Mekong River Commission

Understanding the sustainable development implications of mainstream Mekong - the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)

An immediate priority for the MRC is to assess the long-term implications of the mainstream dam proposals and provide better understanding of the risks and opportunities. While the benefits of hydropower are potentially considerable for Mekong countries, the construction of one or more of the 11 hydropower schemes currently under consideration could have profound implications for the sustainable development of the basin and affect the lives and livelihoods of millions of people in all four member countries of the MRC. To identify and assess these implications the MRC recently launched a 14-month Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) process of the mainstream Mekong dams under consideration.

The SEA seeks to identify the potential opportunities and risks as well as the contribution of hydropower to regional development. There will be many opportunities for various stakeholders to engage with and provide inputs to the SEA. The team conducting the assessment will engage with NGOs, civil society and community representatives, as well as work closely with the Basin Development Plan's stakeholder consultation process.

The SEA, which will report its findings in late 2010, will help to systematically assess and make recommendations on alternative mainstream Mekong hydropower development strategies, including the regional distribution of costs and benefits with respect to economic development, social equity and environmental protection and among different affected interests and sectors.

Particular emphasis is given to the importance of looking at the proposed dams as a group and the cumulative impact from an integrated basin-wide perspective through the Basin Development Plan scenarios and other methodologies.

Click here to make submissions to the MRC regarding hydropower

Click here to see past submissions from stakeholders

Alternatively you may also fax or post submissions via the details below:

Postal address:

Hydropower submission
P.O. Box 6101,
Vientiane 01000
Lao PDR

Fax: + (856) 21 263 264

Who can make submissions?

Submissions can be made by individuals or organizations. The MRC welcomes submissions from all stakeholders including:

• Local, national and international NGOs and civil society organizations;
• Scientists, including fisheries, hydrology and ecology experts;
• Academics and researchers;
• University students studying a relevant field;
• Private sector developers;
• Development organizations or agencies;
• Hydropower oversight agencies;
• Representatives of development sectors affected by hydropower;
• Representatives or individuals of directly or indirectly affected communities; and
• Special interest groups.

Submission content

Your submission should pertain to one of the thematic areas under analysis by the team working for the MRC on the Strategic Environmental Assessment, which includes, but is not limited to:

• Trans-boundary impacts: The trans-boundary decision making process
• Energy and power: Energy security, supply and infrastructure, including possible alternative generation sources
• Cumulative effects: The potential cumulative effects of many projects, including the existing national capacities to manage possible impacts
• Ecology: The river's ecology and resource values and changes to the terrestrial ecology, land and water-use, including forest eco-systems
• Fisheries impacts: The potential impacts on aquatic biodiversity & fisheries
• Climate change: The possible interaction that climate change (mitigation, adaptation and vulnerability), will have on hydrology, water quality and sediment
• Multi sector impacts: Transport, navigation, tourism and other non fisheries related livelihoods including agriculture and irrigation
• Poverty reduction: Poverty, safety, health and nutrition, including the potential impact on protein intake
• Development: Migration, population growth and urban development, including the potential long-term effects of resettlement.
• River Morphology: Extent of the effect of the mainstream projects on sediment flow and river morphology processes

Please indicate which of these above subjects is the main focus of your submission

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