Publications related to Technical Paper Series

Analysis of extreme weather events and climate variability in the Lower Mekong Basin

The Government of Japan, through its ODA, supported the MRC from 2021 to 2024 to strengthen the MRC RFDMC institutional and technical capacity under the project entitled “Flood and Drought Management in the Mekong” that focuses on enhancing flood and drought monitoring, forecasting systems, and improving the dissemination of warnings and alerts. This report, one of the products of the project, addresses extreme weather events like heatwaves, cyclones, heavy rainfall, and droughts, which frequently result in economic losses, fatalities, and environmental damage in the LMB. It highlights the need to understand short-term weather conditions and long-term climate changes for more accurate forecasting. In-depth studies of historical weather and climate data could contribute to better planning, adaptation, and the improvement of forecasting models, which are essential for managing future weather risks at both national and regional levels.

Download | Published on:24 Sep 2024 | Language: English

Annual Mekong Flood Report 2014

This report discusses the 2014 flood situation, including rainfall climate, water flow in the Mekong mainstream, and water levels across the Cambodian floodplain and the Delta in Viet Nam.

Download | Published on:11 Aug 2024 | Language: English

Guidance for Improving Irrigation Systems to Address Climate Change and Food Security

This guidance gives a preliminary guidance for applicable irrigation techniques and technologies in the Lower Mekong Basin (LMB). This guidance was developed for the MRC Member Countries to use for mitigating impacts of climate change and natural disasters, addressing problems in irrigation sector, and improving irrigation systems in the LMB. This guidance also indicates the defects of irrigation techniques and technologies being utilized in the LMB and suggests where improvements could be made for better utilization.

Download | Published on:11 Aug 2024 | Language: English

Development and update of water level and discharge rating curves for the Mekong mainstream

This technical note is an update of analysis of the rating curves for mainstream and tributaries of the Mekong River for 2009-2012, published in 2013, discussing the approach and methodology of rating curve establishment. The current publication underscores the Mekong River Commission Secretariat’s (MRCS) commitment to advancing integrated data management. The MRCS adopts the Time Series Management Software, AQUARIUS, to migrate rating curve development. This shift aims to establish a centralised, easily maintainable system, ensuring a reliable source of accurate water data. The transition of rating curve development to AQUARIUS is anticipated to enhance the efficiency, accuracy, and defensibility of water data management processes.

Download | Published on:20 Feb 2024 | Language: English

Standardization of a vessel and waterway classification in the MRC

The “Standardize vessel and waterway classifications” is to update and harmonize different standards, rules, and regulations to uniform common standards for the development and liberalization of waterway transport on the Mekong River System. It involves analyzing technical and operational criteria for vessel classification and proposing standardized either one waterway classifications for the whole Mekong River Basin or two classifications for the upper and lower parts. It develops a proposal for waterway classification for each stretch of the Mekong River, its tributaries, and canals. In addition, a comprehensive set of regulations for vessel and waterway classification in the Mekong River Basin is prepared for implementation in the four MRC Member Countries.

Download | Published on:29 Dec 2023 | Language: English

Enhancing the MRC land use and land cover 2020 mapping products

This report summarizes the process starting from the background of the project, field data collection, and most importantly, the process of applying the Earth Observation technology via machine learning using the Google Earth Engine platform and the approach agreed by the expert group from the Member Countries to update the land cover and land use map of 2020 for the Lower Mekong Basin region.

Download | Published on:08 Jun 2023 | Language: English

The status and trends of riverine plastic pollution in the Lower Mekong River Basin

This report explains the status and trends of plastic waste pollution in the Lower Mekong River Basin from the perspectives of plastic pollution itself as well as the frameworks and capacity of each Member Country to address the issues of plastic pollution. The report estimates that in 2020, its four countries had produced about 8 million tons of plastic waste – of which, some 70% to 90% were plastic bottles, plastic bags and Styrofoam. Yet this debris does more than adversely affect the Mekong and its tributaries.

Download | Published on:19 Dec 2022 | Language: English

Joint Environmental Monitoring Programme at Two Mekong Mainstream Dams: The Don Sahong and Xayaburi Hydropower Projects

The report provides an overview of activities conducted and resulting recommendations from monitoring two mainstream dams: Don Sahong and Xayaburi hydropower projects. It summarizes the pilot monitoring results from the first pilot site report for each hydropower project and the Combined Annual Report in a way that illustrates how findings in hydrology, sediment, water quality, aquatic ecology, and fisheries can be interpreted together. Based on the findings, it provides some initial suggestions for mitigation and adaptive management of construction and operation of hydropower projects. It also concludes with recommendations for revisions to the guidelines and monitoring protocols that can then be incorporated into the JEM Programme document.

Download | Published on:19 Aug 2022 | Language: English

Annual Mekong Hydrology, Flood and Drought Report 2019: Drought in the Lower Mekong Basin

This paper reports on the condition of the Basin in 2019, including its hydrology/water flow, flood and drought. The year saw recorded unprecedented flow conditions in the Mekong mainstream and from tributaries. Erratic climatic fluctuations were also found, ranging from extreme dry to extreme wet within short periods of time. The report ends with key recommendations, looking forward.

Download | Published on:27 Dec 2021 | Language: English

2018 Lower Mekong Water Quality Monitoring Report

This reports on the results of the monitoring of water quality across 48 stations in the LMB. The report shows the water quality in the Mekong and Bassac Rivers was still of good quality with the slight improvement compared with 2016. There was only a small number of measurements of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and dissolved oxygen (DO) that violated the MRC Water Quality Guidelines for the Protection of Human Health (WQGH) and the MRC Water Quality Guidelines for the Protection of Aquatic Life (WQGA). Most exceedances were recorded in the Delta. Of a slight concern was the DO level at Chau Doc, which violated the WQGH for all sampling occasions causing water quality for the protection of human health to be downgraded from ‘good’ in 2017 to ‘moderate’ in 2018.

Download | Published on:19 Nov 2021 | Language: English

© 2024 Mekong River Commission

Mr. Yasunobu Matoba

Former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) Secretariat 

Dr. Olivier Cogels

Former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) Secretariat 

Mr. Kristensen Joern

Former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) Secretariat 

Mr. Jeremy Douglas BIRD

Former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) Secretariat 

Mr. Hans Joakim GUTTMAN

Former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) Secretariat 

Mr. Pham Tuan Phan

First Riparian Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) Secretariat

Dr. An Pich Hatda

Former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) Secretariat