Australia’s Mekong Water Resources Program Stories from the program, Issue 2 June 2015

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Australia’s engagement in Mekong Water Governance

Australia has been supporting Mekong societies manage their water resources since the 1990s. Australia’s Mekong Water Resources Program 2014–2018 is five-year program that aims to strengthen water governance across the Mekong Region. Effective water resources management is critical to water, food and energy security in the region. It is also central to economic development and local livelihoods.

Australia’s Mekong Water Program focusses on strengthening the four main actors important to regional water governance: governments and regional institutions, the private sector, civil society and local researchers. It also seeks to encourage their continued and constructive engagement on the region’s large-scale water challenges. The overarching challenge is to meet the region’s growing demand for food, energy and water through use of its abundant resources, while minimising social and environmental consequences.

The program covers the Mekong River flowing through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. It also supports work on some of the other major rivers of the region, including the Irrawaddy, Salween, Chao Phraya, Nam Ou and Red rivers.

As part of our new program, DFAT will share stories from across program activities every six months through this newsletter.

Mekong River facts

The Mekong River flows for 4800 kms through six countries (China, Laos, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam). The Mekong River is called the Lancang River in China.

An estimated 40 million people, or 66 per cent of the Lower Mekong Basin population, is involved in fisheries activities. The yield of wild fish and aquatic animals is estimated at about 2.3 million tonnes per year, with the total value between $3.7–$7 billion a year.

There are 77 new dams planned across the Mekong River Basin, including 11 on the mainstream Mekong.

Effective water governance

Program outcome: Strengthen the institutional frameworks and capacity of regional, national and local actors to manage their resources more effectively.

Regional level The Mekong River Commission (MRC) remains the sole intergovernmental body focussed on regional cooperation for the development of the water and water-related resources of the Mekong River Basin, shared by six countries. Given the scale of planned investment and its importance to food production, power generation and local livelihoods, supporting the MRC remains important for the pursuit of sustainable development and the maintenance of regional stability. It is vita cog in cross-border consultation on an important regional treasure - the Mekong River and its tributaries.

National level DFAT’s interventions seek to plug critical resource gaps and improve institutional arrangements in each of the Mekong countries, such as river basin organisations in Laos. Australia partners with the Government of Cambodia and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to progress a suite of Cambodian water resources reforms. Funding supports reforms of institutions and policies, capacity building to improve Cambodian water governance, rehabilitation of small- to medium-scale irrigation systems, and delivery of irrigation services within the Tonle Sap basin (a sub-basin of the Mekong basin).

Australia partners with the Government of Laos, ADB and World Bank in separate activities to support Lao water resources policy (with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the National University of Laos), and hydropower governance reforms and capacity building (with the Ministry of Energy and Mines, the national university and polytechnic institutes). In Vietnam, DFAT is co-funding a 30 month study (commenced September 2013) with the Government of Vietnam on the impacts of Mekong River mainstream construction on the Mekong Delta.

Page 2 — Issue 2 Australia’s Mekong Water Resources Program

Integrated Water Resources Management is now ready to enter academia in Laos

After years of preparation and commitment, National University of Laos (NUoL) has proudly welcomed its brand-new multi-disciplinary program that will produce quality young Lao professionals with strong integrated water resource-related skills. At the beginning of 2015, the Ministry of Education and Sport officially approved and endorsed the establishment of the new Faculty of Water Resources for the National University of Laos, located at the Tad-Thong Campus in Vientiane Capital. With continued support from the Australian Government and Asian Development Bank Technical Assistance (ADB-TA) Project since 2008, the undergraduate-level Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) Curriculum has been developed and launched by the Department of Water Resource Engineering, Faculty of Engineering. By the end of 2014, this had produced more than 140 graduates ready to enter their careers in the water industry. With major improvements of the IWRM Curriculum made in 2012 through the support of the Lao National IWRM Support Project, the new Faculty of Water Resources now hosts five major professional program fields, three of them focusing on IWRM and the other two on irrigation. These five program fields are:

1. Hydrology 2. Water Resources Management 3. Water and Engineering 4. Irrigation Management 5. Irrigation Engineering

In line with the changing needs of the country, including growing

demand for water professionals, the Faculty of Water Resources

also plans to include another two key water program fields on the

topics of “Ground Water Management” and “Water Governance”.

To validate this decision, the Faculty team has conducted

extensive surveys, and engaged key stakeholders and academic

institutions in Laos and in the Mekong Region, such as the Natural

Resources and Environment Institute (NREI), Lao Department of

Water Resources (DWR), Khon Kaen University-Thailand, Water

Resources University-Viet Nam, and the International Water

Management Institute (IWMI). This has also included initiating on-

the-job training and multi-disciplinary research in order to gear up

for the human resource needs within the Faculty.

A Feasibility Study for a new Ground Water Research Center and

Ground Water Training Program is also being prepared by the

Faculty team. The Feasibility Study and Training Program will

assess and identify the capacity needs of the Faculty of Water

Resources, and demand for ground water management in Laos.

The Faculty is also setting up a professional research team,

consisting of 12 new graduates and specialized professors, to carry

out Collaborative Modeling (on-the-job) Research on Flood

Protection and Water Allocation in Xaybangfai River Basin. This on-

the-job research is a multi-disciplinary module that aims to build

professional skill sets in technical hydrological modeling and

stakeholder participation for young Lao professionals and the

Faculty of Water Resources. The module is designed to feed into

the practical use of hydrological modeling as a planning and

stakeholder participation/facilitation tool, especially between

Accountable Water Governance

Program outcome: Raising the accountability of government and the private sector; normalising better standards for water investments; and more transparent decision-making.

DFAT is partnering with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Mekong governments and the private sector to increase accountability and transparency in regional water governance, focussing on the following areas:

Improved hydropower regulation that emphasises strong social and environmental standards.

Strengthened capacity in practical environmental/social standards, and risk management for government agencies.

decision makers, impacted communities, private sector and re-searchers. This training has been jointly prepared and supported by the Faculty of Water Resources, the Australian Government, DWR, NREI, The Asia Foundation, World Bank-IWRM Support Project, and Rajamangala University of Technology Isan-Thailand. To initiate the launch of the Faculty of Water Resources, the IWRM Library Center was built and opened for the benefit of student and the general public at its Thad-Thong Campus in August 2014. A team of professors from the Faculty also conducted a ‘National Road Tour’ in December 2014, giving Seminars to final-year high school students across the country to promote the Water Re-sources Faculty. The Seminars were carried out at 15 high schools in five provinces: Champasak, Savannakhet, Khammoune, Luang Prabang, Xingkouang.

Almost 1,200 students attended these seminars, with active partici-pation and overwhelmingly positive responses. The seminars intro-duced and exchanged information by the Faculty on its course out-lines, requirements and the need for water professionals in Laos. They also provide extensive guidance on professional careers in the water field and potential scholarship opportunities. The depth and breadth of activities and initiatives underway or in

planning by the Faculty of Water Resources demonstrate its readi-

ness and commitment to advance education and capacity building

efforts in IWRM, to meet Laos’ future needs. http://www.fe-

nuol.edu.la/index.php/departments/water-resources-engineering

Water Resources Faculty, NUOL Road Tour, Savannakhet, Laos Photo by: Faculty of Water Resources, NUOL

Australia’s Mekong Water Resources Program Issue 2 — Page 3

“We present to the government what we feel is feasible and suggest areas of policy that need improvement,” said Allen. “We hope our input will encourage a dialogue between developers and the govern-ment, leading to improvement in the hydropower sector”

http://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/Lao_EXT_Content/Sustainable_HydroPower/Sustainability_HydroPower

Myanmar: Inception Meeting on Salween and Irrawad-dy River Basins To kick-off the six new projects that WLE has launched in the Salween and Irrawaddy River Basins, an Inception Meeting was held in Yangon on 19 March 2015. Although the program has over 10 years of experi-ence working across the Mekong Region this is the first time it has officially funded Myanmar specific projects.

Adoption of best practice environmental and social standards by Asian banks investing in hydropower development in the Mekong Region, to influence the way they assess their hydropower investments.

Key activities with the Government of Laos include: developing and implementing a new Water Law, implementing the new Policy for Sustainable Hydropower, working with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to strengthen the existing Concession Agreement annex focused on environmental and social obligations; and providing training to officials in charge of hydropower development and management.

Informed Water Governance

Program outcome: Improving the availability and influence of research to improve water resources management and water investment decision-making.

Australia’s investments in this area target research to inform decision-makers, and support to lift the capacity of local institutions to provide the evidence-base for development of the region’s rivers. Australia’s major investment is through the Water, Land and Ecosystems’ (WLE) Greater Mekong Program. This program funds local and regional partners to undertake water governance research, professional development of regional water governance practitioners, and multi-stakeholder dialogues on regional water resources topics.

The WLE Greater Mekong program focuses on three areas:

Building knowledge about regional rivers, their ecosystems, value and governance.

Fresh and evidence-based approaches for governing rivers and monitoring their health.

Forging partnerships to strengthen learning and the exchange of information within and across governments, and with the academics, civil society and the private sector.

Hydropower Developer Working Group Meeting in Vientiane, Laos Photo by: International Finance Corporation (IFC)

A Hydropower Developers’ Working Group That Works Since its inception 15 months ago, the Hydropower Developers’ Working Group in Laos has been described as a success by its mem-bers and there are now plans to start similar organisation in Myan-mar. In mid-2013, Kate Lazarus, Senior Operations Officer for IFC’s Me-kong Sustainable Hydropower program, pitched the idea of a work-ing group to hydropower developers who investing in Laos. The goal is for the private sector to have a collective voice to influence poli-cies that impact the sustainability of the hydropower sector, to gain exposure to good international industry practices and to network with other companies. Together, IFC and key developers established the Lao Hydropower Developers’ Working Group in December 2013. “In our region, access to information is limited: networks are life-support,” said Remi Berthet, Director of Velcan Energy’s Lao office, and a member of the working group. “The working group gives us a chance every few months to catch up on what others are doing. It’s a valuable social enterprise.” Today, the working group has more than 100 members from around the Mekong region. Its quarterly business meetings and seminars enable developers, suppliers, and vendors to discuss pressing issues in the sector. “This is a working group that works offers something new and ad-dresses its members’ interests,” said Robert Allen, General Manager of Vientiane-based Theun Hinboun Hydropower Co., and Chairman of the working group. “Setting up a working group in Myanmar a logical next step”

To drive the group’s momentum, IFC communicates with members through regular e-newsletters. Members can also share information and documents confidentially via a group email address and a cloud-based group file-sharing account. “We try to take a lead as the group’s trendsetter. Our role is to be on top of the latest issues in the sector, and provide developers with the opportunity to interact with government, financiers, and experts on environmental and social standards,” said Lazarus. “This includes the latest on laws and policies, regional news, and project information.” At the group’s quarterly business meetings, IFC demonstrates to developers the business case for environmental and social sustaina-bility. Throughout the past year, the developers prioritised issues they wanted to focus on, and attended seminars on social and envi-ronmental obligations, project financing and opportunities with Lao banks, the fiscal regime (focused on taxes and royalties), and IFC’s Performance Standards. The working group also set up a sub-committee to specifically tackle issues that affect small-hydropower and provide policy feedback to the government.

Australia’s Mekong Water Resources Program Issue 2 page 4

Inclusive Water Governance

Program outcome: DFAT is partnering with Oxfam Australia to support civil society input into water planning and decision-making, focussing on:

Increasing civil society participation and engagement in water resource governance, with a focus on women.

Strengthening community-based management of water resources.

Oxfam Inclusion Project’s Gender Champion

When Sary meets Polin - a story of life, inspiration & experiences unfolded

Polin is a gender officer for My Village (MVi) and Sary is a gender

officer for North Eastern Rural Cambodia (NRD) - both are young wom-

en leaders who speak for change in gender and power dynamics in

community fisheries management. Both NGOs are supported by the

Inclusion Project, a DFAT-funded project to promote gender inclusive-

ness in water resources management in the Mekong region. When

Sary and Polin met at the recent Gender Action Planning (GAP) Work-

shop held by Oxfam in March 2015, both shared and compared their

community fisheries work in Stung Treng and Kratie province, and the

management of common gender issues.

Polin shared the story: “We have a number of challenges in Bong Srey getting both men and women to participate in community fisheries management, planning and related activities. One of the challenges is getting husbands to understand why women participate in the meeting. Some of the women are respected by other villagers to be their representatives in the community fisheries committee, such as Head of the ComFish Committee. But at home those women are treat-ed differently, due to the roles they are expected to play at household level like taking care of children, or get food ready on the table when their husband comes home”.

Sary and Polin (Gender Officers for My Village), Cambodia Photo by: Oxfam Australia

Relevant stakeholders from the public and private sectors were invited to interface with the program and project representatives, to ask questions, and to make recommendations given their unique experiences in Myanmar.

Over 50 people participated, with representation from Burmese government ministries, private sector companies, academia, NGOs, and other civil society groups. Including the WLE Greater Mekong project partners, over 40 institutions were represented at the meeting.

SweSwe Aye, Chairperson of the Ayeyarwaddy River Basin Research Organization (ARBRO), kicked off the meeting by greeting all of the guests and welcoming them to the workshop. “Recognizing that Myanmar is a country with staggering water resources and large development demands, we welcome this opportunity to collaborate with colleagues and practitioners from the Mekong Region and in-ternationally to discover new solutions that will strengthen Myan-mar’s development processes in environmentally and socially ac-ceptable ways,” she said. “I look forward to participating in our dis-cussions this morning, and to learning about the WLE and its work in Myanmar and the Mekong Region.”

After a brief introduction of the program by Dr. Kim Geheb, the WLE Regional Coordinator in the Greater Mekong, the participants broke into smaller groups and had an opportunity to talk to representa-tives from each of the six projects. The discussion was lively, given the great diversity of expertise and backgrounds. The projects gained useful insight into the issues most pertinent for the commu-nities and organizations living and working in the Salween and Irra-waddy basins. There was a great deal of learning and sharing both sides, with opportunities for further collaboration developing from short but intense conversations.

“This workshop reassured me that our R4D model will work in My-anmar,” said Dr. Geheb. “I was reassured because of the dynamism of the dialogue that took place organically, and because of the diffuse nature of the participants who partook in this dialogue. If we can bring so many stakeholders together for the Inception Meeting, we are in good shape going forward.”

All four of the WLE-GM fellowship programs put out their calls for applications in April and May. For more information, please visit: Fellowship in the Mekong and Salween: http://wle-mekong.cgiar.org/fellowship-opportunities-for-the-salween-and-mekong-river-basins/

Inception Meeting on Salween and Irrawaddy River Basins Photo by: CGIAR on Water, Land and Ecosystem

Australia’s Mekong Water Resources Program Issue 2 page 5

Wa t e r, F o o d a n d E n e r g y N e x u s

Policy Dialogue

Program outcome: Policy dialogue is a central function of our program to support the scale of outcomes we seek from our investments. Each of the DFAT Mekong Water Resources Program’s implementing partners have policy dialogue expertise, augmented by DFAT’s own team and national/regional connections.

DFAT actively engages in policy dialogue to support our implementing partners’ efforts to reach agreed strategic outcomes. For example, supporting structured dialogue between civil society, the private sector, academia and governments on priority topics, such as:

Encouraging greater disclosure of information by governments, developers and MRC to inform stakeholders engaging in consultation processes.

Working with government to advance regulatory improvements in

irrigation, hydropower, mining and river basin management.

Mainstreaming gender in regional water governance, particularly

institutional strengthening, capacity building and public participation.

For information about Australia’s Mekong Water Resources Program

Please contact: Australian Embassy, Vientiane, Lao PDR

Email: MekongWater.Program@dfat.gov.au

http://aid.dfat.gov.au/countries/eastasia/regional/Pages/home.aspx#water

The GAP workshop stimulated discussions around gender issues and strategies to address these issues. Forum Theatre was used during the workshop to demonstrate the gender issues in the community fisher-ies context in northeast Cambodia. The use of Forum Theatre high-lighted lesser-known problems and helped participants envisage how they might address those. “When the issues are demonstrated through the Play, we pause the play and ask other participants what we can do differently and what actions may be needed to change those difficult situations.” Sary (NRD) said. Issues identified were then reflected in gender action plans (GAPs) to record the commitment by both NGOs and communities to take action. Through a participatory process facilitated by Oxfam, these plans iden-

tified strategies, commitment, and budget provisions agreed by both

NGOs and communities engaging in community fisheries. This will help

to promote greater women’s inclusion and enhance women’s skills as

they become involved in project and community activities. The pro-

cess is an important step to ensure greater involvement of women in

community fisheries work. As one participant remarked, “Women

have the right to pursue leadership at the community level. I am a

head of the community fishery group and I am proud to be elected.

We, alongside other women and men, shall try to understand and

respect each other’s roles in both communities and society.”

https://www.oxfam.org.au/explore/infrastructure-people-and-

environment/save-the-mekong/mekonginclusion/

First Mekong Forum on Water, Food and Energy Photo by: Challenge Program on Water and Food