Mekong River Commission

BDP moves toward concrete actions

 

The Mekong River Commission’s Basin Development Plan project (BDP) is the backbone of the MRC Development Programme. It is now gearing up to move into its second phase and, for the team, this will mean transforming all the hard planning work done so far into concrete results.

The BDP’s aim has always been to create an environment for investment and sustainable development by formulating a basinwide strategy for development. Indeed under the 1995 Agreement it was agreed the BDP would be the general planning tool for the Joint Committee of the MRC to use as a blueprint “to identify, categorise and prioritise the projects and programmes to be implemented at basin level”.

During its first phase the BDP team has been conducting dialogues between governments and their line agencies at all levels to ascertain what type of development would be of maximum benefit to the basin. In this phase BDP developed some powerful planning tools, as well as a strategy for identifying where these development needs lay.

A list of priority projects was developed and the BDP is now examining their feasibility. Some are joint projects involving different countries and some are national projects within a single country. Using planning processes and tools it has gathered all this knowledge and has collated a list of projects that can bring about shared growth in the Lower Mekong Basin.

The team’s next challenge is the practical implementation phase of these projects. In short, the MRC will be actively identifying water-related development opportunities for its member nations that can be implemented at a basin level.

This point in its development has always been the real goal of the BDP. As the team points out there is no point planning for the sake of planning. It is important for the MRC to make a positive impact on reality and to be an active participant in the development of the basin.

The BDP’s Integrated Water Resources Development Strategy will promote a series of sustainable development interventions and investment opportunities for the Lower Mekong Basin. It will identify the development needs, find the projects that meet those needs and then it will seek the necessary assistance to make the projects happen.

The team has created a database of these identified projects and, now, the Joint Committee will define priorities.

Projects that have been identified include those that will:

• Develop navigation potential
• Develop ways to minimise flood damage
• Develop improved irrigation techniques
• Develop the fisheries
• Develop clean energy sources
• Ensure watershed protection

The MRC sees itself as being in an ideal position to act as a facilitator of the development and investment process in the water sector. It is also keen to work hand in hand with other regional development agencies and explore the opportunities offered by such initiatives as the Greater Mekong Sub-Region (GMS) promoted by the Asian Development Bank.

However these new developments will be of no longterm benefit to anyone if their sustainability and impacts are not well researched prior to instigation. The ability to predict possible situations is one of the best ways of making a considered evaluation of a project and that is where the BDP team has strength.

Powerful simulation tools like the Decision Support Framework enable the team to analyse development scenarios that can take into account a range of variables and then be used in decision-making. Over the coming years the team plans to improve such tools, and, more importantly, it will share them with the member states, and other partners working in the river basin.

If member countries are to take a pro-active role in developing their own resources they will need new skills and one of the BDP team’s priorities is to improve the institutional capacity in integrated water resource management and development within the nations.

This will help create a network of river basin organisations, which will then be able to manage the catchment areas of the Mekong River Basin. True basinwide managers in the countries will be able to ensure damage does not occur, that the environment is protected and that economic benefits are equally shared among the population.

The MRC will be a chief participant dealing with such water-related issues as hydropower, irrigation, fisheries, navigation watershed management and water quality on a holistic level.