Mekong River Commission

Mekong River Commission countries sign off two procedures on water use

MRC No.16/03
Phnom Penh, 30 November 2003

 

The Mekong River Commission member countries of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam today agreed upon two sets of procedures regarding shared use of Mekong water. The agreements are on Procedures for Notification, Prior Consultation and Agreement, and Procedures for Water Use Monitoring. The sign-off took place at the close of the MRC's 10th Council meeting on 29-30 November, the organisation's Ministerial-level governing body.

The notification procedures require the member countries to alert each other on planned river development that could significantly affect their neighbours, and to provide information regarding the developments, including technical specifications and environmental assessments. Last year, these procedures were agreed upon in a preliminary form.

The new agreements provide a definition of water use, covering uses of the Mekong "which may have a significant impact to the water quality or flows regime of the mainstream of the Mekong".

The new agreements confirm that uses of water on the Mekong tributaries will also be subject to notification and monitoring. For the purposes of the agreement, a Mekong triburary is defined as "a natural stream of the Mekong River System whose flows have a significant impact on the mainstream." The new agreements confirm the basin-wide approach to be maintained as the legal framework for operations of the Mekong River Commission.

The Procedures on Water Use Monitoring provide a legal basis for a water use monitoring system to be established in the Lower Mekong Basin. A four-country grouping of technical experts known as TACT - the Technical Assistance and Coordination Team - established through the Mekong River Commission, will discuss and make technical recommendations to the Joint Committee, the Mekong River Commission's executive body.

The new agreements pave the way for the countries to agree over the next two years on rules for the maintenance of flow on the mainstream and water quality guidelines.

The Water Utilisation Programme of the Mekong River Commission is supported by the Global Environmental Facility through the World Bank over a seven-year period, to end in the year 2006.

For more information, contact:

Dr Choomjet Karnjanakesorn, Team Leader, Water Utilisation Programme
Phone: (023)720-979 (office hours)
Fax: (023)720-972
Email: choomjet@mrcmekong.org

Mr John Metzger, Advisor, Water Utilisation Programme
Phone: (012)641-671
Fax: (023)720-972
Email: metzger@mrcmekong.org

Mr Khoun Komar, Water Utilisation Programme
Phone: (023)720-979 (office hours)
Fax: (023)720-972
Email: komar@mrcmekong.org

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