Integrated management in the Mekong River Basin

Abstract

The Mekong River is of great importance because of its geographical size, the size of the human population that depends on it, its geopolitical location, and the high diversity of fish and invertebrates that it supports. It is shared by six countries and the need to manage it for the benefit of all has been recognized since the end of World War II (1945). The present Mekong River Commission (MRC) was established through an agreement reached by the four lower Mekong countries (Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Viet Nam) in 1995 as an agency to assist with planning and promoting sustainable integrated development within the basin. It has been successful in improving technical understanding, developing planning tools and improving cooperation between the four lower Mekong countries. However, integrated management in the Mekong has been inhibited by a number of factors: the lack of participation by two countries, Myanmar and Peoples Republic of China in the MRC; by the poorly coordinated activities of multiple agencies, including unilateral aid agencies, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and World Bank; and a continuing lack of technical capacity and understanding. The absence of a culture of public participation and the pursuit of narrow short-term national objectives benefitting the powerful continue to be major constraints on integrated management of the Mekong.