Regional Stakeholder Dialogue on Directions of the Strategic Plan 2011-2015
Opening Remarks by Mr. Jeremy Bird, CEO of the MRC Secretariat
H.E Pich Dun
Secretary General of Cambodia National Mekong Committee
Acting Member of the MRC Joint Committee for Cambodia
Chairperson of the MRC Joint Committee for 2010/2011
Excellencies, Representatives of Development Partners
Ladies and gentlemen
Colleagues and friends
It is my great pleasure to welcome you all here and to thank you for attending today’s dialogue, despite your busy schedule.
As H.E Pich Dun has just mentioned, the MRC is progressing in a direction towards strengthened participation with various stakeholders as it encounters an array of increasingly pressing challenges facing the Mekong Basin, and the people depending on it for their livelihoods.
This dialogue marks another step for the MRC moving towards wider stakeholder participation in discussions and reviews of its policy and strategic documents, programme formulation, and assessment studies over the past few years. Many of you present here today attended the recent stakeholder forum organised by the Basin Development Plan Programme. At that forum, we heard voices of different interest groups as they reviewed a range of hydropower and other water resource development scenarios for the basin. For instance, they discussed the socio-economic and environmental impacts of hydropower development options proposed for the next 20-30 years, which range from the “do-nothing” approach on the mainstream Lower Mekong Basin, to the full development option. These valuable contributions will also support the finalisation of the Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) based Basin Development Strategy.
Let me explain a bit about one of the drivers of change that are determining the context within which the MRC Strategic Plan 2011-15 is being formulated and which, because of the sensitivities of the subject, will inevitably influence much of the discussion today. At the end of this month, we will publically release the results of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) for all hydropower projects proposed on the mainstream of the Lower Mekong Basin. The SEA, which has involved in its four phases both upstream representatives from China and Myanmar, and downstream stakeholders including representatives from MRC Member Countries, line agencies, NGOs, developers and advocacy groups, has investigated the overall impacts of potential risks and benefits of the proposed development projects, through an integrated approach. The results will assist the review by the MRC Joint Committee, comprising representatives from Member Countries, of mainstream hydropower development proposals, as required under the 1995 Mekong Agreement. We expect soon to receive the first notification on such projects which will then trigger the Procedure for Notification, Consultation and Agreement (PNPCA) process amongst the Member States. Together, they are required to reach a consensus on the conditions in which to proceed, or not, with a proposed mainstream development project.
Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen
The discussions resulting from a meeting like this play an important role in shaping decisions yet to be made. Today’s dialogue will raise some key questions about MRC's direction and the approach to communications and stakeholder participation in the future. It demonstrates the MRC’s continuous commitment finding more effective ways to reflect the views of those facing rising challenges that the basin will be facing over the next 20 years and beyond, including climate change.
The draft Strategic Plan 2011-2015 derives from a number of consultations at national level, involving line agencies, National Mekong Committee Secretariats and NGOs from Member Countries as well as two regional inter-governmental meetings.
The discussions today involve key issues the people of the Mekong Basin face, what the MRC is doing and how it can do differently in the next five years to address these challenges. We will also examine how our regional level activities complement those at the national level. We will discuss potential improvements to increase communities and stakeholders involvement, as well as to incorporate their views in the formulation of the MRC programme and strategic documents.
The discussions today will help sharpen the focus and provide directions for the next five-year MRC Strategic Plan, which adopts an Integrated Water Resource Management approach. In applying the approach, it is necessary that the MRC provide stakeholders with a high degree of access to the information it holds and greater participation in the strategies and programmes it develops. I wish for today’s dialogue to be an interactive platform contributing to this endeavour.
Thank you for your active participation.