Water Resource of Mekong River and Its Development free essay sample

About the Mekong River I- The land and its resource II- People and livelihood and water III- Water and work a- Feeding Millions b- Powering Development c- Fueling Trade d- Moving People and Goods e-Bringing People Together IV- Special Place a- The Tonle Sap b-The Mekong Delta c-Deep Pools B- Mekong Development I- What is the Basin Development Plan? II- Why is a Basin Development Plan Needed? III- How Does Basin Development Planning Work? IV- What are Scenarios? V- What Has Been Achieved So Far? A- About The Mekong River I- The land and its resource The Mekong River Basin is defined by the land area surrounding all the streams and rivers that flow into the Mekong River. This includes parts of China, Myanmar and Viet Nam, nearly one third of Thailand and most of Cambodia and Lao PDR. With a total land area of 795 000 square kilometers, the Mekong River Basin is nearly the size of France and Germany together. We will write a custom essay sample on Water Resource of Mekong River and Its Development or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page From its headwaters thousands of meters high on the Tibetan Plateau, it flows through six distinct geographical regions, each with characteristic features of elevation, topography and land cover. It would take 2 days of twenty-four hour driving at 100 km per hour to drive the same distance as the length of the Mekong River (4800 km). Water and related resources The most abundant resources in the Mekong Basin are water and biodiversity. Only the Amazon River Basin has greater diversity of plant and animal life. Some key facts about the Mekong †¢ From its source in Tibet, the Mekong River is approximately 4800km long and flows through six countries: China, Myanmar, Lao PDR, Thailand, Cambodia and Viet Nam. So much water flows into the mainstream Mekong from the surrounding basin area that, on average, 15,000 cubic meters of water passes by every second. In many parts of the world, thats enough water to supply all the needs of 100,000 people – the population of a large town – for a whole day. †¢ This water nourishes large tracts of forest and wetlands which produce building materials, medicines and food, provides habitats for thousands of species of plant s and animals and supports an inland capture fishery with an estimated commercial value of US$2 billion dollars per year. Known mineral resources include tin, copper, iron ore, natural gas, potash, gem stones and gold. †¢ The Lower Mekong River Basin (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam) is home to approximately 60 million people. There are over 100 different ethnic groups living within the basins boundaries, making it one of the most culturally diverse regions of the world. †¢ Farmers in the Mekong Basin produce enough rice to feed 300 million people a year. Agriculture employs 85% of the people living in the basin. †¢ The Mekong River Basin is one of the most productive inland fisheries in the world. The basin provides a wide variety of breeding habitats for over 1300 species of fish. Conservative estimates indicate that basin dwellers eat over one and half million tones of fish per year. †¢ It has been estimated that total hydropower production capacity in the Lower Mekong Basin is 30 000 megawatts, more than enough to meet the expected demand in the coming decade. †¢ There are 25 major ports on the Mekong River and except for a 14 km stretch around the Khone Falls near the Lao-Cambodia border; almost the entire length of the river is navigable for nearly 8 months of the year. The Great Lake on the Cambodian floodplain is the largest body of fresh water in Southeast Asia and forms one of the key features of the lowlands. During the flood season, water flows from the Mekong mainstream northwest to contribute most of the water that fills the Great Lake. The depth of the Great Lake increases from a dry season maximum of 3. 6 m to more than 10 m, and the area of open water increases from approximately 2,500-3,000 km? , to up to 13,000 km?. As water levels fall in the Mekong River in October and November, flows into the Great Lake reverse and much of the water flows out and down the Tonle Sap River. Through the dry season, water from the Great Lake continues to supplement the flow of the Mekong, providing some 16 percent of the dry season flow. †¢ The water of the Mekong is shared by six countries with each contributing a percentage to its flow. Table 1: Approximate distribution of MRB water resources by country |   |   |Country or Province |   | | |   | Challenges The main challenge is to build a sustainable planning process that will enable development of subsequent editions of the IWRM-based Basin Development Plan with greater reliance on local resources. The connections between the MRC programmed and national planning and line agencies are seen as pivotal to the establishment of an integrated planning process that links all levels of planning in the basin. The MRC sector programmed have an overarching objective of promoting wise use of resources in their respective sectors through appropriate development projects. It is expected that they will increasingly influence, promote and, where appropriate, participate in national planning within the framework of the BDP. The Plan will use acquired knowledge from MRC programmed to build an overall perspective of basin management and development needs. This will eventually set the agenda for MRC programmed. As the chart shows, the BDP overarches MRC sector and service programmed to form a powerful initiative for supporting IWRM across the Lower Mekong Basin. [pic] BDP Contribution to the MRC Strategic Plan 2006-2010 The centre piece of the MRC’s current strategy is a ‘rolling’ plan for developing and managing the Basin’s water resources, founded on IWRM principles, and with a socially and environmentally sound agenda to promote regional cooperation. The BDP Programmed provides this basin-wide planning process plus opportunities to build a strong partnership of stakeholders who can effectively link development and natural resource conservation. Programme outputs will contribute to the achievement of all four MRC strategic goals. The BDP also assists implementation of the MRC Strategic Plan by supporting: †¢ Improvement of the coordination and programming of other MRC programmes towards achieving the organization’s strategic goals; †¢ The visible engagement of the MRC in Tran boundary assessment, based on IWRM. Partnership and Stakeholder Involvement The BDP supports national socio-economic development policies and adds value to national development efforts through initiatives that affect more than one country. Through the National Mekong Committees in each country, the programme has developed close links with line agencies and stakeholders in the ten BDP sub-areas. Phase 2 will foster these relations by bringing the MRC sector programmes closer to these national and local planning partners. The BDP will continue to put stakeholder participation and communication at the heart of its activities to facilitate acceptance of the Plan and support for its implementation. The BDP also maintains links with and supports other regional initiatives including the World Bank/ADB Mekong Water Resources Assistance Strategy, various ASEAN and Greater Mekong Sub-Region projects, the Global Water Partnership and UNESCAP. The BDP Programme (phases 1 and 2) has received financial and technical support from Denmark, Australia, Japan, Sweden and Switzerland. Next Steps After a period of reassessing progress from the first phase and meeting staffing needs, the BDP Programme is now well equipped to forge ahead. Recruitment of a new regional team has been completed and national BDP teams mobilised. An inception report for the second phase of the programme was prepared and discussed in national and regional consultation meetings. In February 2008, the BDP Programme will be discussed in a regional consultation meeting with stakeholders from NGOs, academia, development partners and the private sector. This will place the plan in the broader development context of the region. Overview of BDP Phase 1 Achievements Phase 1 of the BDP produced: (1) A planning process consisting of A functional, comprehensive network of participants and information flows, consolidated during active dialogue involving 200 institutional stakeholders; Routines for identification, scoping and screening of recommended projects and programmed; Initial practices for promotion and facilitation of priority projects and programmed. (2) A knowledge base, comprising data and information for planning, including the following publications: MRC State of the Basin Report (June 2003); MRC Social Atlas (May 2003); MRC People Environment Atlas (Aug 2003); The BDP Planning Atlas, produced by a GIS-linked database, with a wealth of data; and information, and listings of development projects and project ideas (May 2006); Stakeholder Participation The BDP Core Library (May 2006) (3) Modeling and assessment tools, such as a GIS-linked project database, a project screening toolkit, the Decision Support Framework (developed by the Water Utilization Programmed), and a Resources Allocation Model for the assessment of development scenarios. (4) Plan setting, consisting of: Broad integrated analyses, at sub-area, national and basin-wide levels, of baseline conditions, water demand projections, development opportunities, linkages and constraints; Approved Strategic directions for IWRM in the Lower Mekong Basin, reflecting values shared by the Member States, and addressing immediate, medium and long-term water-related development; and Categorized and prioritized projects and programmed that will support the strategic directions and the MRC vision of an economically prosperous, socially just and environmentally sound Mekong River Basin. 5) Enhanced understanding of IWRM principles at the regional, national and sub-area levels, provided by: Dedicated training sessions and on-the-job training; The MDBC training programmed and curriculum; Six riparian MSC candidates educated under BDP-related grants. †¢ Formulated and assessed basin-wide development scenarios, which facilitate the establishment of a shared understanding of development options in the Lowe r Mekong Basin and help define the IWRM-based strategy for basin development and management; An updated IWRM-based basin strategy to guide the implementation of IWRM in the Lower Mekong Basin; †¢ A portfolio of programmes and projects identified and short listed under the planning cycle; †¢ A rolling IWRM-based Basin Development Plan; †¢ Enhanced knowledge base with updated State of the Basin Report and a planning atlas; †¢ Upgraded assessment tools and process for use by the MRC and national line agencies in the planning process; and †¢ Updated planning guides and enhanced capacity for IWRM-based planning.