Mekong River Commission

Feature - Regional consultation and the Basin Development Planning Process

The Mekong River Commission convened a Basin Development Plan Stakeholder Consultation in March 2008. Participants represented a wide range of stakeholder groups from state and non-state agencies in the four Lower Mekong Basin countries.

The consultation was intended to renew and further enhance partnerships between the MRC and the stakeholder groups involved in the BDP process.

Issues on the agenda for discussion included the sharing of water resources for domestic use, hydropower, navigation and fisheries, plus preservation of the river ecosystem, and promotion of regional cooperation. The Basin Development Planning process is designed to include different views so that the MRC can assist Member Countries in developing a shared vision to develop the Basin and alleviate poverty.

Some of the Key Messages to emerge from the BDP Stakeholder Consultation:

Major interventions, such as hydropower and other changes in land-use will lead to modifications in the annual flows of rivers in the Mekong Basin, and the use of water, complicating the task of development planning. Therefore, the decision-making processes needs to become more inclusive to accommodate the interests of all relevant sectors.

• Stakeholders expect strong leadership from the MRC in bringing together government agencies, civil society and private sector groups and the media to exchange views on development opportunities and constraints within the LMB.
• The challenge for the MRC is to demonstrate the impact of an MRC Strategic Plan at both basin and national levels. A shared view emerged that water resources development must be made sustainable through a comprehensive planning process.
  
• Several concerns have become critical; how the Mekong region will respond to the emerging challenges of food security and high food, oil and gas prices; how MRC Member Countries will work together to address issues of water availability in the context of global climate change; national socio-economic dynamics; and how the MRC will ensure its continued relevance. Cooperation with upstream countries and MRC's role in this regard need to be addressed.
• There is a general understanding of the potential for water resources development in the Basin given the hydrological conditions of the river, the relatively low amount of water storage-per-head compared to other river basins, and the potential increase of flow during the dry season due to the construction of dams upstream.
• Hydropower development and the impacts on fisheries are at the centre of discussion on future water resource development. Fisheries are essential for sustaining the livelihoods of poor people. The impacts of hydropower development on fisheries are well known, if not always accepted by all. There are winners and losers from hydropower and participants felt that the poor are mostly likely to lose.
• However, sustainability of both hydropower and fisheries is possible. Good planning is the key. Avoidance and mitigating measures include the careful location and design of hydropower dams so that they do not block fish migration routes.
• National sovereignty is an issue with respect to aligning national water policies with the IWRM-based basin strategy. Thailand and Viet Nam have smaller land areas in the Basin than Cambodia and Lao PDR and, consequently, to a large extent, their national policies reflect the diversity of other river basins in their respective countries.