In the spirit of the United Nations’ International Year of Water Cooperation 2013, from March 5 to 7 in Ho Chi Minh city, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) organized the Mekong Environmental Symposium[1], bringing together over 300 stakeholders and scientists from 25 countries to discuss environmental issues challenging the Mekong River Basin. Flowing over 4800 km through six countries, the Mekong river has one of the world’s largest transboundary delta, which is home to over 70 million inhabitants, in which 60 million people live within the lower Mekong countries and 10 million residing in the upper Mekong (Yunnan Province, China).
On March 5, the first day of the symposium, in the morning session, there were welcome notes of organizers, German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), MOST, MONRE, MARD and country statements of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar and China. In the afternoon, the German-Vietnamese WISDOM[2] project (2007-2013), a bilateral, multidisciplinary research was presented. The main project goal is to design and implement a comprehensive information system tool which supports regional government agencies in the Mekong Delta in their planning processes to develop the region and adapt to climate change. All of the results generated over the 6 years of the project, geodata, maps, research reports, legal document databases, additional literature, image galleries, etc. are available online to a broad audience.
During the symposium, there were also exhibition of many projects, organisations, displaying their posters, documents, flyers, brochures such as the AKIZ project, GIZ, German Red Cross (GRC), Sustainable Mekong Research Network (SUMERNET), IUCN Mangroves for the Future, Goethe Institute, Stockholm Environment Institute etc.
On the next two days of the symposium (March 6-7), parallel sessions of 12 topics below were presented:
· Hydropower development and impacts on the river ecology
· Hydropower development and impacts on the economy
· Mekong Basin forest dynamics and REDD+
· Mekong Basin land use (non-forest) dynamics
· Mekong Basin hydrology and hydrography
· Hazards and disaster risk reduction in the Mekong Basin
· Mekong Basin aquatic ecology, biodiversity and water quality protection
· Tonle Sap Lake: ecology, biodiversity and rural livelihoods
· Mekong Delta: Climate change related challenges
· Impacts of urbanization and industrialisation on agriculture and water resources
· Collaboration platforms in basin management: Information Systems and Spatial Infrastructures
· Capacity building, education and outreach
Key messages and lessons learned
1. Anthropogenic activities outweigh and exacerbate the effects of climate change. The Mekong River is under intense development pressure, with multiple upstream dams under construction and downstream dam proposals[3] that, in combination, would dramatically alter ecosystem and human livelihoods. The cumulative impacts of hydropower development are expected to modify the regime over the coming decades. Water level has been remarkably decreasing.
A major expansion of intense irrigated agriculture in the basin is also planned, which has the potential to further modify flows. Comparison between the soil erosion by change of land use and soil loss due to typhoon reveals that land use change has a stronger importance over a long-term period.
2. Hydropower development impacts – Interconnected drivers of change. The cumulative effects of the lower Mekong hydropower projects – if built, and together with existing Chinese dams, will transform the Mekong by altering natural flow patterns, disrupting fisheries and other ecosystem services, to the detriment of millions of people who depend on the river for their livelihoods.
Results indicate that trade-offs between hydropower production, irrigation and flood control are modest. Among others, displacement, land shortages, lack of livelihood opportunities, fisheries losses, flooding and erosion are the main negative impacts.
Altering natural flow regime: Dams would turn more than half of the length of the main river channel into reservoirs characterised by slow-moving water conditions, thereby increasing the risk of water-borne diseases. The dams also damage natural habitats and cause degradation of the environment.
Effect on water quality: Changing conditions of water in the reservoir subsequently affects both the quality of water in the reservoir and downstream as many heavy metal occurred. Domestic and industrial wastewater from a rapidly growing population will also combine with these developments to affect water quality in the Delta.
Risks to food security: Construction of dams would reduce yields of fish and other aquatic resources by 6-34% depending on the scenario considered. Regional supplies of fish and related products are likely to be significantly impacted by dams acting as barrier to fish migrations and sediment traps diminishing the transport of nutrient-rich sediments to coastal fisheries. Hydropower decreases the migrating fish due to reduce access to spawning grounds and rearing zones, and to cause mortalities or injuries.
Involuntary resettlement: Hydropower development alters local communities in many different ways, including changes in water access and use. It is a big concern for the affected communities as it makes them lose of their livelihoods and resources.
Risk of dam failure: Main severe accident risk of hydropower is the risk of dam failure which can make serious flood.
Our understanding of the Mekong ecosystem is far from complete. It was concluded that the immensity of risks was beyond the current capacities of regional governments to address, and recommended deferring all lower Mekong mainstream dam building for at least 10 years.
3. Transboundary problems need transboundary solutions. Given the transboundary nature of the Mekong River Basin, the challenges transcend the spheres of influence of individual Mekong riparian states. There are inextricable links between water, food, energy, and all the drivers of change in the countries that share the Mekong river. It will be necessary to strengthen Mekong governance and knowledge network across borders. The management of Mekong challenges can therefore only be successful if pursued at a transboundary governance level. A sincere and constructive dialogue is needed as well as a more informed and collaborative water governance by Mekong countries. Cooperation is mutually beneficial as it can enhance efficiency and equity.
4. To minimize the impact of hydropower dam on the affected community, well design of the hydropower scheme, good management of dam construction and well hydropower project operation should be applied. The multi-use of reservoir, particularly for irrigation, fishing and fish raising should be considered during design phase and applied during operation. Multiple use of the water of the reservoir would optimize the economic value of water as opposed to its existing single use. Multiple use of the water of the reservoir would provide not only greater economic benefits but would also entail a more equitable distribution of these benefits in favour of local rural communities. However, this would need a more coordinated water management mechanism among local authorities. Comparative analysis of trade-offs helps to build a more holistic understanding of livelihood changes due to hydropower development and provides new insight for appropriate intervention that integrates multiple water uses for decision-makers.
5. Hazards and disaster risk reduction in the Mekong Basin. While regular floods are not a threat but an opportunity for livelihoods and income generation, extreme flood events can pose considerable risks to the people living in the Deltas.
- More climate risk investments such as early warning system, adaptation and preparedness are needed to minimize risk.
- Proper river channel improvement leads to advantages not only for the navigation but also for extreme events mitigation.
- Rethink about adaptation measures including both structural and non-structural options instead of focusing on dyke constructions.
6. Sustainable natural resource management requires local participation and close monitoring. Training courses for stable alternative livelihood are necessary to reduce pressure on natural resources in the area. The participation from community and civil society should be encouraged and taken into account for preparing environmental impact assessment (EIA) and making decision of hydropower development.
7. Paying the forest for electricity. Forest conservation can reduce soil erosion, and therefore, efforts to maintain upstream forest cover within a watershed contribute to the economic life span of a hydropower facility. The cost of forest conservation can be viewed as an investment in hydropower and be financed via a Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) scheme.
8. The Participatory Social Return on Investment (PSROI). Adaptation to climate change has necessarily become an integral component of planning and policy decision making. Top down policies and cost estimates related to climate change adaptation frequently lack sufficient resolution for identifying realities and values at the community and household levels. Without local input, adaptation costing estimates may lead to misallocation of funds to interventions not identified as priorities to vulnerable communities. Community involvement in prioritizing and costing local adaptation interventions can be important for policy decisions and funding allocation, and can guide implementation and long term monitoring of impact.
The PSROI framework is developed to identify stakeholders’ priorities for adaptation and analyse the value of interventions from stakeholder perspectives. It is a pluralistic framework that focuses on local capacities and community strengths, instead of solely needs, when planning for resilience.
9. Transboundary flows – interesting concepts. Transboundary flows are flows that cross shared international borders. Four main types of transboundary flows are distinguished: resource flows refer to the movement of animals and natural resources (1); people flows (2); goods flows (3); and non-material flows such as symbolic transactions, in particular, of money, ideas and information (4). Those related to ideas, technical skills or culture have received less attention; they are more indirect but profound, influencing the evolution of other flows as they shape perceptions, beliefs and expectation. Transboundary flows are not independent of each other. They create opportunities, risks and burden for social development, economic growth and environmental sustainability.
Places are linked and transformed by flows. In the Mekong Region, improved transport infrastructure is increasing trade in agriculture and manufactured products. Advanced in communication and IT are also changing the way people perceive themselves and others, their aspirations and how they organise.
References
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Stefanie - GIZ Bac Lieu
Hendrik and his friend from BTU Cottbus
Lisa
from GIZ Bac Lieu presenting our topic: "Erosion protection through
bamboo breakwaters: climate change adaptation in the Mekong Delta".
Dr. Klaus
Dr. Harry and Nigel
Harry
presenting the topic: "Challenges and opportunities for risk-adapted
land-use planning in Ho Chi Minh City: Balancing rapid urban growth and
resilient water management".
Joep presenting
Me and colleagues from Hanoi at our GIZ stall in the symposium
Talking after lunch
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Group photo at the rooftop of the Intercontinental Asiana Hotel
The documents and video clips collected at the symposium can be download at the links below:
Abstract Volume:
http://mekong-environmental-symposium-2013.org/frontend/file.php?id=3020&dl=1
Presentations:
http://mekong-environmental-symposium-2013.org/frontend/index.php?folder_id=317
Photo Gallery of the Mekong Environmental Symposium:
https://picasaweb.google.com/102414143747684961201/MekongEnvironmentalSymposium2013
The Mekong movie[4]:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10206844/mekongmovie/Mekong_DVD.mp4
[1] Website of the Symposium http://www.mekong-environmental-symposium-2013.org
[2] The WISDOM Project: http://www.wisdom.caf.dlr.de/
[3] During the foreseeable future (to 2030), additional 56 tributary dams and 11 mainstream dams may be constructed in the Lower Mekong Basin (LMB).
[3] During the foreseeable future (to 2030), additional 56 tributary dams and 11 mainstream dams may be constructed in the Lower Mekong Basin (LMB).
[4] The Mekong movie: Filmed in four countries, the documentary ‘Mekong’ includes footage of China’s Mekong (Lancang) dams and footage of the controversial Xayaburi dam in Laos. The film examines the issues of hydropower development and its impact on the lives of Mekong citizens. More information on the documentary: http://www.mekongcitizen.org
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