Asian Environmental Leaders Visit Spokane River

July 27, 2010

Forum Staff

Asian environmental leaders from government and non-government associations visited Spokane. Countries represented included Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Mongolia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Lao.

Sponsored by the Asia Foundation, they are touring the Columbia Basin to explore the varied landscapes, broad array of environmental concerns and complex, multi-facetedpolicies that go into balancing ecological and human needs.

They hope to return to their countries with new ideas and information that can be put to work on behalf of their people.

The River Forum organized a tour of Spokane’s wastewater treatment facility. Michael Costner and Lars Hendron from the City of Spokane were kind enough to explain the challenges being faced in our area. This included a tour of “treatment town,” where the city is testing some of the most advanced wastewater treatment technologies in the country.

Sokha Ros of Cambodia remarked “What I learned from the speaker is the importance of public support and the process for mobilizing support. I would like to bring back this understanding of public-private partnerships.”

Tonilee Hanson, the Forum’s program coordinator, commented that “Seeing our issues and level of investment through the eyes of developing countries is a reality check. What’s possible for us is beyond the reach of some of these good people.”

The Forum would like to thank the City of Spokane for opening it doors to other countries.