The First Lao National Working Group Meeting of 3S (Sekong, Sesan, Srepok)

The First Lao National Working Group Meeting of 3S (Sekong, Sesan, Srepok) took place on 4 April in Vientiane, Lao PDR. Representatives from line agencies and provincial and district authorities discussed transboundary governance arrangements, a basin diagnostic analysis, a capacity-building programme, and digital 3S Basin Atlas.

The Lao PDR National Working Group was established to support the design of a comprehensive Joint Project in the 3S sub-basin of the Mekong River.

This Joint Project is supported by the German Development Cooperation and implemented by the Mekong River Commission and GIZ from 2023 to 2024.

The 3S rivers form the largest transboundary tributary basin of the Mekong River in Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Vietnam. It’s the longest remaining free-flowing mainstream tributary in the entire Mekong system, a vital artery for migratory fish. Nutrients and sediments carried by the Sekong, Sesan, and Srepok Rivers provide much-needed nutrients to fisheries in the Tonle Sap and rice production in the Mekong Delta.