Growing more coffee with less water in Vietnam

01.05.2014 - 31.12.2017

Growing coffee consumes vast quantities of water. In Vietnam, there are sometimes water shortages in the villages surrounding the plantations. The SDC is working with the Vietnamese authorities and food company Nestlé to encourage local coffee growers to optimise their water use.

Rights & Skills MekongMigrants

01.07.2024 - 31.12.2024

Labour migration to Thailand is an important livelihood strategy for poor families in Cambodia, Laos, and Myanm ar. The majority of migrants currently work as low skilled non-regulars for minim um wages. The project will im prove the poverty reduction contribution of migrant workers, especially of women, through pre-departure and in-service skills and life skills training, resulting in jobs with higher incomes, and through policy influencing for regularization, resulting in better employment and safer working conditions.

Regional and Local Economic Development in the East West Corridor (RLED-EWEC)

01.08.2017 - 31.07.2019

The “Regional Local economic Development – East West Corridor” Project (RLED-EWEC)” has been implemented since 2013 by the Mekong Institute, an intergovernmental organisation with the mandate to build human resources capacities in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). The proposed two year phasing out will consolidate and scale up results. 5’500 smallholder farmer households will increase income and the environment for cross-border trade will be improved.

SUPIC – Support to the Parliament in Cambodia

01.05.2017 - 31.12.2019

The Parliamentary Institute of Cambodia (PIC) supports parliaments in Cambodia and in the wider region to build capacities towards effective democratic institutions and promoting accountability. The Swiss contribution to the PIC will support democratic development processes as a key element for sustainable poverty reduction, and peace and stability in the country and in the region.

Mekong River Commission (MRC) – Strategic Plan 2016-2020

01.06.2016 - 31.12.2020

The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) has been supporting the Mekong River Commission (MRC) since the signing in 1995 of the “Agreement on Cooperation for the Sustainable Development of the Mekong River Basin (a.k.a. “1995 Mekong Agreement”) by the governments of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam until 2005. In 2011, SDC reinstated its support and contributed to 3 of MRC’s Programmes, namely the Basin Development Planning, the Environment, and the Flood Mitigation and Management Programmes. Currently, SDC supports the MRC with a contribution of CHF 7.5 million to a multi-donor basket fund for implementing the new Strategic Plan 2016-2020.

PROMISE: Poverty Reduction through Safe Migration, Skills Development and Enhanced Job Placement

01.11.2015 - 31.08.2021

Migration to Thailand has increasingly become a poverty reduction strategy for marginalized households. It gives a higher income to the individual and, through remittances supports their community of origin. However migrants are often exposed to precarious labour conditions. PROMISE promotes skills development and safe migration and improves thus the livelihoods of the migrants in Thailand and their communities of origin in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.

Pro-poor Policy Monitoring and Analysis in Vietnam

01.01.2014 - 30.09.2016

RECOFTC: Center for People and Forests

01.12.2013 - 30.09.2018

Deforestation and forest degradation are threatening the livelihoods of the rural poor in the Mekong region. Community forestry has proven to be a sustainable way to improve  forest management, strengthen local livelihoods, and mitigate impacts of climate change. SDC supports RECOFTC – The Center for People and Forests to promote community forestry throughout the Mekong region through a core contribution.

Mekong Region Land Governance (MRLG)

01.05.2013 - 31.12.2018

The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) has been supporting the Mekong Region Land Governance (MRLG) project in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV) since April 2014.

Vietnam Community Management Project

01.01.2013 - 30.11.2016

“People know, people discuss, people implement and people supervise” is a Vietnamese government slogan to promote grassroots democracy. The government of Vietnam has recognized the rights and roles of citizens in local planning and decision-making. But do people have a say in decisions that affect them? Not yet. This project aims to contribute to the implementation of this slogan by facilitating a process through which communities “self-define” their problems, “self-set” their priorities, “self-develop” and “self-implement” their solutions, co-financed by SDC and communities.

Empowering Women Migrant Workers In Asia (EWMWA)

01.12.2012 - 30.06.2015

In Southeast Asia women who migrate for work are exposed to high risks, which range from gender-based discrimination to exploitation and severe human rights violations. UN Women’s Regional Program On Empowering Women Migrant Workers In Asia (EWMWA) aims to empower vulnerable women migrants in a gender-responsive way and to strengthen their access to effective legal protection. A specific focus in the ASEAN region includes Lao PDR, Vietnam and Cambodia as major sending countries.

Regional Local Economic Development in the East-West Economic Corridor (RLED-EWEC)

01.08.2012 - 30.06.2017

SDC has entered into a partnership with the Mekong Institute – an intergovernmental institution owned by the GMS countries’ governments – to foster an enabling environment for economic growth in rural areas. The goal is to contribute to the alleviation of poverty in the region.