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
The documents and video clips collected
at the symposium can be
download at the links below:
******
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
*****
Group photo at the rooftop of the Intercontinental Asiana Hotel
References
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).
[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.
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