The BDP Phase 2 Programme (2006-2010) was launched in January 2007, forming an underlying planning intiative that will guide all MRC efforts to eradicate poverty and serve the population of the Lower Mekong Basin. Funding agreements for the BDP were signed with the Government of Denmark in December 2006 and with Sweden in April 2007.
The development objective of the BDP Phase 2 is stated as: “the water resources of the Mekong River Basin managed and developed in an integrated, sustainable and equitable manner for the mutual benefit of the riparian states”. Phase 2 of the BDP is designed to institutionalise the participatory planning process established during phase 1 and to further develop the tools and capacity needed for regional Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM).
Immediate Objectives
Objective 1: To create a rolling IWRM-based Mekong Basin Development
Plan in support of sustainable development in the Mekong River
Basin. In line with the 1995 Mekong Agreement, the BDP works
to prepare the development scenarios, the basin IWRM strategy,
and a portfolio of structural and supporting non-structural
projects that will continue to manage and develop some of the
basin’s water resources while minimising harmful effects that
might result from natural occurrences or human activities.
Objective 2: To further develop and effectively utilise the knowledge base and assessment tools available to the MRC Secretariat (MRCS), the National Mekong Committees (NMCs), and national line agencies. Work under this objective will upgrade and refine the existing knowledge base and selected modelling and assessment tools. It will also build capacity for the maintenance and use of the tools by MRCS, NMCs and selected national agencies.
Objective 3: To develop capacity for IWRM planning and facilitation in areas where trade-off management is required. The BDP will thus build capacity for IWRM in the basin, with a view to mainstreaming IWRM into national and sub-basin policies, plans and projects, and will also enhance the facilitation and mediation skills of the MRC.
Principal outputs of the BDP Phase 2 will include:
Achievements during 2007
Important considerations for BDP Phase
2
The design process for the rolling IWRM-based Basin Development
Plan and its elements has emphasised the following important
considerations:
As envisaged in the MRC Strategic Plan 2006-2010, the rolling IWRM-based Basin Development Plan will serve as the plan for the Mekong Partnership Programme as proposed in the Hanoi Conference on the MRC in April 2007. The Mekong Partnership Programme, which will be owned by Mekong countries in partnership with donors, development banks, the private sector, stakeholders and NGOs, will provide a regional cooperation framework for the sustainable development of water and related resources in the Mekong River Basin.