WLE Southeast Asia (Greater Mekong)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/34504

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Knowing the Salween river: resource politics of a contested transboundary river.
(Book, 2019) Middleton, C.; Lamb, V.
This open access book focuses on the Salween River, shared by China, Myanmar, and Thailand, that is increasingly at the heart of pressing regional development debates. The basin supports the livelihoods of over 10 million people, and within it there is great socio-economic, cultural and political diversity. The basin is witnessing intensifying dynamics of resource extraction, alongside large dam construction, conservation and development intervention, that is unfolding within a complex terrain of local, national and transnational governance. With a focus on the contested politics of water and associated resources in the Salween basin, this book offers a collection of empirical case studies that highlights local knowledge and perspectives. Given the paucity of grounded social science studies in this contested basin, this book provides conceptual insights at the intersection of resource governance, development, and politics of knowledge relevant to researchers, policy-makers and practitioners at a time when rapid change is underway. - Fills a significant knowledge gap on a major river in Southeast Asia, with empirical and conceptual contributions - Inter-disciplinary perspective and by a range of writers, including academics, policy-makers and civil society researchers, the majority from within Southeast Asia - New policy insights on a river at the cross-roads of a major political and development transition
Emergence of Integrated Water Resources Management: measuring implementation in Vietnam
(Report, 2018-09) Akkerman, Maarten; Khanh, Ngụy Thị; Witter, Michael; Rutten, Martine
IWRM can be defined as “a process that promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land and related resources in order to maximize economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems” (GWP, 2012). Recently, the changes in laws and regulations, such as the 2012 revised Law on Water Resources (LWR 2012), have sought to provide a legal framework for internationally recognized practices of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) in Vietnam (Nguyen, 2012). IWRM is a novel approach for Vietnam. This Research Bulletin evaluates how well water resources plans adhere to the principles of IWRM, to learn and further tailor these principles to the Vietnamese situation.
Coping with changes in access to biodiversity and natural resources along the Mekong mainstream and tributaries
(Report, 2018-10) Menghoin Hok
The relationship between people and natural resources in the Mekong River Basin is intimate. Up and down the river, natural resources in the form of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs), fish, water, ‘Other Aquatic Animals’ (OAAs), agro-ecosystems and other – frequently common property – resources form a significant part of livelihoods. The Lower Mekong basin falls into the territories of five countries (Myanmar, Lao PDR, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam), and is home to about 65 million people. The Mekong River flows almost 5,000 km and its basin covers 795,000 km2. Hydropower development is a major issue in the region as it affects biodiversity, ecosystem health, livelihoods and water governance (MRC, 2015).
Knowledge Networks in the Mekong
(Report, 2018-10) Clayton, T.E.
Knowledge networks, then and now, global or local, are meant to manage knowledge. This report examines knowledge networks in Southeast Asia's Mekong region. Water Knowledge is intended as an informal research output focusing on current research discussions and debates around the waters and rivers of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and the Yunnan Province of China. Water Knowledge is not peer reviewed.
Perceptions of Integrated Water Resources Management in Myanmar
(Report, 2018-09) Dorp, Rianne van; Rutten, Martine; Cauwenbergh, Nora van
The WLE research project examined perceptions of four constructs underlying IWRM, policy integration, public participation, gender inclusion, and adaptivity among people responsible for the implementation of future water management plans in Myanmar.
Monitoring the health of the greater Mekong’s rivers
(Brief, 2018) Dickens, Chris; Cox, Amy; Johnston, Robyn M.; Davison, Supatra; Henderson, Derin; Meynell, Peter-John; Shinde, Victor R.
The methods used for biomonitoring can be sophisticated, producing highly accurate results, but can also be simplified for communities to use. In countries where budgets for biomonitoring are low, using community-based biomonitoring systems can effectively and cheaply tell us about a river’s health.
The impacts of hydropower and mining on water quality: an example from the Nam Ngum catchment, Lao PDR
(Brief, 2018-08) Kallio, M.
Water quality can be thought of as a measure of the suitability of water for a particular use based on selected physical, chemical, and biological characteristics. The water quality of rivers and lakes changes with the seasons and geographic areas. There is no single measure that constitutes ‘good’ water quality. For example, water suitable for drinking can be used for irrigation, but water used for irrigation may not be suitable for drinking. Typically, water quality is measured against standards for particular uses. Thus, water for drinking needs to be of very high quality, but water used for transport does not need to be of high quality at all. Very poor quality water can be highly toxic to life. Water of this kind may be contaminated with chemicals, pollution and/or pathogens, rendering it poisonous to fish and other aquatic organisms; trees and other vegetation along river banks; and to humans who may come into contact with it or consume it. Industrial waste and sewerage and common sources of water contamination. Because all life depends on water, its quality is therefore essential to sustaining it. Water quality is closely linked to the surrounding environment and land use. Unless it is in vapour form, water is never ‘pure’, and is affected by community uses such as agriculture, urban and industrial use, and recreation. The modification of natural stream flows by dams and weirs can also affect water quality. The weather, too, can have a major impact. The water quality of rivers is generally best in the headwaters, where rainfall is often plentiful. As they travel into lowland areas, however, they encounter areas of high human activity, and quality typically deteriorates. Rivers frequently act as conduits for pollutants by collecting and carrying wastewater from catchments to the ocean. Storm water can also carry heavy loads of nutrients, organic matter and pollutants into streams, rivers, lake, and, eventually, the ocean. Evaluating water quality typically focuses on the following indicators: • Biological: bacteria, algae. • Physical: temperature, turbidity and clarity, colour, salinity, suspended and dissolved solids. • Chemical: pH, dissolved oxygen, biological oxygen demand, nutrients (including nitrogen and phosphorus), organic and inorganic compounds (including toxins). • Aesthetic: odours, taints, colour, and floating matter. • Radioactive: alpha, beta and gamma radiation emitters. Clearly, if the quality of water is too poor to sustain life, then it is a major problem. Water resources are of major environmental, social and economic value everyone, and if water quality becomes degraded this resource will lose its value. Water quality is important not only to protect public health: water provides ecosystem habitats, is used for farming, fishing and mining, and contributes to recreation and tourism. If water quality cannot be maintained, then the uses for which we need it cannot be met.
Hydropower resettlement in the Mekong region
(Brief, 2018) Manorom, K.
The number of people displaced by hydropower dam construction has been growing steadily as more dams are constructed on the Mekong mainstream and its tributaries. More dams are proposed because the governments of Mekong countries regard them as a means to tackle poverty and stimulate economic growth (MRC, 2009). Many scholars argue that resettlement does little or nothing to improve the lives of affected people, regularly leaving them worse off than before dam construction (McCully, 1996; WDC, 2000; Delang and Toro, 2011; The Guardian, 2015; Chamberlain, 2007; Lawrence, 2007; Baird et al. 2015; Evrard and Goudineau, 2004). The number of forcibly resettled people around the world is increasing. The World Bank estimates that nearly 40-80 million people have been displaced worldwide due to the reservoirs created by large dams (WCD, 2000). Looking at the Mekong region, in China alone the Three Gorges Dam, the world’s largest hydropower project, displaced more than 1.2 million people (The Guardian, 2015). At the other end of the scale, Ty et al. (2013) report that the A Luoi dam, a fairly small dam on the A Sap River in Vietnam displaced 218 households (about 872 villagers), mostly ethnic minorities. Larger dams like the Son La dam in Vietnam displaced 16,206 households (Ha, 2011). The Nam Theun 2 Dam in Laos – currently its largest - dislocated about 6,200 indigenous people living on the Nakai Plateau (IRN, 2007). About 4,800 people from 11 villages were forced to move when the Theun Hinboun Dam in Laos was built. They were moved to three host villages along the Nam Phiat and Nam Ngoy Rivers (Imhof, 2008). The Pak Mun Dam, a run-of-river dam, displaced 248 households (WCD, 2000). The Lower Sesan 2 (LSS2) Dam in Stung Treng, Cambodia displaced over 5,000 people (Earthrights, 2014). Dams cause involuntary resettlement of mostly ethnic minorities and remain a serious threat to their livelihoods and well-being (Ha, 2011; Baird and Shoemaker, 2007; McCully, 1996; Delang and Toro, 2011; Chamberlain, 2007; Lawrence, 2007; Imhof, 2008; IRN, 2007; World Bank, 2015a; Baird et al. 2015, Keophoxay 2013, Trung 2013, The Guardian 2015, Yin 2013, Borin 2013, Scudder 2005, Cernea 2008, McCully 2001, Picciotto et al. 2001; WCD, 2000; Goldsmith and Hildyard, 1984). In early 2015, the World Bank admitted major shortcomings of their resettlement policy in dam-affected areas around the world. World Bank Group President, Jim Yong Kim said: “We took a hard look at ourselves on resettlement and what we found caused me deep concern. We found several major problems. One is that we haven’t done a good enough job in overseeing projects involving resettlement and two, we haven’t implemented those plans well enough; and three, we haven’t put in place strong tracking systems to make sure that our policies were being followed. We must and will do better” (World Bank, 2015a). Dam expert Thayer Scudder (2005: 1), one of 12 Commissioners on the World Commission on Dams (WCD), said dams have adverse impacts on the ecology and on people. Large dams are flawed for many reasons. Benefits are overstated and costs are understated. Especially serious are the adverse environmental impacts on world river basins, impacts that tend to be irreversible when dams are built on mainstreams and large tributaries. Implementation continues to impoverish the majority of those who must be resettled from reservoir basins and project works and adversely affects millions of people who live below dams and whose living depends on natural flood regimes.
Women & EIA Processes: A case study on gender aspects of EIAs in four Myanmar projects
(Other, 2018) Cornish, G.
Manual on framework for river health assessment in Thailand
(Manual, 2018) Shinde, Victor R.; Mukand S., Babel,; Suttharom, Prangpisut
This manual has been developed by researchers from the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) as part of project that sought to develop a river health assessment framework for Thailand. The project was supported by CGIAR’s Programme on Water, Land and Ecosystem (Greater Mekong) and Australian Aid. The authors of this Manual—Victor R. Shinde, Mukand S. Babel, and Prangpisut Suttharom—acknowledge the support provided by a number of organizations and individuals. These include the Pollution Control Department of Thailand, and Thai Water Partnership; and Oleg Shipin, Sangam Shrestha, Pinida Leelapanang Kamphaengthong, and Panpilai Sukhonthasindhu who were all part of the project. Special thanks also go to Kim Geheb and Mayvong Sayatham from the CGIAR WLE Programme for providing valuable insights during the course of the project. In early 2018, the project team presented this framework to an international group of scientists and practitioners from all over the world. Their feedback and input have helped fine-tune the content of this manual. The authors extend their sincere gratitude to these experts.
On Spatially Distributed Hydrological Ecosystem Services: Bridging the Quantitative Information Gap using Remote Sensing and Hydrological Models
(Report, 2017) Simons, G.; Poortinga, A.; Bastiaanssen, Wim G.M.; Saah, D.; Troy, D.; Hunink, J.; Klerk, M. de; Rutten, M.; Cutter, P.; Rebelo, Lisa-Maria; Ha, Lan Thanh; Hessels, T.; Vu, P. N.; Fenn, M.; Bean, B.; Ganz, D.; Droogers, Peter; Erickson, T.; Clinton, N.
One of the ways in which the CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE) addresses the challenge of achieving sustainable growth is by improving our understanding of tradeoffs and synergies related to water, food, environment and energy. Essential to the success of these efforts is the availability of quantitative data on these tradeoffs and synergies, and how they vary across space and time. Specifically for the countries sharing the Mekong River, WLE Greater Mekong seeks to drive and inform research and dialogue around the rivers of the region. Hydrological EcoSystem Services (HESS) are heavily affected by intensive development across the region, such as the construction of hydropower dams and land use changes - in particular deforestation, urbanization and agricultural intensification. The full extent of such changes in the agro-ecological system is often unknown, and it is a challenge to account for tradeoffs in HESS in policy processes. As in many other areas of the world, improving governance and management of water resources and associated land and ecosystems in the Greater Mekong region is not only a matter of generating more data. Sharing of knowledge and practices is a key focus of WLE Greater Mekong, which we strive to promote by enhancing the accessibility of valuable information to a wide diversity of regional stakeholders, and promoting dialogue by facilitating the creation of communities of practice. This white paper demonstrates state-of-the-art methods for assessing different HESS and their tradeoffs under different development scenarios. It explores opportunities for spatial monitoring of HESS and predicting changes under different future scenarios, information that is essential for achieving a balanced and healthy agro-ecological system. By relying on tools in the public domain and leveraging the resulting HESS data through online information platforms, this white paper is an excellent example of current efforts supported by WLE Greater Mekong to stimulate uptake of ecosystem services assessments in decision-making processes.
Gendered Access and Control Over Land and Water Resources in the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania
(Journal Article, 2017) Sikira, A.N.; Kashaigili, Japhet J.
This paper assessed the gendered access and control over land and water, using the Ihemi cluster of the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT) as a study area. Specifically, the paper answered the question on how decisions are made between men and women over land and water in the SAGCOT area, as well as how access and control over land and water is conducted. Data for this paper was drawn from the baseline study which was conducted for the project known as Laying Foundation for Effective Landscape-level Planning for Sustainable Development (LiFELand). A cross-sectional research design was used, whereby a questionnaire was administered to 167 women and 440 men. In addition, focus group discussions and key informant interviews were also conducted to complement and allow triangulation of data. Quantitative data was analyzed descriptively; while, qualitative data was analyzed using content analysis. In general, the results show that female headed households accounted for more than a quarter of the surveyed households; the number was slightly higher in the Njombe region. Results further show that women had no control over land and water as important productive resources in rural areas. The results also show that a larger proportion of both men and women had no right of occupancy over the land they owned hence their inability to use it as collateral in accessing loans from formal financial institutions. The paper therefore recommends efforts be made to empower women, hence enabling them to actively participate in decision-making, particularly regarding land and water. Equitable decision-making power can immensely enhance ecosystem conservation and sustainable utilization over land and water as women are the major actors in agriculture. To achieve gender equality there is a need for awareness creation for both men and women using gender sensitive programs that will allow not only equality in use but a sustainable utilization of Land and Water as important natural resources in the SAGCOT (Southern Agriculture Growth Corridor) areas.
State of Knowledge: Hydropower Environmental Mitigation Measures on the Lancang River
(Report, 2017-07) Geheb, Kim; Yu, Xuezhong
Chinese HPPs on the Lancang River have been developed for electricity generation, flood control, water supply, and navigation improvement. Hydropower was expected to play an increasingly important role in developing a low carbon economy and increasing resilience to climate change in China.
State of knowledge: River health in the Salween- Burmese
(Report, 2017) McCartney, Matthew P.; Johnston, R.; Liu, S.; Ketelsen, Tarek; Taylker, L.; Vinh, M.K.; Ko Ko Gyi, M.; Aung Khin, T.; Ma Ma Gyi, Khin
This State of Knowledge paper reviews what is known about river health in the Salween Basin, including both the current state and uses of the river and its catchment, and issues likely to drive change in the near future. This report is in Burmese language.
State of knowledge: River health in the Salween- Chinese
(Report, 2017) Johnston, Robyn M.; McCartney, Matthew P.; Liu, Shaoyu; Ketelsen, Tarek; Taylor, Luke; Vinh, Mai Ky; Mehm, Ko Ko Gyi; Aung, Theiant; Ma Ma Gyi, Khin
This State of Knowledge paper reviews what is known about river health in the Salween Basin, including both the current state and uses of the river and its catchment, and issues likely to drive change in the near future. This report is in Chinese language.
Dams in the Irrawaddy and Salween river basins
(Map, 2016) CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems
Dams in the Irrawaddy river basin
(Map, 2016) CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems
Dams in the Mekong river basin
(Map, 2016) CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems
State of knowledge: River health in the Salween
(Report, 2017) Johnston, R.; McCartney, Matthew P.; Liu, S.; Ketelsen, Tarek; Taylker, L.; Vinh, M.K.; Ko Ko Gyi, M.; Aung, T.; Ma Ma Gyi, Khin
State of knowledge: River health in the Ayeyarwady
(Report, 2017) Ketelsen, Tarek; Taylor, L.; Hunter, R.; Johnston, R.; Charles, M.; Vinh, Mai Ky; Liu, Shaoyu,; Kyaw, Tint; Khin, Ma Ma Gyi

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