VNS
HCM CITY— Senior government ministers representing the four member countries of the Mekong River Commission discussed issues on flood, drought and basin planning during the 13th meeting of the MRC Council which opened in HCM City yesterday.
During the two-day meeting, the flood issues were being addressed by the MRC’s Flood Management and Mitigation Programme.
MRC Council members from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Viet Nam said that it was time the commission took a leading role in drought management on a regional scale, as this would involve issues of transboundary water management.
MRC delegates discussed the launch of a new drought management programme to be implemented by the MRC next year.
The meeting also considered the Procedures for Water Supply, the last in a set of procedures formulated under the MRC’s Water Utilisation Programme.
These procedures aim to establish a co-operative framework for the maintenance of acceptable water quality, promoting sustainable development of the Mekong River Basin and developing contingency plans for responding to special water quality problems during emergencies.
These procedures will set out agreed quality levels for people, aquatic life, agriculture and industry, and will facilitate protection of water quality for the well-being of the basin’s people, and its ecology and future development.
Cao Duc Phat, Vietnamese minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, who is also a member of the MRC Council for Viet Nam and chairman of the MRC Council for 2006-07, said the meeting is reviewing the Information and Knowledge Management programme, the Drought Management programme and the extension of the Water Utilisation programme.
"The member states of the MRC have established a firm direction to work toward the sustainable development of the Mekong River and its associates, underlined in the MRC strategic plan," said Phat.
"By adopting an integrated water resources management approach to our work, we are anticipating a more efficient and productive working environment which would bring about some tangible results in our respective countries," he added
Phat also congratulated the MRC Secretariat and the CEO, Dr Olivier Cogels, on the achievement of fund-raising efforts which have further strengthened MRC budgets. In 2006, the MRC signed 13 agreements, amounting to more than US$19 million.
He said the MRC had enhanced its relations with the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, and was working closely with them in their regional initiatives.
Dr Siripong Hungspreug, director general of Thailand’s Department of Water Resources and assigned Council member of Thailand, said MRC had scored significant achievements in its programmes.
He said this year the Navigation Programme began operation as a fully funded programme, the Regional Flood Management and Mitigation Centre completed its first full year of operation in Phnom Penh, and phase two of the Fisheries Programme started.
The meeting was also attended by representatives of Asian Development Bank (ADB), the ASEAN Secretariat, the World Conservation Union, Myanmar, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific, World Bank, and the World Wildlife Fund.
During the two-day meeting, the flood issues were being addressed by the MRC’s Flood Management and Mitigation Programme.
MRC Council members from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Viet Nam said that it was time the commission took a leading role in drought management on a regional scale, as this would involve issues of transboundary water management.
MRC delegates discussed the launch of a new drought management programme to be implemented by the MRC next year.
The meeting also considered the Procedures for Water Supply, the last in a set of procedures formulated under the MRC’s Water Utilisation Programme.
These procedures aim to establish a co-operative framework for the maintenance of acceptable water quality, promoting sustainable development of the Mekong River Basin and developing contingency plans for responding to special water quality problems during emergencies.
These procedures will set out agreed quality levels for people, aquatic life, agriculture and industry, and will facilitate protection of water quality for the well-being of the basin’s people, and its ecology and future development.
Cao Duc Phat, Vietnamese minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, who is also a member of the MRC Council for Viet Nam and chairman of the MRC Council for 2006-07, said the meeting is reviewing the Information and Knowledge Management programme, the Drought Management programme and the extension of the Water Utilisation programme.
"The member states of the MRC have established a firm direction to work toward the sustainable development of the Mekong River and its associates, underlined in the MRC strategic plan," said Phat.
"By adopting an integrated water resources management approach to our work, we are anticipating a more efficient and productive working environment which would bring about some tangible results in our respective countries," he added
Phat also congratulated the MRC Secretariat and the CEO, Dr Olivier Cogels, on the achievement of fund-raising efforts which have further strengthened MRC budgets. In 2006, the MRC signed 13 agreements, amounting to more than US$19 million.
He said the MRC had enhanced its relations with the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, and was working closely with them in their regional initiatives.
Dr Siripong Hungspreug, director general of Thailand’s Department of Water Resources and assigned Council member of Thailand, said MRC had scored significant achievements in its programmes.
He said this year the Navigation Programme began operation as a fully funded programme, the Regional Flood Management and Mitigation Centre completed its first full year of operation in Phnom Penh, and phase two of the Fisheries Programme started.
The meeting was also attended by representatives of Asian Development Bank (ADB), the ASEAN Secretariat, the World Conservation Union, Myanmar, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific, World Bank, and the World Wildlife Fund.
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