Mekong River Commission and its first test in a transboundary impact incident - Ialy Dam

1. Mekong River Commission and its first test in a transboundary impact incident - Ialy Dam Le Duc Trung Acting Secretary General Viet Nam National Mekong Committee

2. Mekong Basin & Cooperation • Mekong River Basin covers Chiana, Myanmar, Lao, Thailand, Cambodian and Viet Nam • The river ranked 12th in length & 8th in flow • Viet Nam contributes 8% in area and 11% in flow • Mekong cooperation was started in 1957 focusing on planning of water resource development • After a brief break (2 years), IMC was formed • With the Cambodia came back, the Agreement on the Cooperation for the Sustainable Development of the Mekong River Basin was signed in 1995 • Mekong River Commission was established to cooperate in all fields of sustainable development, utilisation, management and conservation of the water and related resources of the Mekong River Basin

3. MRC Institutional Set-up • Members are Governments of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand • and Viet Nam • China and Myanmar, are dialogue partners to the MRC • MRC consists of three permanent bodies: • The Council with member of ministerial level • The Joint Committee with member at no less than Department Director General level ;and • The Secretariat located in Vientiane, Lao PDR, and headed by a CEO to provide technical and administrative services to the JC and the Council • The MRC is funded by contributions from the four member countries and from aid donors. • Donor Consultative Group meeting are organized annually to ensure effective consultation with donor community

4. Institutional Arrangements • Governed by the 1995 Mekong Agreement, a number of legislative documents have been prepared, widely known as the set of Water Utilization Rules: • Procedures for Data and Information Exchange and Sharing (approved 2001); • Procedures for Notification, Prior Consultation and Agreement (approved 2003); • Procedures for Water Use Monitoring (approved 2003); • Procedures for Maintenence of Flows on the Mainstream (approved 2006); • Procedures for Water Quality (pending for approval); • Guidelines for Transboundary Environmental Impact Assessment (under preparation) • And other Techncial Guidelines to implement approved docs • Establishment of permanent or ad-hoc bodies (sub-committees, working groups, task forces …) • And set-up of bilateral channels

5. Ialy Hydropower Dam incident • Sesan river is a main tributary of the Mekong river system • Ialy is a key hydropower project in the cascade Viet Nam planned to build in the sub-basin, 70 km from border with Cambodia • Feb/2000 a careless release from Ialy dam caused serious lost and damages to Cambodian people downstream • The regional cooepration has come to its first alert and real challenge • The response was quick in bilateral channel of all levels, with assistance from MRCS • Mitigation measures were taken • Immediate measures relating to the dam operation were agreed

6. Institutional Arrangements • Appropriate dam operation and flow regulation on the Sesan river; • Maintenance of an effective notification mechanism on the flow regulation • Jointly conduction required transboundary environment impact assessment studies; • Strengthening the trust and cooperation spirit between the two sides in water resources management of the sub-basin • Notifications of new projects in the Central Highlands to the MRC • Exchange of related EIA studies of those projects • Maintenance of all level of contacts of bilateral channel • Prime Minister’s Instruction on transboundary impact concerns • Re-regulatory reservoir downstream Ialy and suggesting joint ventures for hydropower development on Cambodia side • Target of increase awareness, trust and cooperation spirit between the two sides in water resources management of the sub-basin

7. Needed Capacities • MRC (complete set of rules/procedures/techncial guideleines relating to transboundary impacts) • Regional sub-committee for transboundary impacts assessment • Adequate and timely information to Joint Commission and annual border cooperation meetings at Government level • Frequent meetings at working level (Joing Working Group on Sesan Flow Regulation) • Ad-hoc joint team, group (investagation, modeling etc…) and workshops, consultations, meetings etc… • Techncial cooepration: Joint monitoring, studies and shared database/analytical tools • Awareness increase efforts, dissemination to the root level

8. Lessons Learnt • Awareness and trust for border people and local authorities • Awareness and commitment of involved line agencies • Combination of regional mechanism and bilateral channels with proper public involvement • Commitments and cooperation spirit affirmed at top level • Improved monitoring and analytical tools • Data and information sharing and exchange, and notification requirements • Mitigation plan • Sub-basin water resources management planning according to IWRM principles • Joint investment for mutual benefit • …

9. Applicability • Basin-wide set-up (rules/procedures) • Bilateral channel (Guidelines and relevant agreements) • Regulation for system operation • Techncial support (monitoring and tools) • Capacity (technical and legal) • Awareness increase and trust building

10. Thank you for your attention