Mekong under threat from climate and dams

December 2, 2009
ABC Radio Australia

The Mekong River is vital as a source of transport, irrigation and fisheries for the millions who live along its banks.

Originating in Tibet, the Mekong river passes either through or by China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. But it is under threat from hydro-electric dams and from climate change

Presenter: Sen Lam
Speaker: Milton Osborne, visiting fellow at the Lowy Institute in Sydney and author of a new paper on the Mekong River

Click here to listen to the audio program (Windows Media)

OSBORNE: In terms of climate change, we are still some distance away from seeing a dramatic change, so far as can be determined by the scientific work that is being done to date. One of the big concerns is, if there is a significant rise in sea level, this will certainly affect in a very significant and negative fashion, the Mekong Delta, which is the major agricultural production area for Vietnam. A very small rise in sea level would led to much of the Mekong Delta being inundated. The longer term concern is the glaciers which feed the Mekong River in the highlands of Tibet are melting and that is going to remove the snow melt that feeds the river. But at the same time as that is occurring, with the expectations of climate change, the possibility is that there will be increased precipitation, which could led in 20 years time to increased flooding on the Mekong. So it's a paradoxical sort of development that is occurring in this second case.

LAM: Indeed, so it's a question of too much water and too little water?

OSBORNE: That could be the concern, but are directed into climate change. The more immediate concerns in relation to the river relate to the possibility first of all, that dams will be built on the course of the river below China. There is no actual certainty about when those dams will be built, but there are plans to build up to 11 dams on the river below China and there is the already established problem that is going to arise from the dams China has built. It's already built three and it's planning to build at least another two. In fact another two are currently under construction.

LAM: Indeed, as you point out that China does control a large proportion of the Mekong River and it's of course enormously more powerful than the other regional countries. Are countries like Laos and Cambodia, for instance, talking to China about managing the river, or is China in a position to just simply do whatever it wants?

OSBORNE: Well, in very bold times, China is in a position and has taken the position that it will decide what is done on that section of the river that runs through its territory. And as you rightly say, 44 percent of the river's overall length is in China. There has been very little consultation between China and the downstream countries and in fact, until very recently, the Chinese have been reluctant even to let people from the governments of Laos and Cambodia and Vietnam visit China to examine the dams the Chinese have built.

LAM: What about the role of the Mekong River Commission? Is it an effective body or is it in need of change and reform?

OSBORNE: The Mekong River Commission is unfortunately, very poorly understood by many people who criticise it. It's regarded incorrectly by its critics as a body that has the right to determine what is done by governments in relation to the Mekong River. But that is not the case at all. It is a body which has a very important role, particularly through its Secretariat in providing scientific and technical information about the river, but it has no powers to mandate what any individual government or group of governments should do in relation to the Mekong River.

LAM: But as far as you know, has it made representations to either China or any of the other regional countries?

OSBORNE: No, and it would not under its charter really have the right to do so.

LAM: And Milton Osborne, on a micro-level, fish stocks I understand, in particular, are being threatened.. but are there technical solutions to this?

OSBORNE: Well, I have to take the guidance provided by scientists so far as technical issues are concerned. And scientists have looked very carefully at whether or not it is possible to overcome the barriers that dams built on the river will provide, if these dams do come to be constructed, to see whether there're ways of mitigating the dams' fact of preventing migration by fish. There are some 900 species of freshwater fish in the Mekong, which at least 80 percent are migratory, moving over long distances. So that if you have dams in the river that block the migration, this will have a dramatic and devastating effect on fish. And the importance of fish becomes very clear when you know that in Cambodia, well over 70 percent of the Cambodian population's protein intake comes from fish taken out of the Mekong and its associated system.

Asian Rivers Running Dry

Wednesday, February 04, 2009
TheFishSite News Desk

VIET NAM - Fish farmers of the Mekong Delta find themselves at threat with recent reports that climate change is severely harming their water supplies.

Widespread inundation and increased salinity in freshwater systems in Ca Mau, Vietnam, and a shorter rainy season leading to water scarcity in Krabi, Thailand, are among the major challenges climate change will pose for coastal provinces in the next 25 years according to two studies released by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Greater Mekong Programme.

Integrated Water Management Strategies are highly recommended, it says. The strategies should include: hydraulic works to control volumes; careful monitoring of water movement within enclosed areas; and consideration for climate change when planning future agriculture and aquaculture development.

The studies emphasize that many steps need to be taken, not only at the provincial level but across the Greater Mekong region, to ensure a more secure future for the region’s residents, particularly those living in coastal areas.

The studies were conducted to help governments assess climate change vulnerability and understand the implications for future economic development. Though different in many respects, Ca Mau and Krabi provinces were chosen because of their proximity to the sea and the dependence of their economies on ecosystem services. The studies provide examples of climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies that are appropriate across the entire Greater Mekong region.

WWF is working to conserve 600,000km2 of the world's most biologically diverse, economically viable and seriously threatened forests and rivers within the Greater Mekong, home and life source to over 300 million people in Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Mekong nations must prepare for "severe" effects of climate change

February 3, 2009
By Pongphon Sarnsamak
The Nation

Countries in the Mekong River Basin should learn how to predict climate change and develop ways to adapt to it, a Bangkok seminar was told yesterday.

Then they will understand how to effectively reduce the adverse impact this climate change threatens to have on the region.

Speakers said changes to climate and river flows could have severe effects on the livelihoods of millions of people who depend directly on the natural resources of the Mekong River and its tributaries.

" We know that concrete action needs to take place locally, and in order to act effectively, we need information about the impact of climate change and possibilities for adaptation to these changes at regional and local levels," said alternative member of the Mekong River Commission (MRC)'s joint committee for Thailand, Siripong Hungspreug.

Siripong said the impact of climate change on the water resources of the Mekong River and particularly on the Delta region, is an issue of increasing concern for governments and people of the Mekong River Basin.

He was speaking at the opening of a two day conference : "Regional Forum MRC's Climate Change and Adaptation Initiative, " held in Bangkok.

Weather pattern changes are expected to increase the natural variability- less rain in the dry season and more rain in the wet season. This could lead to increasing seasonal water shortages and floods, and impact natural ecosystems such as wetlands, as well as economic activities - agriculture, fisheries, and other sectors that depend on water availability.

The countries of the Mekong Basin - including Cambodia, Lao PDR, Vietnam and Thailand, realise that not only would climate change have a greater impact on developing than developed countries, but the absence of information on climate change vulnerabilities within countries and across various classes of societies is a major cause of concern.

"By improving our knowledge on the potential effects of climate change, we increase our abilities to help the people of the region with the capacity to confront such effects," he said.

To better prepare for this needed action, the Council of the Mekong River Commission has asked for a climate change and adaptation initiative for the Mekong which would provide knowledge, tools and capacity building to assist member countries.

Siripong added, strategies for poverty alleviation through sustainable development also rely on a sound understanding of how climate change would affect aquatic resources and people's livelihood.

The level of knowledge on water resources, land use and livelihoods in the Mekong Basin has improved rapidly over the past decade. But particularly scarce is information related to people's vulnerability to ecosystem changes and strategies to adapt to these changes.

"More information is also needed on the impact of climate change on the dynamics of the Mekong's water resources," he said.

As a response to these concern, Siripong said the MRC climate change initiative will target two overall objectives.

The first: to develop and distribute scientific data, analytical tools and processes to project climate impact on the ecosystems and people in the Mekong River Basin and to identify strategies for them to adapt to these changes.

The second: to establish and strengthen the institutional framework for climate change planning in the region.

"The major challenges of this work are to identify how to integrate with earlier and ongoing activities by different stakeholders and how to establish a mechanism to coordinate future work on climate change in the region," Siripong said.

The forum brought together 150 representatives of government agencies, research institutes, international organisations,NGOs and civil society groups, financing agencies and the development partners who support the work of the MRC.

It aims to foster closer dialogue with basin stakeholders and to provide an opportunity to discuss pressing issues and identify needs and gaps in climate change impact and adaptation knowledge.

Act before it goes 'Up in Smoke'

Lower Mekong countries, including Thailand, have been told to work together to minimise the effects of global warming and to better cope with the effects of climate change.

November 19, 2007
The Nation (Thailand)

The latest Asia-Pacific-region environment report to be released today says the lower Mekong area is "highly sensitive to climate change".

The report, "Up in Smoke: Asia and the Pacific", said the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) expected the lower-Mekong region would face more extreme weather events, as average temperatures had risen between 0.3 and 0.8 degrees Celsius over the past century.

The International Institute for Environment and Development report contains contributions from non-profit organisations.

Its foreword is from IPCC chairman Rajendra Pachauri and warns climate change could have a major impact on the region's ecosystems and biodiversity, hydrology and water resources, agriculture, forestry and fisheries, mountains and coastal lands and human settlements and health.

It encouraged governments in the four lower-Mekong countries - Cambodia, Laos, Burma and Thailand - to immediately take action to tackle the problems.

"Adaptation and mitigation measures are crucial and should be incorporated into future development plans adopted at the country level," it recommended.

"Up in Smoke" said a one-metre sea-level rise could flood 15,000 to 20,000 square kilometres of the Mekong River delta.

In this scenario, it said, some 2,500 square kilometres of mangroves would be lost and around 1,000 square kilometres of cultivated land and marine farms would become salt marsh.

In Thailand, rising sea levels could cause saltwater intrusion 40 kilometres up the Chao Phya, Tha Chin and Bang Pakong rivers.

The report warned that 10 million people could be affected when salt contaminated their main freshwater source.

Increasing aridity resulting from global warming will damage thousands of plant species in the country's tropical forests, it added.