Progress Report 2006
Information and Knowledge Management Programme
The Information and Knowledge Management Programme is still under development and in 2006 activities related to information and knowledge management were carried out under the Technical Support Division (TSD) of the MRCS. MRC is currently in the process of formulating the IKMP programme document in a consultation process and the programme document was approved in principle by the MRC Council at its 13th Meeting held in December 2006.
The development objective of the Information and Knowledge Management Programme is "to build a solid foundation of data, information and knowledge products, systems and services that supports the goals of the Mekong River Commission".
The Programme has five components:
- Programme Management.
- Hydro-meteorological Data
- GIS and Databases.
- Modelling.
- Communications and Knowledge
For the past years, information and knowledge activities were carried out within the framework of the TSD which collaborated with all MRC programmes, and the four Member Countries (e.g. through the Technical Assistance and Coordination Team, TACT) to further develop and implement the MRC-Information System (MRC-IS).
The main outputs of the IKMP for 2006 are:
Component 1
The Initial Draft of IKM Programme Proposal was drafted in June 2006 and then modified in the form of a Programme Work Breakdown Structure in September 2006. This is served as an input for national consultation meetings with all MRC Member States organised in October 2006. The outcomes of these meetings were incorporated into the new draft IKM Programme document discussed at the regional consultation meeting on 20-21 November 2006. All comments received from regional meeting were incorporated into the updated programme document which was approved in principle by the MRC Council at its 13th Meeting in December 2006. Activities have progressed well. Recruitment of staff including the programme coordinator has now been completed.
Component 2
The hydro-meteorological data collected from Member States up to 2004 are being processed. The Hydrological Yearbook for 2001-2002 in electronic version was disseminated to the Member States in December 2005. The Hydrological Yearbook for 2003 was published in 2006 while that for 2004 is under consideration.
The Appropriate Hydrological Network Improvement Project (AHNIP) was extended to August 2007 with funding from the Australian Government. The new activities of AHNIP are (1) interim replacement of field equipment and support of AHNIP objectives; (2) development of the policy and strategy framework for the IKMP; and (3) formulation of the project design document for upgrade of the AHNIP Network and integration with the Mekong-HYCOS Network.
The equipment selection process for interim equipment replacement was finalised in July 2006. The new water sensor produced by OTT Hydrometric was selected and replacement of the current unreliable sensor at some field stations began in October 2006.
The first draft policy and strategy framework for the IKMP was developed and will be incorporated with the results of national and regional consultations. This framework will be used to request for further assistance from the Australian Government in improving the MRC Hydro-meteorological Network.
The MOU for management and operation of the AHNIP Network for the period of 1 April 2006 to 31 December 2006 was renewed. The MOU outlines in detail the roles and responsibilities of the MRCS, NMCs and concerned line agencies, and the provision of funds to the line agencies for operation and maintenance of the AHNIP network, as a consequence the operation of the AHNIP network has been improved. Accurate and reliable data from 15-17 AHNIP stations are now being sent to the MRC Secretariat and delivered to the users every morning. It is expected that after replacing the sensor, all AHNIP stations will operate properly.
The Mekong-HYCOS project was approved and has been funded by French development bank AFD. The main objective of this regional hydrological cycle observing system which has been developed in partnership with the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), is establishing a basin wide hydrometeorological information system, which spatially covers the mainstream and main tributaries of the Mekong river system. It is expected that under the Mekong-HYCOS project, more than 20 hydro-meteorological stations will be upgraded. The Mekong-HYCOS system will be integrated into the existing MRC monitoring system, while improving the national hydrological networks and river monitoring/forecasting capacities.
The recruitment of project staff has commenced and the procurement of an international consulting firm is now in process. Project implementation started in September 2006. The Mekong-HYCOS project activities in 2007 will focus on two phases; the inception phase and the construction and installation phase.
The technical cooperation with China under the Agreement on the Provision of Hydrological Information of Lancang / Mekong River in the Flood Season has progressed well. The information provided under the Agreement is reliable for the timely flood forecasting operations of the MRC Secretariat. The present Agreement is now under consideration for the renewed Agreement in 2007.
Component 3
A new TSD archive repository has been set up to house valuable archive materials such as aerial photographs, black and white aerographic negatives, backups of various computer workstations, transparency and ink surveys/maps. The collection and supply of improved quality, quantity and timely hydro-meteorological information to all programmes, forecasting, monitoring, strengthening and consolidation of the network and capacity involved is continuing in 2007.
Component 4
The Decision Support Framework (DSF) has been extensively used in the MRC programmes/activities, notably the Basin Development Plan, Integrated Basin Flow Management activities, and the Flood Management and Mitigation Programme with intensive support of the TSD Modelling Team. In parallel, other activities relating to the DSF enhancement and modelling capacity building were also carried-out by the Team. Decision Support Framework modelling and knowledge base enhancements have been realised.
Component 5
The MRC-IS Portal was completed in December 2005 and launched in-house at MRCS in January 2006. The portal includes key information services such as interactive maps, and a geographically enabled metadata explorer with metadata for spatial datasets. The Document Management System is a part of the MRC-IS Portal. It is designed to improve sharing of and access to documents and provide fully controlled access to wide range of documents. A proposal to enable external access to the MRC-IS Portal has been prepared and funds are being sought. An automated library system, the Electronic Library on Web (ELIB) has been implemented at the MRCS Documentation Centre. ELIB provides data entry work forms for all types of materials, including books, CDs, articles, maps, computer files, audio visual material, and mixed formats. The database can be accessed through the MRC portal.
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