Message from the Chairman of the MRC Council
On behalf of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) I am delighted to present the 2007 Annual Report to all Member States, Development Partners and Colleagues. In 2007 the MRC built on the solid foundations of work and planning accomplished over the 12 years since the 1995 Agreement on Cooperation for the Sustainable Development of the Mekong River Basin. It also celebrated 50 years of Mekong cooperation since the ‘Mekong Committee’ was formed in 1957. The MRC marked the anniversary with a book that gives an overview of our history, goals and work, and continued driving forward with the new Strategic Plan. This plan incorporates suggestions from an Independent Organisational Review and from recommendations made at a High-Level International Conference on the MRC held in April 2007 in Hanoi. That conference confirmed the value of coordinating waterresource related developments through a Mekong Partnership Programme. The programme can serve as an umbrella under which Member States and Development Partners will be able to continue their investments in the water sector with a common strategy in a more coordinated manner. The second phase of the Basin Development Plan (BDP) will be instrumental in launching this Programme.
Several meetings were held to pave the way for implementation of recommendations from the Independent Organisational Review, thus preparing the MRC and its Secretariat for the challenges ahead. This consultation process has enabled the Member States to follow the recommendations while keeping Development Partners involved through a Joint Contact Group. Fruitful discussions were held with our Dialogue Partners, China and Myanmar, at the Twelfth Dialogue Meeting, during which foundations were laid for potential cooperation in navigation, flood management, mathematical modelling, plus academic and private sector exchange.
The long-running Water Utilisation Programme (WUP) moved to the brink of final completion this year and in May an independent evaluation team established that it had been successfully implemented. The WUP’s final achievements included completion of the Decision Support Framework and the drafting of procedures and related guidelines elaborating various provisions of the 1995 Mekong Agreement. The exciting effects of these two accomplishments are discussed later in this report. Ongoing MRC Programmes are also making good progress. The BDP Phase 2 is now in full swing, with staff recruitment of the MRC Secretariat and the National BDP teams completed and national discussions organised to finalise the Inception Report in early 2008. The Environment Programme created a Mekong River Basin Report Card on ecological health, an Indicative Report Card on water quality, and technical reports on bio-monitoring and toxic elements. The Information and Knowledge Management Programme entered its implementation phase while the Flood Management and Mitigation Programme held the fifth Annual Flood Forum in Ho Chi Minh City. The Agriculture, Irrigation and Forestry Programme completed research processes on the multiple functions of paddy fields in northeast Thailand and the Mekong delta, and the Navigation Programme completed installation of navigation buoys and other aids on the Mekong between Phnom Penh and the Cambodia-Viet Nam border. Meanwhile the Fisheries Programme further developed aquaculture techniques for indigenous Mekong fish species, and enhanced Integrated Water Resource Management activities in the Mekong delta, specifically for rice and shrimp farmers sharing the same water.
In 2008 the MRC will enter the third year of its Strategic Plan 2006-2010. Implementing this remains a challenge, though much has been achieved during the last year, particularly in aligning the programmes towards the goals of the Strategic Plan, in harmonising delivery structures, and in improving progress monitoring and reporting. These steps are the first in establishing a comprehensive results-based monitoring and evaluation system. Further work on design of the system will follow, and its implementation will be supported by substantial capacity building efforts. In 2008 the MRC will also embark on a Hydropower Programme that will build on and update our hydropower strategy. The MRC will consolidate its hydropower database, provide expert opinion on individual hydro projects upon request, and assess the cumulative impacts of proposed schemes. This initiative will coordinate with another project formulation exercise, brought forward jointly with the ADB and the World Wide Fund for Nature, on ‘Environmental Considerations for Hydropower Development’.
Support from our generous Development Partners strengthened over the last year through funding agreements and contributions amounting to over US$20 million and covering a number of programmes and projects. I would like to emphasise the deep gratitude of the MRC to our Development Partners for their continued and generous support, and to express my confidence that we will continue to justify their faith in our organisation through our efforts over the coming year. The cooperation of MRC Member States and Development Partners will play an important role in combating poverty across the Mekong Region.
H.E. Mr Lim Kean Hor
Minister of Water Resources and Meteorology
Chairman of the Cambodia National Mekong Committee
Member of the MRC Council for the Kingdom of Cambodia
Chairman of the MRC Council for 2007/2008
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