Statement to the GMS Ministerial Conference by the Mekong River Commission Thursday, 4 August 2011

Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen:

On behalf of the Mekong River Commission, I would like to thank you for inviting us to be here with you today. This is very timely as the ADB finalises its Strategic Framework for 2012 2022 and as the MRC takes its first steps to implement its 2011- 2015 Strategic Plan.

As the regions priorities shift towards more private sector development, it has become more important than ever to consider issues that are cross-cutting, such as climate change. Integrating climate change adaptation into other sectors is a topic that both our strategic frameworks address, and could greatly contribute to the competitiveness of our region.

It is the MRCs mandate to work together with its Member Countries Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam, to find a balance between the development that will bring our region one step closer to poverty eradication, and the sustainable and equitable use of the rivers abundant natural resources. With the ADB, we hope to be able to make steady progress on our mutual goals.

Climate change adaptation is a shared goal that we are both working to tackle from a transboundary, or regional, perspective. Improving flood and drought management in the GMS mitigates the impacts of climate change. Currently, the ADB is bilaterally discussing a USD 1.5 million grant for flood and drought management with Cambodia and Lao PDR. The project proposes that the two countries utilise the MRCs Regional Flood & Mitigation Centre to build the capacity of line agencies in tributary flood forecasting systems.

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One of the focuses of the MRCs 2011-2015 Strategic Plan is to transition towards a more decentralised management of the organisations core river basin management functions. As Member Countries develop a stronger sense of ownership of the organization, and as the implementation of programme activities are being done more and more at the country level, there will be a need to prioritise capacity development in countrie that are less developed, such as in Cambodia and Lao PDR.

Collaborative initiatives such as the ADB GMS flood-forecasting project demonstrate one way to assist countries in the Lower Mekong Basin cope with the MRCs decentralization process.

As development interests grow in the GMS, the MRC actively works towards producing more empirical knowledge to aid its Member Countries with the information needed to ensure the sustainability of their projects. The MRC will continue to support its Member Countries not only with technical knowledge production, but also with regional environmental and water resources management, to protect the future of the Mekong River.

In closing, we look forward to working with the ADB. We hope that over the upcoming year we will discover further synergies between our strategic plans that allow the GMS programme and the MRC to pool resources and share our lessons learned.

Thank you.

[ends]

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