The Sustainable Mekong Research Network (SUMERNET) is an initiative for research and policy engagement bringing together research partners working on sustainable development in the countries of the Mekong Region: Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

SUMERNET is a regional network made up of partners from the Mekong that are committed to the sustainable development, poverty alleviation, gender and social equality and the incorporation of a rights-based approach in natural resource management. During this phase of SUMERNET, the network will engage with other Southeast Asian countries beyond the Mekong Region to promote greater regional collaboration and knowledge exchange.

Launched in 2005, SUMERNET supports policy-relevant research and outreach activities to inform and engage decision-makers, planners and stakeholders. Within this context, it pursues an evolving agenda in response to questions and policy issues that arise in the region. SUMERNET Phase 1 covered 2005–2009; Phase 2, 2010–2013; Phase 3, 2014–April 2018; and the present phase 2019–2028.

SUMERNET’s research themes in the past have included ecosystem services for local development, transboundary issues, climate compatible development, sustainable regional economic integration livelihoods and poverty, and sustainable urbanization. Embedded within these thematic areas it concepts of gender equality and mainstreaming.

A key component of SUMERNET’s work is to bridge science and policy. We do so by choosing research questions that are directly relevant to current policy debates, engaging decision-makers in all aspects of our activities, and building capacity for gender-responsive sustainable development through workshops and other activities. We also emphasize collaboration, networking, raising awareness on gender dimensions of sustainable development and knowledge-sharing, connecting partners in different countries through our projects and events, and we work to strengthen research capacity across the region.