Planning and Decision Support Tools to Improve Water, Energy and Food Nexus in the Mekong

1. Status and Challenges in Mekong region

2. Prospective development in Mekong region

3. Opportunities to improve water, energy and food security

4. Nexus related issues in the context of Mekong countries

5. Past applications of decision support tools

6. Potential applications of integrating WEAP&LEAP

7. References

Overview

1. Status and challenges in Mekong

1. Transforming the GMS connectivity or transport corridors

2. Exploiting emerging opportunities in a reurgent and dynamic Asia

3. Global warming and climate change: likely to aggravate pressure on resources; so add to the vulnerability of people and ecosystems.

4. Potential negative effects of increased connectivity: biodiversity protection, natural disaster like flood and drought, migration

5. Urbanization: likely to increase around 50% by 2015 (unhabitat.org)

6. Poverty: percent of people living below the poverty line is 29% in Vietnam and 36% in Cambodia, for examples.

7. Environmental degradation: due to unsustainable exploitation, lax regulations, rapid economic and demographic changes, urbanization

2. Prospective development in the Mekong

1. Asian Highway and trans-Asia railway: Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam

2. GMS transport corridor: Southern transport corridor from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh highway, North-South economic corridor and East-West transport corridor

3. Regional power transmission line: there will be more expanded throughout GMS by 2015-2020

4. GMS regional hydropower: generation capacity will increase quickly over the next decade, about 60 gigawatts (GMS-EOC, 2012); hydroelectric project in Xayaburi, Laos; Kamchay hydropower in Kampot, Cambodia

5. Telecommunication backbone: services from Aranya prated, Thailand to Poypet, Cambodia and Nongkhai, Thailand to Vientiane, Laos.

6. Flood control and water resource management

7. Coordinating Mekong Tourism activities

3. Opportunities to improve water, energy and food security (1/2)

• Water, Energy and Food (WEF) is connected and is a multi-dimensional issue, and hence requires multi-pronged approach

• Nexus approach can potentially support a transition to sustainability, by reducing trade-offs and generating additional benefits that outweigh the transaction costs associated with stronger integration across sectors.

• Such gains should appeal to national interest and encourage governments, the private sector and civil society to engage.

3. Opportunities to improve water, energy and food security (2/2)

1. Increasing resource productivity

2. Using waste as a resource in multi-use systems

3. Stimulating development through economic incentives .

4. Governance, institutions and policy coherence

5. Benefiting from productive ecosystems

6. Integrated poverty alleviation and green growth

7. Capacity building and awareness raising

4. Nexus related issues in the Context of Mekong countries

Source: SEI, 2011.

• Hydropower development

• Development of biofuels

• Irrigation Development

• Sewerage Treatment

• Agriculture structure

• Energy for fertilizers

• GHG mitigation, low carbon economy, renewable energy

• Waste treatment

• Water purification

• Etc.

WEAP (http://www.weap21.org/index.asp?action=205&all=1)

- Water Productivity Assessment: Mekong River Basin approach (2005-2008)

- Water Poverty Modeling in the Mekong River Basin (2005-2008)- Establishing methodologies for water allocation in Bang Pakong River

Basin

LEAP - Energy saving potential in Vietnam: an analysis with LEAP model- Renewable energy utilization and CO2 mitigation in the power sector: a

case study in selected GMS countries (http://rdo.psu.ac.th/sjstweb/journal/33-3/0125-3395-33-3-305-313.pdf)

- Cambodia’s initial national communication: under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate change (http://lowemissionsasia.org/sites/default/files/pdf_file/khmnc1.pdf)

5. Past applications of decision support tools

Wind turbine in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta Hydropower in Laos

Source: http://concept-bank.com/?page_id=629Source: http://www.eco-business.com/features/wind-energy-for-vietnams-mekong-delta/

Energy consumption

Source: http://www.eco-business.com/features/wind-energy-for-vietnams-mekong-delta/

Source: http://www.chaoprayanews.com/

Electricity generation

WEAP Application in Northeast Thailand

Schematic view of Huai Sai Bat River Basin, Thailand

Results of Development Scenarios

Exploring Mekong Region Futures –nexus on food, water and energy investment

Source: CSIRO, 2010

NE Thailand Futures Study

Objective: introduce multiple-objective oriented planning based on information on the food-energy-water nexus and climate change, land-use and migration, in order to create planning scenarios and the design of a reasonable policy and decision making options.

Bioenergy Development in Southeast AsiaStudies reveal palm oil impacts in Southeast Asia, propose EU

policy changes

SEI research shows that as production has soared to meet global demand, driven in part by the EU-RED, communities have been harmed. EU policies should be revised to ensure sustainability!

• Palm oil grown in tropical countries is one of the main sources of biodiesel.

• Indonesia and Malaysia, which together produce 90% of the world’s palm oil.

• A major driver of recent growth in palm oil production is the EU market for biofuels.

• The EU’s Renewable Energy Directive (EU-RED) has set a target of meeting 10% of the European transport sector’s energy needs with renewable energy by 2020 increase in the use of biodiesel, which accounts for over three-quarters of EU biofuels consumption.

A palm oil plantation in Indonesia, the world’s top producer. Flickr/Rainforest Action Network.

• The Nexus is helping us to adopt a more holistic approach and to begin to understand the integrated functionality of landscapes.

• There is a need for cooperation, notably the need for trusted dialogues between communities, science, corporates and decisions-makers

• To enhance water, energy and food security in a green economy by increasing efficiency, reducing trade-offs, and building synergies across sectors

5. CONCLUSIONS

6. References 1. http://

www.set.or.th/th/news/thailand_focus/2012/Day1/20120829_1430_Craig_ADB.pdf

2. http://www.unhabitat.org/content.asp?typeid=19&catid=465&cid=2375

3. http://gis.gms-eoc.org/GMS2020_WS-MATERIALS/4.%20David_Roland-Holst_GMSFood_Water_EnergyRHHN120213.pdf

4. http://www.internationalrivers.org/files/attached-files/case_study_china_investments_in_cambodia.pdf

5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mekong_River_Basin_Hydropower#Hydropower_infrastructure_under_construction

6. http://www.ipsnews.net/2006/04/transport-trans-asian-highway-to-prosperity/

THANK YOU!

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Contact: Orn-uma PolpanichResearch associate Stockholm Environment Institute - Asia (SEI-Asia)15th Floor, Witthyakit Building, 254 Chulalongkorn University,Soi Chula 64, Phyathai Road, Pathumwan Sub-district,Pathumwan District, Bangkok 10330, THAILAND.Tel: +66 (0)2 251 4415 (ext. 101)Fax: +66 (0)2 251 4419E-mail: chayanis.k@sei-international.org