PublicParticipationin the Lower Mekong Basin

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Working together for a better future

A Vision for the Mekong River BasinAn economically prosperous, socially just andenvironmentally sound Mekong River Basin.

A Vision for the Mekong River CommissionA world class, financially secure, international river basinorganisation serving the Mekong countries to achieve thebasin vision.

The Mission of the Mekong River CommissionTo promote and coordinate sustainable management anddevelopment of water and related resources for thecountries' mutual benefit and the people's wellbeing byimplementing strategic programmes and activities andproviding scientific information and policy advice.

This booklet was produced with financial assistance from AusAID.Published in Vientiane, Lao PDR in January 2005 by the Mekong River Commission

Raise the awareness of the Mekong RiverCommission (MRC) and its role to promoteregional cooperation for sustainabledevelopment, through comprehensiveparticipation of internal and externalstakeholders.

Expand the opportunities for participatorycollaboration among MRC, National MekongCommittee and riparian governmentpersonnel.

Encourage greater participation of externalstakeholders and those in civil society whoshare the MRC’s strategic objectives forsustainable development in the MekongRiver Basin.

Build institutional capacity within the MRCand the National Mekong Committees toplan, implement, monitor and evaluatestakeholder involvement in MRC activities.

Adopt a continuous learning andimprovement approach to the MRC publicparticipation process.

Our Publ icPar t ic ipa t ionobject ives

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The Mekong River Commission is an intergovernmental body created in 1995 byan agreement between the governments of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand andViet Nam. Promoting regional cooperation for sustainable development plays akey role in the operations of the MRC, but this can only be achieved if thoseinvolved in this development have a voice in the decision-making process.

The MRC is aware that stakeholder involvement in decision-making isfundamental to achieving feasible, equitable and lasting solutions and that thequality of decisions can be improved by the inclusion of a broad range ofstakeholders who can bring important local knowledge and relevantperspectives to the process. Since its inception in 1995, the MRC has adopted aparticipatory approach in the work of all its core programmes and sectorprogrammes and is envisaging ways to expand the opportunities forcollaboration with both internal and external stakeholders.

Internal stakeholders are defined as government bodies in MRC structures suchas the MRC Council, Joint Committee, the MRC Secretariat, the NationalMekong Committees and their Secretariats, and the principal line agencies ineach member country. External stakeholders are non-state bodies such asNGOs, implementing partners, civil society organisations, policy advocators,research institutions, individuals, the media and other groups who have interestsor stakes to lose or gain. They are the ones who can contribute information,views and their perspectives in discussion in development planning.

For public participation to be genuine, MRC emphasises that all relevantstakeholders should have the opportunity to directly or indirectly influenceproject design, implementatin and effects. It is also important to include theinvolvement of those groups who may not easily or readily participate, such aswomen, elderly and young people and minority groups.

Public participation is an ongoing process, with each step in the processincreasing capacity, building trust and adding value. We are committed to working with the people of the Mekong Basin in order to achieve a betterfuture for all.

Public Participation and the Mekong River Commission

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The operations of the MRC are conducted under anumber of programmes:

The Basin Development PlanWater Utilisation ProgrammeEnvironment ProgrammeFlood Management and Mitigation ProgrammeFisheries Programme Navigation ProgrammeAgriculture, Irrigation and Forestry ProgrammeHydropower Programme

An Integrated Capacity Building Programme overseesthe Junior Riparian training scheme as well as projectsdealing with gender issues. The Junior Riparians providethe link to governments and line agencies.

A Tourism Programme is also under develoment

Through its programmes, the MRC conducts projectsranging in scale from local to regional and undertakessituation-specific public participation, engaging withdifferent stakeholders in different ways, depending on thecontext of each programme and project.

Approaches to public participation are adapted to theneeds of a particular programme or project. By involvingall those concerned with a project it is possible tounderstand problems, barriers and necessities or needs inrelation to natural resource management.

Through mutual exchanges of information andconsideration and discussion of information andknowledge, public participation can provide thecapacity for dissolving or mitigating problems andpotentially undesirable impacts of projects affectingnatural resources, even before they arise.

Our operation

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How we workWWiitthh ggoovveerrnnmmeennttssIn carrying out the work of the MRC, the Secretariat and the NationalMekong Committees work closely with government ministers at thehighest level in each of member countires of Cambodia, Lao PDR,Thailand and Viet Nam.

WWiitthh ggoovveerrnnmmeenntt aaggeenncciieessThe involvement of government and line agencies in each of the fourmember countries has brought about a new realm of knowledge formany. They have formed strong links with their counterparts in othercountries and engaged in joint decision-making and exchange ofinformation. For many of these officials the opportunity to meet anddiscuss the problems facing the basin with their peers from anothercountry is a new and welcome experience. They are now an integralpart of the basin planning process.

WWiitthh tthhee ccoommmmuunniittyyGetting the community involved in projects is one proven way to ensurethat the project is both successful and has an enduring life. In MRCprogrammes direct involvement with members of particular communitieshas resulted in the people who have a main stake in a project taking upprominent roles in planning and decision making as well as appraisal ofthe needs and objectives at the community level.

WWiitthh ppaarrttnneerrss The MRC has formed many successful partnerships with NGOs and othercivil society organisations. Sharing common goals is, increasingly,becoming a part of the donor community's strategy to reduce costs andincrease efficiencies by engaging in joint projects with those who haveexpertise in the region. In order to ehance this cooperation, specialobserver status at MRC Joint Committee and Council meetings has beenextended to the ADB, ASEAN, IUCN, UNDP, UNESCAP, the World Bank andWWF, together with our Dialogue Partners China and Myanmar. Forumssuch as the Donor Consultative Group and the Informal Donor Meetingsextend the level of particpation in the work of the MRC.

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The needs of the people of the Lower Mekong Basin(LMB) are at the heart of the Basin DevelopmentPlan (BDP). In fact it could not exist without a highdegree of public participation in identifying theseneeds.

It is essential for the success of the BDP that relevantinformation from various levels of society is collectedin order to create development scenarios which, inturn, will be used to determine the waterrequirements of each part of the basin.

The BDP involves stakeholders at different stages ofthe planning process, but the main thrust is throughcivil participation in a series of public forums, whichare held at BDP Sub-Area, national and basin levelsduring the planning process.

A Sub-Area is a spatial planning unit in the LMBreflecting the main watersheds or tributaries of theMekong River. In future these Sub-Areas may serveas geographical references for existing or new riverbasin organisations.

The BDP has identified 10 of these Sub-Areas whichare used as a base for its studies. In its guidelines forpublic participation, The BDP suggests that eachSub-Area holds two public forums, brings allconcerned stakeholders together to understand the

The Basin DevelopmentPlan

PPuubblliiccPPaarrttiicciippaattiioonn inaction

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BDP, brainstormsideas about the current

and potential situations andassesses their needs.

The first forum is used: To verify that the data already

collected about the resources in theSub-Area is correct To gather additional information

To identify the key assets in a Sub-Areathat need to be protected To identify significant issues of local concern

and priorities regarding development.

The second forum is expected to conclude withagreement on development objectives, prioritiesand strategies for a Sub-Area.

The outcome of these localforums will be taken to nationaland basin level, where the resultswill be collated and interpretedto provide an overview of localissues and priorities. This can helpnational planning, policydevelopment and setting ofpriorities.

A special variation of public andcivil society participation in theBDP planning process are thenational working groups wheredifferent national institutionsmeet to discuss water-related issues for the LMBfrom a cross-sectoral andinterdisciplinary point of view.The transboundary meetings areparticularly important as they provide an avenue fornational institutions from different countries jointly toanalyse and prioritise strengths and exploreopportunities for transboundary collaboration.

SSoommee lleessssoonnss lleeaarrnneeddWith any participatory approach there are lessons to belearned. Just giving local people a chance to speak isnot always enough. They also need to be well preparedto be able to voice their opinions and in some caseshelped to make themselves heard. BDP planners found itwas important to:

Brief all participants about the subjects for debatebefore public meetings Ensure everyone understands the questionsGive everyone enough time to absorb informationUse a neutral, professional facilitator to helpdiscussion, by asking a lot of questions and givingexamples to encourage more dialogue.

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The Water UtilisationProgrammeThe Water Utilisation Programme (WUP) is assistingthe MRC to improve water management in theBasin by promoting equitable water utilisation andenhancing environmental sustainability.

These objectives are to be achieved through thedevelopment of agreed procedures for water use,quality and quantity, and for water use monitoringinformation exchange, notification, consultationand agreement.

The WUP differs from most other MRC programmes,in that much of the public participation required todate has been through MRC stakeholders such asthe National Mekong Committees (NMCs) andmember country line agencies.

The programme has adopted a deliberate,structured approach to participation that ensures allparticipants are involved in forming and guiding thedevelopment of the procedures and technical rules.

The WUP has also supported the development of abasin-wide computer modelling tool which iscapable of predicting the impacts of futuredevelopment on the river flow as well as social andenvironmental impacts. This is the first time that thedevelopment of such a modelling tool has beenundertaken in full consultation with the NMCs in thefour member countries. The tool has beenaccepted for use by all member countries at thelevel of the Joint Committee and agreement hasbeen reached that its outcomes will be used infurther work by the MRC.

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The Flood Mitigation and Management Programme(FMMP) commenced full-scale implementation in2004. The primary objective of the Programme is toprevent, minimise or mitigate suffering andeconomic losses from flooding, whilst preserving theenvironmental benefits of floods.

The FMMP was developed through an extensiveconsultation process and through discussions withgovernments, donors and civil society.

Public participation will play a big role in thesuccess of this programme as it involves manytransboundary issues in the strengthening of floodemergency management and implementation ofguidelines for flood proofing measures. Dialogueand cooperation with upstream partners forms partof the programme.

The programme is in its early stages, but there aresome people already at work on the ground.

The Flood Mitigation and Management Programme

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Communities join hands to cope with floodsLiving on the flood plains of the Mekong,Cambodian villagers are wary when the wet seasonapproaches, some leave their homes while othersstock up on essentials and wait. But in 2003 some ofthese villages got a chance to take a differentapproach through their involvement in a flood earlywarning project.

As part of an early warning project conducted bythe MRC and USAID Office for Foreign DisasterAssistance (OFDA), Cambodian Red Cross (CRC)volunteers spent the dry season setting up floodmarks planted in a strategic selection of sites. Thewater readings taken from these gauges were thenlinked with, or "referenced", to flood levels on themainstream of the Mekong.

The mainstream readings come from a network ofhydrological monitoring equipment installed on theMekong all the way from Chiang Saen in Thailand inthe north to Chau Doc in the delta of Viet Nam.

These readings, together with weather and otherinformation, are used by the MRC to develop floodforecasts up to five days ahead. Their limitation inthe past was that the forecasts only applied to thesituation on the mainstream. Land features, builtstructures and proximity to lakes and backwaters,can mean a rather different flood situation in areasnot located directly on the mainstream.

CASE STUDY

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With the help of the new village-based readings,over time, a reliable picture can be built up ofvillage flooding in relation to the mainstreamforecasts. It means that the daily warningsbroadcast by the Mekong River Commission on thesecretariat website have increased relevance.

With the referencing activities supported at thecommunity level by OFDA, flood forecasts for themainstream can also predict the situation in thoseparticular villages, based on a simple correlationformula.

During the flood season, daily flood warnings for themainstream stations are sent out from the MRCSecretariat by email to the Red Cross and otheragencies. Warnings are also posted on the MRCwebsite. In 2003, with the help of a spreadsheetcontaining the correlation formula for villages in sixpilot areas, CRC workers at their headquarters inPhnom Penh were able to check the forecasts forspecific villages.

The CRC transmitted warnings of possible floodingby two-way radio or mobile phone to villagevolunteers in the project areas. Red Cross volunteersin the villages then wrote up the forecasts on noticeboards at prominent village locations and alsopassed on explanations through word-of-mouth. Inthis way the flood warnings were delivered to thegrassroots level.

In 2004 the FMMP, with continued assistance from OFDA, the CRC, the American Red Cross and Action Against Hunger expanded the floodearly warning system to 34 more villages in five flood-prone provinces of Cambodia.

The Provision of Flood Early Warning to FloodVulnerable Communities in the Lower Mekong RiverBasin project has now been expanded to Lao PDR.

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The EnvironmentProgrammeThe Environment Programme aims to keep the Basinhealthy by minimising the negative impacts ofdevelopment and improving environmental andsocio-economic knowledge. It works closely with arange of scientists, researchers, communities andgovernment agencies.

Public participation is considered an essentialelement of good environmental governance andthe development of a revised EnvironmentProgramme was itself a product of an inclusiveparticipatory process.

As a result of the extensive participatory approachused in its development, the new programmereflects the views of the four participating lowerriparian governments on regional environmentalissues and their proposed approaches. It promotesthe holistic environmental strategy of the MRC andidentifies the issues that need to be addressed overthe next decades in order to ensure a balancebetween economic development andenvironmental concerns.

The drafting also involved consultation withpotential partners such as the Asian DevelopmentBank, IUCN (the World Conservation Union) and theUN Environment Program.

The result is a programme that clearly reflects thenational views of the participating governments, interms of both regional environmental issues andpossible means to scope and address them.

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The Fisheries Programme

The Fisheries Programme puts a great emphasis onpublic participation in all of its work involved inmanagement of river and reservoir fisheries in theMekong Basin.

In particular it focuses on instituting co-management of projects and the activeinvolvement of directly and indirectly affectedpeople. This means that all those involved have toreach an agreement on the shared power andresponsibility for the management of fisheriesresources.

Important strategies also include stakeholderinvolvement in project formulation, includingparticipatory appraisal of the needs and objectivesat the community level.

Effective co-management results in local peoplefeeling they that a different role, are accepted asplayers and have a say in management of thefishery.

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Mobile hatcheries:Bringing fish to the peopleYou may have the water, but, as many communitiesdiscover, if you don’t have the fish it has little use asa new source of income. It may not be possible toobtain stock from existing government hatcheries asthey may be too far away, plus their fingerlings costmoney. However, for a group of would-be fishfarmers in Lao PDR the solution to their problemcame in the form of a mobile fish hatchery.

Mobile hatcheries run by community members, withthe assistance of district fisheries officers, provideopportunities to enhance fish resources and to raiseproductivity, and thus contribute to sustainablefisheries. But in order for the scheme to succeed,the community had to work together with theauthorities.

In April 2004, a mobile hatchery was set up at HueySiet by the local Fisheries Cooperative, with the helpof district staff from both Lao PDR and theDepartment of Fisheries office in the neighbouringThai province of Nakhon Phanom.

The establishment and operation of the mobilehatchery required a lot of consultation involving allrelevant stakeholders. While the mobile hatcheryitself was an important "hardware" item, thenecessary "software", that is, a detailed work planspecifying who does what and when, wasformulated together by users and local governmentstaff, and is now being implemented.

CASE STUDY

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After exchanges of experiences made by fishers atdifferent sites, as well as fisheries officers both in LaoPDR and Thailand, and the formulation of detailedaction plans at a joint workshop held in 2003, fishersat two reservoirs in Lao PDR (Huey Siet and PakBeung) initiated the implementation of their actionplans.

The necessary technical and organisational skills forall participants are being jointly developed in alearning-by-doing approach. Hatching of fry hasbeen successful, and juveniles were nursed tofingerling size by community members, for stockinginto the two reservoirs of Huey Siet and Pak Beungon the occasion of a 'Stocking Day' in early July2004.

This is the first time that stocking has been done in aplanned and systematic way, and in direct andconscious response to a need identified andobjectives formulated by fisheries co-managers at awater body.

There is no doubt that the involvement of local levelstakeholders, both users and government staff, inthe plan formulation was a key element in thesuccess of the hatchery project.

This success is evidenced by the fact that mobilehatcheries are now being used by communityfisheries groups in Thailand and Cambodia.

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The NavigationProgrammePublic participation forms the hub of the NavigationProgramme as both the strategy and programmewere formulated with full cooperation of all thecountries involved (including China and Myanmar),the private sector, donors, UN organisations,development banks and NGOs who assisted andtook part in national and regional workshops. Theyassisted either by providing direct input or byrepresenting community interests.

All this input was taken into account at national andregional workshops where participants were askedto prioritise activities and consider institutional andcoordination related issues such as cooperation withupstream countries and proposals for institutionalstructures on regional cooperation, coordinationand joint implementation of the programme.

The Navigation Programme will develop aframework for public-private partnerships. In factthe private sector will be the driving force behindnavigation development and different Port andFleet Associations will be established in the membercountries under this framework. These associationswill form part of the implementing working groups ofthe Navigation Programme.

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Navigation projects can have significant impact onthe local population and are sometimes perceivedin negative terms. This is often due to inadequatefeelings of ownership and for that reason theNavigation Programme has developed guidelinesfor the environmental assessment of navigationprojects which provide an ideal forum for ensuringthat those affected have been adequatelyconsulted and their views taken into account inproject preparation

The programme is also developing guidelines todescribe how the public and close stakeholdersshould be involved in navigation programmeactivities through all stages of different projects.

One of the tasks of the programme is to work withgovernments, donors, national planning agenciesand administrations and civil society partners toraise awareness and better understanding of theimportance of waterborne transport and navigationdevelopment.

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The Agriculture, Irrigation and Forestry Programmefocuses on the sustainable use of the naturalresources of the Mekong Basin, to meet theevolving needs of local communities. It promotesand supports a community-based approach toresource use and management and employs acollaborative learning approach to achieve itsobjectives.

The Programme has two components: WatershedManagement and Water Use Efficiency.The Watershed Management Component (WMC)has a strong focus on information exchange andsharing of natural resource managementexperiences throughout the region.

It has established national working groups forwatershed management in the four ripariancountries as well as for research into communityforestry management approaches in the region.MRC provides the concept and process while themember countries implement the watershedmanagement activities including the involvement ofstakeholders at all levels.

The WMC has established a series of Policy Dialoguemeetings (conducted in cooperation with GermanInternational Cooperation Agency INWENT) thatenable representatives from the four countries todiscuss problems, make suggestions and reachshared resolutions on priorities.

The Water Use Efficiency Component is in its earlystages and is concentrating on data collection forits project to evaluate and demonstrate the multi-functionality of paddy fields.

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The Agriculture, Irrigation and Forestry Programme

By its nature, hydropower development in the Basincalls for effective public participation in its planningand implementation. There is thus a compellingcase for any hydropower development strategy inthe LMB to identify and consult with relevantrepresentatives of likely stakeholder groups and todraw them into the decision-making framework

Consequently, MRC's hydropower developmentstrategy advocates active stakeholderrepresentation at all levels of planning and decisionmaking, extending beyond the consultation stage.

MRC as a regional entity aims to play a veryimportant part as the central point for informationcollection and as the link between key stakeholders.Effective planning at the river basin level dependson international co-operation and allied to this willbe public participation at a national and trans-national level.

MRC member countries already have a good spriitof cooperation and understanding and the MRC isin a unique position to be able to foster the processof public participation in hydropower developmentin the LMB by bringing together technical expertsand high-level decision makers and linking this to apublic participation process.

MRC also aims to provide technical support andadvice on the public participation process,underpinning the strategic planning level if required.

Public participation in strategic and projectplanning is not only desirable from the point-of-viewof fostering the rights of the individual, it can alsodeliver better results in terms of the realisation ofeconomic and social development goals within thecontext of sustainable development.

The HydropowerProgramme

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Mekong River CommissionP.O.Box 6101, 184 Fa Ngoum Road, Unit 18

Ban Sithane Neua, Sikhottabong District,Vientiane Lao PDR

Telephone: (856 21) 263 263Facsimile: (856 21) 263 264

E-mail: mrcs@mrcmekong.orgWebsite: www.mrcmekong.org