Mekong River Commission Meeting the Needs - Keeping the Balance MRC Water Utilization Programme: GEF International Wate

1. Mekong River CommissionMeeting the Needs - Keeping the Balance MRC Water Utilization Programme:GEF International Waters Project(GEF/World Bank)

2. Potentials and Challenge • At 4,800km long, Mekong is one of the world’s longest rivers. • Basin supports one of the most productive and diverse freshwater ecosystems. • Least spoiled & least developed, and potential for development is far from utilized. • Only four countries are members. • Total population living in the Lower Mekong Basin is at present 60 million people => 100 million by 2025. • Average flow = 15,000 m3/s, but not evenly distributed. • Majority of them living below poverty line.

3. Issues to be addressed by WUP • 1995 Mekong Agreement to address two most important issues: • water sharing/maintenance of agreed flow level; and • Environment protection and the ecological balance. • Other related issues: • Change of flow regime/quality; • sea water intrusion, • impact on navigation; • Growing demand for water/energy and inter-basin diversion, • Degradation of aquatic ecosystem (fish) • Inadequate knowledge of river basin behavior and water quality conditions.

4. How Issues/challenges are addressed • WUP broad objective: set up a mechanism to implement 1995 agreement by: • Facilitating agreements among countries on required set of rules/agreements; • Developing a modeling package and knowledge base for supporting learnt decision-making; • Capacity building and technical collaboration with upstream countries; • Ensuring ownership and participation.

5. Progress to date • Rules: • Data sharing and exchange agreement signed in November 2001; • Procedures for Implementing “equitable and reasonable use” to be signed later this year, • By 2005 = three more rules on water use monitoring, maintenance of water quantity, and quality.

6. Progress to date (Cont.) • Development of Decision Support Framework, and Training of trainers and end users in progress – July 03. • Progress toward Flow Management.

7. MRC and Flow Management • The EP and WUP have developed a 3 phase approach to flow guidelines • Phase 1 – An interim flow plan to prevent deterioration in the short term • Phase 2 – A field based comprehensive flow plan • Phase 3 – Evaluation of proposed interventions

8. MRC and Flow Management • Interim Flow Plan • Based on existing knowledge • Using an expert panel approach • Deliberately conservative • It will protect “bottom lines”

9. MRC and Flow Management • Interim Flow Plan • Main difficulties : • Collating the existing knowledge • Identifying the “bottom lines”

10. MRC and Flow Management • Comprehensive Flow Plan • Based on field assessments and flow modeling • Intended to allow prediction of ecological and subsistence consequences of flow changes

11. Back Dynamic Q 580 400 1:20 300 200 Tree -Shrub 1:2 120 80 IV 50 Lower Dynamic Upper lower II, III Wet Bank I wslf Aquatic dslf Vegetation zones linked to flood-return periods

12. MRC and Flow Management • Comprehensive Flow Plan • Main difficulties • Results will provide information to decision makers – but not make the decision • Can we effectively model flow over the Cambodian floodplains?

13. Flow (discharge) is measured as velocity x cross sectional area – but cross section area is difficult to measure where the river is 50 km wide!

14. MRC and Flow Management • Assessment of Interventions • This will involve cooperation between BDP, WUP and EP

15. Proposed Interventions BDP WUP Consequences : Water Quantity & Quality Define Scope Options Decision Makers BDP National/ Regional Macroeconomic Assessment: (Hydropower, Irrigation, Forestry, Fisheries,Other EP Ecological & Subsistence Consequences BDP Other stakeholders

16. MRC and Flow Managementmeeting the needsmaintaining the balance