About the project

Part of our Freshwater Programme, SML-Greater Mekong is a three-year project 50 % funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and co-funded by other donors such as EU-Switch Asia. Both Mekong and Ayeyarwady Rivers function as a lifeline for communities, commerce, and ecosystems in their respective watersheds. The degradation of river quality leads to enormous losses in economic prosperity, agricultural productivity, food security, people's well-being, regional stability and freshwater biodiversity.

In Vietnam, the Mekong Delta area shelters 62% of textile and apparel factories and contributes more than 40% of the country's GDP. While one of the top five garment exporters in the world, the country suffers from over-exploitation of water resources and pollution from industrial actives. It is critically important to initiate a sustainable sectoral transformation to reap social, economic and conservation benefits for the country and in the Mekong region. (For more information see WWF’s Textile programme in Vietnam.)

Likewise, the Ayeyarwady River is the engine of the Myanmar economy, and the basin provides the majority of economic value to the country. But the industrial activities in the basin also generate various water-related risks. There is a serious impact jeopardizing the health of the river and of the communities that rely on it. Small-scale enterprises comprise 80% of the industrial sector within the Ayeyarwady Basin and cause significant water pollution. (For more information on WWF’s Water stewardships projects in Myanmar.)

Addressing those water-related risks, the project supports SMEs through WWF's water stewardship approach, and promotes the sustainable management of water as a shared resource through collective actions by all relevant stakeholders. The project is implemented in the textile sector in Vietnam and in the food and beverage (F&B) sector in Myanmar. It will promote and support the participation of all stakeholders in river management and governance processes both in Vietnam and Myanmar, and at the regional level.