Mekong River Commission

Better cooperation, communications vital to success
of next phase

As the second phase of the MRC Fisheries Programme starts to wind down, representatives of the Cambodian, Lao, Thai and Vietnamese governments agree that engagement between the fisheries and hydropower sectors must be a key theme in the third phase starting in 2011. They also agree that the next phase needs to address issues such as overfishing, governance, small-scale aquaculture and global factors like climate change.

From left, Mr Bird, Cambodian National Mekong Commmitee Secretary
General Pich Dun, Fisheries Administration Director General Nao Thuok,
Siem Reap Deputy Governor Bun Narith and MRC Operations Director Do
Manh Hung.     Photo: Lem Chamnap

More than 80 delegates attended the 16th annual meeting of the MRC Fisheries Programme in Siem Reap in June. The two-day meeting featured presentations by regional fisheries agencies as well as the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the WorldFish Center, the Southeast Asia Better cooperation, communications vital to success of next phase Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC), France's Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), the Wetlands Alliance, the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), the latter in collaboration with the University of Lao PDR. Representatives of the Danish and Swedish donors Danida and Sida also took part.

In an opening address, MRC chief executive officer Jeremy Bird noted that the livelihoods of many people in the Lower Mekong Basin (LMB) relied on the regional fish catch which is worth billions of dollars a year. In Viet Nam alone, fishing and fish farming had become a leading export sector with tens of thousands working in the processing industry. To a large extent, regional fisheries had insulated the poor from the impacts of the global economic crisis. "However, the expectations are that economies of the region will again witness high levels of growth. With that will come increased pressure to build hydropower schemes both for domestic electricity consumption and export," Mr Bird said.

Hydropower becoming a major issue
The CEO acknowledged that modelling techniques and past experience could be used to predict some of the positive and negative consequences of the 11 dams proposed for the mainstream of the Mekong in Cambodia, Lao PDR and Thailand. "What we cannot predict as easily is the potential impact that the barrier effect of proposed dams could have on fish migration-and hence fisheries and food security." Mr Bird said that recent efforts by the Fisheries Programme to develop a model to forecast how fish will respond to the potential changes from dams was now central to the MRC's river management planning. "The impact of hydropower on fisheries is fast becoming one of the biggest issues for the programme and I am pleased to see we are making a significant effort to understand it," he said.

Fisheries Programme Coordinator Xaypladeth Choulamany noted that Mekong fisheries were worth at least $2.5 billion a year and were an important part of food security in a region where people rely on fish for as much as 80% of their animal protein. The sector also provides direct or indirect employment to about 40 million people. Other strengths include small upfront costs for investment, rich diversity second only to the Amazon, common access rights and the fact that fisheries is environmentally friendly compared with other sectors like mining, agriculture and hydropower. On the other hand, Mr Xaypladeth said, the Mekong fisheries sector is probably approaching its maximum sustainable size, with little potential for growth of more than 20%. The sector also has a low low profile, attracting little in terms of large or foreign investment. Moreover, its value is largely unreported and is unrecognised outside the fisheries sector. And as part of the traditional economy, it is not seen as adding to new wealth. The fisheries sector is also vulnerable to other resource sectors and climate change.

Scope for more added value
Yet Mekong fisheries still offer many opportunities. The resource is still large, with no indication of an upward or downward trend in yield. There is also scope for more value to be added through improved processing and reducing waste and for better fishing practices through the curtailment of illegal fishing. Other opportunities exist with co-management as well as reservoir and ricefield fisheries. "Governments are largely supportive," Mr Xaypladerth said, pointing to the implementation of pro-fisheries regulations. At the same time, mitigating negative impacts on fisheries is possible through dialogues with developers and government agencies.

Mr Xaypladeth said overfishing and loss of habitats such as wetlands were among the major threats to Mekong fisheries. While the size of the catch has been constant, the average size of fish has been falling and population pressures mean that more people are fishing in the basin. Habit losses reflect development in the hydropower, mining, navigation and agricultural sectors as well as climate change. Another major threat is that the development of mainstream dams and transport infrastructure will have a barrier effect on fish migration. Mekong fisheries are also threatened by changes in the annual "flood pulse" with 2-3 week delays in the onset of the flood season. Related threats are increased dry-season flows, reduced wetseason flows and climate change.

Cambodian Fisheries Administration Director General Nao Thuok (centre)
talking with Mr Bird (right) as Mr Xaypladeth (left) looks on
Photo: Lem Chamnap

Governments face difficult decisions
Fisheries Programme Advisor Chris Barlow told the meeting that mainstream dams would lower fisheries yields by blocking fish migration and reducing fish habitats. "Fish ladders are not a solution, nor will aquaculture development replace lost fisheries," Dr Barlow said. "Governments face difficult decisions balancing hydropower development and maintaining fisheries." At the same time, the importance of fisheries is not fully understood in terms of the sector's economic and nutritional value and its contribution to the livelihoods of poor people. To minimise the adverse impacts of hydropower on fisheries, policymakers should "think of dams on tributaries, not on the mainstream," he said.

A statement adopted at the end of the meeting noted that the while the fisheries sector in the LMB faced several challenges, the success of the next phase of the programme would rely on closer cooperation with agencies involved in developing fisheries and other water resources as well as better communications with a broad range of stakeholders. Building on the achievements of Phase Two of the programme from 2006 to 2010, planning for Phase Three from 2011 to 2015 is scheduled to start during the September quarter of this year. Among future challenges, the statement highlighted the development of regional hydropower potential as "clearly an important issue", particularly proposals for mainstream dams. "Engagement between the fisheries and hydropower sectors must be a key theme during the next phase," the statement said. "Nevertheless, other internal and external issues also demand attention if the fisheries resources are to be preserved for the benefit of future generations. Among these are overexploitation, issues of governance and global factors such as climate change. Conversely, small-scale aquaculture provides opportunities for enhancing food security and livelihoods."

Cooperation and communication
The statement stressed, however, that the success of the next phase would rely on two other factors. "The first is closer cooperation and closer links with the agencies and bodies concerned in the development of fisheries and other water resources. These include representatives from government departments, the private sector, NGO's and academia. Communications, the statement said, are the second factor. While the quality of its technical work is recognised by fisheries professionals, the programme "must find ways to spread its message to a broad and more diverse audience if the value of the Mekong fishery is to be acknowledged fully by government agencies, the private sector and the general public."

Among the achievements of the programme's second phase, the statement noted that it had helped raise the profile of Mekong fisheries so they are now at the centre of the development agenda. "The size and value of the resource and its importance to the countries of the Basin, and the wellbeing of their people, is recognised widely. Understanding the relationship between fish ecology and fisheries production provides a scientific foundation on which to make judgements concerning the development of the fisheries resource and the basin's other water resources. Co-management has become the primary approach to fisheries management in the LMB and improved production techniques are in place for the culture of indigenous species. Information on Mekong fisheries is disseminated widely in a variety of media, and the capacity of riparian professionals has been developed through a broad spectrum of channels."

During the annual meeting, programme coordinators and officers presented annual reports on the key programme components dealing with Fisheries Ecology, Valuation and Mitigation, Fisheries Management and Governance, and Aquaculture of Indigenous Mekong Fish Species (see articles on page 17). Annual reports of the Technical Advisory Body for Fisheries Management and the Gender in Fisheries Network were also presented. Representatives from the WorldFish Center made several presentations, especially in the area of cooperative work with the programme in assessing the impacts of mainstream dams. Among other speakers, a Cambodian fish farmer talked about his experience raising indigenous fish species in Takeo province (see article on page 25) while a Cambodian fisherman described resource management in his community fishery in Prey Veng province (see article on page 27). In addition to other presentations by the WorldFish Centre, the Wetlands Alliance and SEAFDEC on their regional work, FAO made a presentation on the importance of small-scale fisheries, WWF on managing the critically-endangered Mekong giant catfish and ACIAR/University of Lao PDR on fish gates and flood passages in a Mekong tributary. Viet Nam is scheduled to host the 17^th annual meeting in 2010.