Posted on 30 November
2011
Hanoi, Vietnam – Government and civil society
representatives from the six countries of
the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) are meeting
in Hanoi this week (Dec 1 – 2) to discuss
ways to realize their vision for a more
prosperous and equitable region through
a green economy.
The workshop convened by the Institute of
Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources
and Environment (ISPONRE) under Vietnam’s
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment,
with support from the Asian Development
Bank (ADB), British Government, United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP), WWF and the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark,
Danida - will focus on the role of natural
capital in the subregion’s transition to
a green economy.
“Investing in the Greater Mekong’s ecological
infrastructure has the potential to offer
an excellent rate of return, “ said Dr.
Geoffrey Blate, WWF Greater Mekong’s Senior
Advisor on Landscape Conservation. “By investing
in biodiversity conservation and the maintenance
of natural capital, the Greater Mekong Subregion
can expand options for economic growth,
protect society from natural hazards and
ensure long-term sustainability in the face
of global environmental change including
climate change.”
The Greater Mekong is one of the most biologically
diverse regions on the planet. Few places
on earth demonstrate in such dramatic terms
the fundamental links between human and
ecosystem wellbeing. Around 80 per cent
of the population depends on the productive
capacity of healthy natural systems to sustain
key ecosystem services such as clean water,
food, and fibre.
Countries across the
Greater Mekong are increasingly recognising
the need to restructure their economies
to reflect the true role natural capital
plays in underpinning their economies and
the well-being of close to 400 million people.
“We take much of the components and processes
that our ecosystems provide for granted
in terms of what they contribute to the
wellbeing of people, society and the economy,”
said Dr. Nguyen Van Tai, Director General
of ISPONRE. “Most people know how much their
house is worth, or their car, or their job.
But the value of the services provided by
the region's ecosystems is something that
we're still working on. With new tools and
approaches, we are working on embedding
these values into national accounting systems.”
The GMS Environment Ministers recognized
at their meeting in July this year that
the economic development aspirations of
the subregion will require improved and
more efficient management of their ecological
infrastructure for meeting the current and
emerging demand for food, water and energy
that will underpin future economic growth
and prosperity in the GMS.
The Ministers also noted that maintaining
productivity of the inter-connected ecological
systems that span the GMS also will provide
resilience to the increasingly evident impacts
of climate change.
“This movement towards a green economy places
the Greater Mekong’s biodiversity centre
stage and this transition is the greatest
challenge of the decade ahead” added Dr.
Blate
The workshop will examine models and opportunities
for collaboration that can leverage support
and stimulate sustainable investments in
the subregion, and identify targeted actions
to replicate and scale up best practices,
and adjust policies and regulations across
the subregion.
With an eye toward Rio +20, the United Nations
conference on sustainable development in
Brazil, the workshop attendees also hope
to come away with a proposed ‘Roadmap to
Rio’ that will present a comprehensive Green
Growth / Green Economy vision for the GMS
at the UN conference next June.
+ More
Make or break time for
Mekong river as Xayaburi dam decision looms
Posted on 29 November
2011
Siem Reap, Cambodia – Environment and water
resource ministers from Cambodia, Laos,
Thailand and Vietnam meeting in Siem Reap
next week hold the fate of the Mekong river
in their hands as they look set to reach
a decision on a go or no-go for the controversial
Xayaburi dam in northern Laos.
In April this year the Joint Committee of
the Mekong River Commission (MRC), an inter-governmental
agency made up of representatives from the
four lower Mekong countries, did not reach
agreement on the Xayaburi dam and agreed
to defer the final decision to the ministerial
level.
The MRC’s upcoming Ministerial-level
meeting is expected to consider a review
by the Finnish water consulting firm, Poyry,
on the dam’s compliance with the MRC’s requirements.
Commissioned by the Lao government, the
review is intended to address concerns raised
by Cambodian, Thai and Vietnamese delegates
about the project’s impact on biodiversity
and fisheries and the effectiveness of the
mitigation measures and the MRC design guideline.
The review has concluded that the Xayaburi
project meets the MRC’s requirements despite
stating that additional baseline data on
biology, ecology and livelihood restoration
is needed, as well as improved knowledge
concerning the proposed passes for migrating
fish.
“It is astounding that Poyry affirms there
are serious data gaps and weaknesses with
the project and still gives it the all clear,”
said Dr Jian-hua Meng, WWF’s Sustainable
Hydropower Specialist. “Poyry recommends
dealing with the critical knowledge gaps
during the construction phase. Playing roulette
with the livelihoods of over 60 million
people would not be acceptable in Europe
so why is it different in Asia?”
WWF says the review
is yet to be formally released despite appearing
on an online forum in Laos. In WWF’s critiques
of the Poyry review, the conservation organisation
points to failures to fully understand and
account for the impacts of the Xayaburi
dam, particularly concerning fisheries and
sediment flows, and contradictions within
the review itself.
“The Poyry review does identify uncertainties
and weaknesses with the proposed fish passes
and even acknowledges that the Xayaburi
dam fails to comply with at least a quarter
of the MRC’s guidance on this,” added Dr
Meng. “This is completely at odds with their
advice to green light the project and flies
in the face of the precautionary principle,
which underpins the MRC guidelines.”
WWF says the Poyry review
also confirms the Xayaburi project will
block part of the sediment flow and that
important gaps in knowledge concerning the
sediment aspects remain. The Mekong’s rich
sediment is essential for maintaining balance
in the Mekong ecosystem and building up
the delta.
“Nothing has changed
for the better for the Xayaburi dam project,”
said Dr Meng. “A failure to address the
uncertainties with this project could have
dire consequences for the livelihoods of
millions of people living in the Mekong
river basin.”
The Mekong winds 4,800
kilometres down to the South China Sea,
making it the longest river in Southeast
Asia. More than 700 species of freshwater
fish ply its water, including four of the
world’s biggest freshwater fish species,
notably the iconic and endangered Mekong
giant catfish.
The Lower Mekong, one of the last large
untamed stretches of river in the world,
supports nearly 60 million people with its
rich fisheries. As the first dam project
to enter the MRC’s formal consultation process,
the Xayaburi project will test the effectiveness
of the MRC, and the consensus decision reached
by Ministers will set an important precedent
for 10 other dams proposed for the lower
mainstream of the river.
“The lower Mekong countries now stand at
a cross road, next week they can choose
to be a global leader in sustainable hydropower
and defer the decision on Xayaburi dam or
they can choose to risk putting their people,
their livelihoods and their much loved river
in peril,” added Dr Meng.
Earlier this year, Vietnam’s Minister of
Environment and Natural Resources officially
asked for a 10-year delay of mainstream
dams and Cambodia’s Minister of Water Resources
also supports a delay. This message was
heard by the Lao PM, who announced on the
side of the ASEAN Summit that construction
of Xayaburi dam will be deferred to allow
for more studies to be conducted.
WWF urges Ministers
to follow the recommendation of the MRC’s
Strategic Environmental Assessment of mainstream
dams and defer a decision on the dam for
10 years to ensure critical data can be
gathered and a decision can be reached using
sound science and analysis. WWF advises
lower Mekong countries considering hydropower
projects to prioritise dams on some Mekong
tributaries that are easier to assess and
are considered to have a much lower impact
and risk.
