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WLE Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Focal Region Research and Development Opportunities Dec 10, 2013. Photo: Prue Loney/IWMI. Elements of WLE research in GMS. Work both in countries and across countries
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WLE Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Focal Region Research and Development Opportunities Dec 10, 2013 Photo: Prue Loney/IWMI
Elements of WLE research in GMS • Work both in countries and across countries • Ensure that benefits to countries/ agriculture of ecosystem (service)-based approaches are obvious as rapid economic development (and not the environment) are at the center of interest • Capacity building • Build on the network platform that CPWF II has already developed for the Mekong
Potential entry points for WLE • Irrigation policies and investments • Food security and trade policies, relation to ASEAN • Land investments and resulting land use change in Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia, driven by upstream China, but also Thailand and to some extent by Vietnam • Energy policies and hydropower investment • Link with **AAS work on fisheries in Cambodia • Link with **Humid Tropics work on land use change impacts on Mekong flows • Link with **PIM on land and water rights work
Over-riding research for development questions • Ecosystem service proofing of investments across the Water-Energy-Land-Food nexus • Benefit sharing from large scale developments
Sustainable Water and Land Security & Development • How can we balance the benefits of intensification and commercialization with non-marketed ES and their functions that are threatened by these developments? • What are the cumulative impacts of land use change and water resources development on water availability and water related ecosystems in the GMS? • How does flow regulation affect ecosystem services • How to make investments in land and water work for the poor and women in the GMS • Assessment of systematic impacts of land acquisitions on water, energy and food systems in the region
Food and Nutrition Security • How can we balance food and nutrition security for the Mekong poor, the Mekong region (economic drivers), and global food security? • Maintaining fisheries production and the wild capture fishery
Energy Security • What are regional energy markets’ impacts on water, land, local energy, and food? • What are energy sources beyond hydropower – what are the trade-offs of different sources of energy (biofuels, coal, solar, etc) • Can we optimize benefits and uses from cascades of dams and share them equitably?
Water Governance • What and how do policies and institutions affect decisions on water, land and energy? • How to create political incentives for “sustainability”, as most politicians are motivated by other interests, such as economic growth, social cohesion and political stability. • Land tenure and water rights as entry points for sustainable and equitable development.
Storyline • Ecosystem service proofing of investments across the Water-Energy-Land-Food nexus, reformulated as: “Ensuring that investments in water, energy, land and food are sustainable and meet national growth and poverty goals” • Green investments and associated incentives related to water, land, food and energy security • Investments with widespread benefits, including for women and the poor
Research Activities • Sharing the benefits of water infrastructure, including gender [river bank gardens] • Mitigation of dam impacts for better food security outcomes • Land governance [river bank gardens] • Impacts of investments on food, water and energy security (tradeoff analysis) • Impact of sediment reduction following dam development on agricultural and river productivity and social consequences [river bank gardens]
HLIs—High-Level Individuals • Jeremy Bird (to take it to MRCS) • Min of Planning and Investment; EVN, MONRE (V/L)—Parisak(MAF/L), VV (MEM/L); Chantameth [sp?/L], Buntong, MakSoen (Depagext C), OhmnarKhaing (Food security WG -M) • Committee against discrimination of women (Cedaw) • Relate to agencies where CPWF & centers have MOUs • Center for Dev and Environment —Lao decide info, coming up in VN, (Swiss funded) • Asia RESAKKS
Next steps/ road testing • Develop a flyer, circulate with WLE partners • Send focal point designee to visit key government stakeholders and donors (ADB/WB/SDC/EU/ USAID/AUSAID/LIFT--Myanmar) • Check ideas with key CPWFII ambassadors (Tu in VN; • Summary • Send back to WLE partners • Complete by Feb 20