2005 Progress Report

---

Basin Development Plan

The Basin Development Plan (BDP) is an Integrated Water Resources Management and Development Plan for the Mekong Basin. The plan aims at identification, active promotion and coordinated implementation of priority initiatives and investment opportunities, as agreed between the member countries.

Using the principles of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) the BDP aims to achieve a balance between socio-economic development and environmental concerns and to create a framework for development with emphasis and preference on joint and/or basinwide projects.

Through the formulation of planning scenarios, the BDP is able to provide models for future water needs of the Lower Mekong Basin from which strategies and planning guidelines can be developed to assist member countries plan their development in a sustainable way.

The BDP has now developed the strategic directions for IWRM, which will provide a development plan for the Lower Mekong Basin to:

• Foster sustainable development
• Respond to the needs of the poor; and
• Ensure that economic growth and development is in harmony with the environment.

The Basin Development Plan (BDP) has extended Phase 1 of its operations until July 2006 and is now finalising BDP output including data system and assessment tools and is continuing with identification of joint priority development projects and national projects with basin-wide implications.

Much of the BDP's work during 2005 involved finalising the outputs of BDP Phase 1, that can be summarised under five main achievements:

• An established and ongoing basin planning process
• Data systems implemented and functional
• Capacity built and training provided within the MRC Secretariat, the National Mekong Committees and national organisations
• Sub-area and basin-wide scenarios and strategies formulated
• A Projects Database (long-list) set-up and projects prioritised (short-list)

Joint projects for consideration have been submitted by the four member countries and the first batch of these has been approved by the Joint Committee. MRC hopes to see a gradual hand-over of selected projects to NMCs, line agencies and other potential investors. Information available in the 'Projects Database' will also be made available to outside parties for promotion of the projects.

The BDP has employed strong member country engagement, the participation of many government officials and others in the four countries, and improved the format and data details on monitoring and reporting.

The BDP Phase 2 proposal document was prepared for a donor appraisal mission in January 2006, and Phase 2 is under discussion.

The BDP’s primary achievements for 2005 include:

• Production of the document Strategic Directions for IWRM in the Lower Mekong Basin.
• Encouragement of trans-boundary planning and negotiation by organising international meetings on bilateral, trilateral and multilateral levels. These meetings are meant to be the basis for identifying joint priority projects and programmes.
• An initial list of BDP joint development projects and a project database.
• A process of prioritisation of joint projects to be placed on the BDP shortlist, which will now also be used for national projects.
• The approval by MRC Council and the Joint Committee of the first batch of priority projects to be placed on the BDP shortlist
• Production of sub-area atlases containing economic, social and geographical data on five sub-areas in the Lower Mekong Basin. Another five sub-areas are in preparation.
• A revised BDP Phase 2 document.

At the conclusion of Phase 1, the BDP will have established a planning network in the LMB built on a solid range of strategic planning tools and features. This includes the Strategic Directions for IWRM in the LMB, together with a portfolio of projects and programmes to support it (the MRC-BDP Projects Database).

Despite scaling down some of its Phase 1 programmes, due to limited funding, BDP has gained a substantial volume of knowledge, personal skills, and strengthened the MRC’s institutional capacity. BDP is poised to help integrate on-the-ground river basin development projects included in the launch of Phase 2 of its operations.