Takeaways from Mekong River Commission Summit in Laos

The conference aimed towards bringing together governmental authorities and business executives to discuss the difficulties that Southeast Asia's Mekong Delta nations are experiencing. The Mekong River Commission focuses on water security, collaboration among the countries  and the rising consequences of climate change. The Mekong Delta has grown especially vulnerable to both development and changing ecology. Though progress has been achieved in adopting industrial technology changes with the assistance of global partners, more effort is required to reduce damaging practices such as sand mining that negatively impact rural populations and animals.

The Mekong River is one of the world's longest and most biodiverse rivers, supplying water, food, and livelihoods to millions in the entire region. The Mekong River Commission hence, becomes very critical in safeguarding the river and guaranteeing its long-term management for the benefit of everybody. 

MEKONG RIVER COMMISSION

Established by the Mekong Agreement of 1995, the Mekong River Commission (MRC) is an intergovernmental organisation that collaborates with the governments of Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Thailand, and Vietnam to manage the shared water and resources of the Mekong River. The MRC builds on previous cooperation through the Mekong Committee, founded in 1957. With over 65 years of experience, the MRC is a unique water diplomacy platform and regional cooperation platform. It acts as a regional knowledge hub on water resources management and informs decision-making processes based on scientific evidence. The MRC ensures the Mekong is utilised for the countries' benefit and the people's well-being. The MRC Summit is held every four years and brings together political leaders to address challenges and opportunities facing the Mekong Basin. The Heads of Governments of the four MRC Member Countries revisit commitments made four years earlier and agree on strategies for the future. Three summits have been held to date, hosted by Thailand in 2010, Vietnam in 2014, and Cambodia in 2018. The ministerial representatives from the MRC Dialogue Partners such as China, and Myanmar have also participated in all three summits. The fourth Summit was hosted by the Lao People's Democratic Republic and held on April 5, 2023, under the theme 'Innovation and Cooperation for a Water Secure and Sustainable Mekong'. The MRC is an established organisation with a clear mandate, procedures, strategies, guidelines, and knowledge products to ensure the sustainable development of the Mekong region. The main objectives of the Mekong River Commission Summit, which include a reaffirming political commitment to the 1995 Mekong Agreement and the mandate of the MRC, recognising the achievements of the MRC in managing transboundary issues, acknowledging broader regional developments and challenges, and providing guidance on enhancing innovation and cooperation for the water-secured Mekong in line with the Basin Development Strategy 2021-2030. The Summit aims to foster multilateral cooperation, joint effort, and partnerships to promote sustainable development in the Mekong region.

IMPORTANCE OF MEKONG RIVER COMMISSION

The Mekong River Commission is a forum for collaboration among the four Mekong River Basin member countries. This is significant since the river disregards national boundaries and demands a coordinated approach to management. The MRC facilitates collaborative river planning, decision-making, and management, which can assist in avoiding disputes and ensure that the river is managed sustainably for all benefits. The MRC supports the Mekong River Basin's sustainable development, critical for the long-term well-being of the region's people and ecosystems. The MRC assists in balancing the requirements of many sectors, such as hydropower, agriculture, and fisheries, to achieve ecologically and socially sustainable growth. It further, strives to safeguard the river's unique biodiversity and ecosystems, threatened by human activities such as dam development, pollution, and overfishing. The MRC promotes the conservation and sustainable use of the river's natural resources, critical for the region's ecological resilience and local populations' livelihoods. Natural calamities such as floods and droughts may severely affect people's lives and livelihoods in the Mekong River Basin. It also assists member nations in coordinating disaster management initiatives, such as early warning systems, emergency response plans, and risk reduction measures. 

Talking about the member countries, Cambodia is one of the most downstream nations in the Mekong River Basin, relying heavily on the river for water and fisheries. The country's interests in the MRC are providing enough water flow for agriculture and fisheries, preserving water quality, and encouraging sustainable hydropower growth. Laos is one of the most upstream nations in the Mekong River Basin, with enormous hydropower development potential. The country's objectives in the MRC include maximising hydropower's economic advantages while minimising its social and environmental consequences. Laos is likewise largely reliant on agriculture and fisheries and is concerned about the long-term viability of the river's resources. Thailand is the most industrialised and populous country in the Mekong River Basin and has a diverse economy that includes agriculture, industry, and tourism. The country's interests in the MRC include ensuring adequate water supply for industry and agriculture, promoting sustainable tourism, and minimising the impacts of upstream development on downstream communities. Vietnam is the most downstream country in the Mekong River Basin and highly depends on the river for agriculture and fisheries. The country's interests in the MRC include ensuring adequate water flow for agriculture and fisheries, maintaining water quality, and managing the impacts of upstream development on the delta region. Overall, the member countries of the MRC have different interests and priorities in managing the Mekong River Basin. Still, they share a common goal of promoting sustainable development and protecting the river's ecosystems and resources for all benefits. Hence, the MRC provides an unique platform for dialogue and joint cooperation among the member countries to achieve this goal.

VIENTIANE DECLARATION

In this recent 4^th Summit in Laos, ‘the Vientiane Declaration’ was introduced by Laotian Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone. The significance of the Vientiane Declaration goes beyond its symbolic value. It acknowledges the urgency to address the growing risks and trade-offs, including adverse transboundary impacts, that come with large water infrastructure projects and climate change-induced floods and droughts. The declaration calls for intensified cooperation and innovative solutions among the Mekong River Commission, its partners, and other regional stakeholders. The declaration also highlights the need for greater coordination in operational management, especially in sharing timely and regular data from water infrastructure to help riparian communities prepare for fluctuations downstream. The declaration expresses the highest political commitment from the leaders of each country to the MRC's multi-pronged role as a promoter of sustainable development, a treaty-based forum for water diplomacy, and a regional knowledge hub that implements basin-wide strategies and drives peaceful and mutually beneficial cooperation.

In his 2023 State of the Mekong Address on April 3, Dr Anoulak Kittikhoun, CEO of the MRC Secretariat, highlighted a number of concerning trends facing the river and its Basin in recent years. These include four consecutive years of low flow changes, reduced nourishing sediment, rising salinity damaging rice crops, increasing plastic pollution, and worsening floods and droughts. However, according to MRC analysis, water quality remains good or excellent in most places along the Mekong mainstream. There has been socio-economic growth and increased living standards in the region. Furthermore, cooperation among the four Member Countries led to concrete results in 2022, such as new guidelines for hydropower dam design and transboundary environmental impact to facilitate fish movement, navigation rules to enhance river safety, tools for improved flood and drought forecasting, and a new monitoring station in the northern tip of the Basin to quickly detect water changes. Additionally, the MRC and Lancang-Mekong Cooperation launched a joint study to develop a shared understanding of the changing water-flow regime between upstream and downstream regions, which is crucial for more effective cooperation.

CONCLUSION

The primary goal of the 4th MRC Summit was to reaffirm support for the 1995 Mekong Agreement, which was a significant achievement as it emphasised the principle of joint cooperation towards sustainable development. This landmark agreement established the MRC as the central platform for regional cooperation. The conference was attended by more than 600 experts, diplomats, and students who praised the MRC as a global model for water diplomacy and river-basin cooperation. The MRC's ability to bring key players to the table and facilitate dialogue on transboundary issues was particularly noteworthy. Innovation was also a key topic, with discussions on the first-ever MRC River Monitoring Technology Competition for Mekong University students and a virtual-reality session exploring how AI could improve flood and drought forecasting and decision-making.

Participants at the Summit called for increased efforts in areas ranging from synchronising dam projects to high-tech flood and drought forecasting. Furthermore, there was a renewed effort to deepen cooperation with upstream neighbours Myanmar and China, which has 11 cascade dams on the upper Mekong, known as the Lancang in China. The MRC's achievements were commended as an inspiration for transboundary water cooperation in other parts of the world. Member Countries were encouraged to promote gender equality, social inclusion, and protection of vulnerable groups while exploring all development options proactively.

REFERENCES

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Pic Courtsey-Vlad Tchompalov at unsplash.com

(The views expressed are those of the author and do not represent views of CESCUBE.)