opportunities for green growth in Vietnam (Dr. Nguyen Manh Hung, Institute of World Economy and Politics, VASS); and 4) Green growth to sustainable development in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (Prof. Eap Ponna, Institute of Science and Technology, RAC).
Session 1: Strategic measures for sustainable green growth in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) chaired by Mr. Joo Sueb Lee, GGGI, comprised four presentations: 1) The establishment of water-energy-food relationship, case studies and trends (Dr. Jenny Gronwall, SIWI); 2) Prospects and policies by the Government of Laos for sustainable development and green growth (Assoc.Prof.Dr. Thongsalit MangnoMek, Acting President of LASS); 3) Sustainable green growth in Cambodia: policies, strategies and diversity at the central and local levels (Dr. Nouth Sambath, Director of Botany and Biology Department, RAC); 4) Vietnam at the intersection of green growth and sustainable development (Prof.Dr. Nguyen Quang Thuan, Deputy President of VASS).
Session 2: Agriculture-water-energy relationship on the basis of green economic development chaired by Prof.Dr. Nguyen Quang Thuan, Deputy President of VASS, consisted of five papers: 1) Energy issue for the green economy (Mr. Anand Upadhyay, TERI); 2) Water and agriculture (Dr. Mong Seang Ngim, RAC); 3) The idea system for sustainable agriculture (Dr. Seungjun Lee, KEI); 4) Energy use in the agricultural sector and rural areas in South Korea (Dr. Si Hyun Park, Director of Sciences, Korea Rural Economic Institute); and 5) The use of water from hydropower dam Numtern 2 for agricultural cultivation (Mr. Sichad Boutsakitilath, Deputy Director of the Business and Energy Department, Ministry of Energy and Mines, Laos).
Session 3: The impacts of socio-economic development and environment on green agriculture chaired by Dr. Chan Som Bun, Deputy President of RAC, involved five papers: 1) Exploitation and use of solar energy in Vietnam (Dr. Tran Quang Minh, Director of Institute for Northeast Asian Studies, VASS); 2) Rural urbanization and barriers to the recovery of the social environment quality (Prof. Dongsoon Lim, Dong-Eui University, Korea); 3) Environmental laws for agricultural activities (Dr. Sangyun Lee, KEI); 4) Organic agriculture as the prospect for sustainable agricultural development and the progress for green growth (Dr. Vanthong Pengvichith, Deputy Director of the National Agricultural and Forestry Research Institute, Laos); and 5) Sharing experiences on green growth (Mme. Sangjung Ha, GGGI).
The discussion at the conference helped to better the understanding of the current situation of the transition to the green agriculture and green economy as the strategy for sustainable development in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. The exploitation and use of natural resources, particularly water and energy resources in the food-water-energy relationship in each country were also pictured, as well as the lessons drawn from the experiences of South Korea, Sweden and India for the issues related to green growth, green economy, and the management of the food-water-energy relationship for a green agriculture and sustainable development. The participants had a variety of topics to propose for the joint research programs and projects between the three academies of Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, and KEI and GGGI, as well as the cooperation with the research organizations in South Korea, in the region and in the world with the same interest of the GMS’ general issues.
Vu Hung Cuong (Ph.D)
