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Environment Programme 2011‐2015
1 November 2010
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Table of Contents LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .....................................................................................................................................3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................................................................... 4
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1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................... 1.1 BACKGROUND ........................................................................................................................................... 1.2 ENVIRONMENTAL STATUS AND TRENDS FOR THE LMB................................................................. 1.3 NATIONAL AND REGIONAL ENVIRONMENT RELATED INITIATIVES ........................................... 1.4 KEY ACHIEVEMENS AND LESSONS FROM 15 YEARS OF ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION ............................................................................................................................................. 1.5 A REGIONAL ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ..................
2 CONTEXT AND RATIONALE....................................................................................................................... 2.1 REGIONAL RELEVANCE ........................................................................................................................ 2.2 STAKEHOLDERS AND TARGET BENEFICIARIES.............................................................................. 2.3 CROSS CUTTING ISSUES ........................................................................................................................ 2.4 RELATIONSHIP WITH THE MRC STRATEGIC PLAN 2011-2015........................................................ 2.5 REGIONAL AND NATIONAL PRIORITIES............................................................................................
3 OBJECTIVE AND PROGRAMME DESIGN................................................................................................ 3.1 GOAL, OBJECTIVE AND OUTCOMES ............................................................................................................... 3.2 KEY FEATURES OF THE ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME 2011-2015 ............................................... 3.3 OUTPUTS ................................................................................................................................................... 3.4 ADDRESSING SUSTAINABILITY........................................................................................................... 3.5 RISKS AND RISK MANAGEMENT .........................................................................................................
4 MANAGEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION............................................................................................... 4.1 IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY ............................................................................................................ 4.2 INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS ..................................................................................................... 4.3 ORGANISATION AND MANAGEMENT ................................................................................................ 4.4 BUDGET..................................................................................................................................................... 4.5 WORK PLAN.............................................................................................................................................. 4.6 MONITORING AND REPORTING ...........................................................................................................
5 LIST OF REFERENCES.................................................................................................................................. ANNEX 1. DESIGN AND MONITORING FRAMEWORK FOR THE ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME 2011-2015.................................................................................................................................................................... ANNEX 2. DETAILED COST ESTIMATES PER OUTPUT............................................................................... ANNEX 3. ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME STEERING COMMITTEE TERMS OF REFERENCES...... ANNEX 4. TERMS OF REFERENCES FOR THE REGIONAL TECHNICAL WORKING GROUP ON ENVIRONMENT ...................................................................................................................................................... ANNEX 5. STRUCTURE OF THE ENVIRONMENT DIVISION ...................................................................... ANNEX 6. JOB DESCRIPTIONS FOR KEY ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME STAFF...............................
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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ADB Asian Development Bank AFD Agence Française de Développement AusAID Australian Agency for International Development BDP Basin Development Plan (MRC Programme) CIA Cumulative Impact Assessment CCAI MRC Climate Change and Adaptation Initiative CSIRO Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Research Organisation Danida Danish International Development Assistance DFID Department for International Development (UK) ECSHD Environmental Considerations for Sustainable Hydropower Development ECO-Asia Environmental cooperation Asia EHM Ecological Health Monitoring EIA Environmental Impact Assessment FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations GIS Geographic Information System IBFM Integrated Basin flow Management IKMP Integrated Knowledge Management Programme (MRC Programme) ISH Initiative for Sustainable Hydropower IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature IWMI International Water Management Institute JC Joint Committee (of MRC) M-IWRMP Mekong Integrated Water Resources Management Project MoU Memorandum of Understanding MRC Mekong River Commission MRCS Mekong River Commission Secretariat NGO Non Governmental Organisation NMC National Mekong Committee NMCS National Mekong Committee Secretariat PNPCA Procedures for Notification Prior Consultation and Agreement PWQ Procedures for Water Quality SDC Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation SEA Strategic Environmental Assessment SEK Swedish kroner SEA START RC Southeast Asia START Regional Centre Sida Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency TbEIA Transboundary Environmental Impact Assessment TOR Terms of Reference TSD Technical Support Division UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNEP United Nations Environment Programme USAID United States Agency for International Development WB World Bank WFC World Fish Centre WUP Water Utilisation Programme (MRC Programme) WWF World Wide Fund for Nature
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The 1995 Mekong Agreement sets out provisions for protecting the environment from harmful effects resulting from development plans and uses of water and minimising negative effects of water resources developments and uses through the Articles 3 and 7. The Mekong River Commission (MRC) Environment Programme works to support cooperation among the Member Country governments to secure a balance between economic development and ecological protection. An Environment Programme has existed under the MRC umbrella since 1996. The regional monitoring of the Mekong River water quality started more than two decades ago and has provided a picture of changes over time, a large, impartial GIS‐linked database and improved monitoring capacity in the Member Countries. Environmental monitoring has become increasingly more advanced including biological monitoring and monitoring of peoples’ dependence on aquatic ecosystems enabling social issues with strong linkages to peoples’ dependence on aquatic resources and to implications on poverty to be addressed. MRC has through pilot studies, facilitation and training programmes strengthened the national capacity for regional environmental management e.g. transboundary environmental impact assessment, ecological risk assessment, environmental conflict management and environmental flows assessment. Understanding of the Mekong River Basin has improved through studies on toxic chemical pollution, the Mekong River flood pulse, the aquatic species and habitats revealing that the complexity of the river, its ecosystems and the rich biodiversity are far from fully understood, which threatens the robustness of environmental management decisions. The Environment Programme 2011‐2015 supports the implementation of the MRC Strategic Plan 2011‐2015 and the embedded move towards implementation Long‐term Core Functions, which is the key strategy for the Environment Programme 2011‐2015. This implies change of focus from development of new methodologies and tools to application of methodologies and implementation of tools. The objective of the Environment Progamme 2011‐2015: “Basin management and development in the Lower Mekong Basin is guided by up to date environmental and social knowledge and efficient environmental management cooperation mechanisms” directly responds to the Goal of the MRC Strategic Plan 2011‐2015 by combining the use of monitoring information (outcome 1) and cooperation mechanisms (outcome 2) with capacity building and awareness raising (outcome 4) while proactively considering appropriate responses to the rapid changes and emerging issues of the Mekong River Basin (outcome 3). The implementation strategy includes a triangle of partners (national level, MRC, other regional organizations). The role of the national line agencies is implementation of national level activities, the role of MRC is coordination, guidance, technical assistance, regional synthesis and capacity building and the regional orgnisations support knowledge production, development of new methodologies and tools and capacity building. As the MRC Member Country governments’ capacity increases the role of the Environment Programme will shift to coordination, monitoring and reporting. The time frame for reaching this will be beyond the next five years, but the direction would be set and initial steps taken in support of building capacity and national ownership, and for longer term sustainability reasons. The budget estimate for the Environment Programme 2011‐2015 is US$ 11 million for the five year implementation period. The proposed distribution over the five year period shows a 35 % decrease in the annual budget from year 2011 to year 2015 reflecting that more activities over the years are taken over by Member Countries. Initial funds are available from support provided by AFD (2009‐2012), support from AusAID through the M‐IWRMP, funding from the Sida 2007‐2010 extension budget and funding that has been pledged from Danida leaving a funding gap at 6.575 mio USD.
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1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND The 1995 Mekong Agreement sets out provisions for protecting the environment from harmful effects resulting from development plans and uses of water and minimising negative effects of water resources developments and uses through the Articles 3 and 7. The Mekong River Commission (MRC) Environment Programme works to support cooperation among the Member Country governments to secure a balance between economic development and ecological protection in the Mekong River Basin. In 1996 a three‐year MRC Environment Programme was initiated with support from the Danish International Development Assistance (Danida), Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). In 1999 it was decided to formulate a new programme more clearly supporting the 1995 Mekong Agreement and the MRC Strategic Plan 1999‐2003, and linking it to the newly established Water Utilisation Programme (WUP) and the Basin Development Plan (BDP) Programme. A revision was made in 2003 to ensure that the programme remained relevant, addressed environmental concerns of the MRC Member Countries and supported the MRC Strategic Plan 2001 – 2005. The implementation of the Environment Programme 2004‐2008 was initiated in January 2004 with support from Danida, Sida, SDC and Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD). In late 2004 this was complemented by support from the Government of the Netherlands, and UNDP provided support from late 2005. With the Council approval of the new MRC Strategic Plan 2006‐2010, the Environment Programme needed to be updated to ensure consistency with the new plan. An Environment Programme document for 2006‐2010 was prepared and presented to the Joint Committee in mid 2007. It was considered an update rather than a revision as it had the same components and basic structure. The implementation of the Environment Programme 2006‐2010 was supported by a number of development partners including Sida, Danida, AFD, Government of Netherlands and UNDP. The Environment Programme was leading the formulation of the MRC Climate Change and Adaptation Initiative (CCAI) in 2008‐2009 with support from AusAID. The CCAI was launched in 2009 to support the Member Countries in their future efforts to deal with the impacts of climate change as an additional driver of change for the Mekong River Basin. The Environment Programme 2011‐2015 has been formulated in conjunction with the development of the MRC Strategic Plan 2011‐2015 and aligned with the MRC Core River Basin Management Functions. Implementation of the MRC River Basin Management Functions warrants integration of the implementation with other key MRC programmes such as the BDP, the Information and Knowledge Management Programme (IKMP), the Fisheries Programme (FP), the Initiative for Sustainable Hydropower (ISH), the CCAI and the Mekong‐Integrated Water Resource Management Project (M‐IWRM), which has been reflected by means of shared outputs and/or activities. The State of the Basin Report 2010 for the Lower Mekong Basin (LMB) provides the status and past trends of water and related resources and describes the future management challenges for the Governments of the LMB including hydropower development, flood and drought management and climate change. It is clear from this comprehensive assessment that balancing the economic development, while sustaining the environment and the high productivity of the ecosystems, maintaining the biodiversity and allowing peoples livelihoods to flourish remains a key challenge, which needs to be addressed at the regional level.
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1.2 ENVIRONMENTAL STATUS AND TRENDS FOR THE LMB The economic growth rates in the Lower Mekong basin countries were between 5 and 10 per cent per year from 2000 to 2007. The growth has increased the GDP per capita and reduced poverty. The Human Development Index (by UNDP) has steadily improved in all the four countries now classified as “medium development”. Despite the high economic growth rates about one third of the population of Lao PDR and Cambodia live below the national poverty line and a large proportion of the population lack access to clean water resources and sanitation. Thailand has achieved its MDG target of poverty reduction well in advance of the year 2015. Viet Nam has made great progress in reducing poverty, but here as in the other Lower Mekong Basin Countries the difference between urban and rural poverty rates is large. About 60 million people live in the Lower Mekong Basin and about 80 percent of these people live in rural areas and about 40 percent in a 15 km corridor along the Mekong mainstream. Surveys in five ecological zones along the river showed that about one third of the population has water related activities as their main occupation and that about 20 percent claimed to have no second or alternative occupation. These data are not as such representative, but confirms the importance of the Mekong River resources for people’s livelihoods. This close relationship also means that people are particularly vulnerable if the river and its wetland ecosystems become degraded. One of the basic requirements for water use is good water quality and a healthy river ecosystem. The water quality of the Mekong River is in general good, but areas with high population density and high agriculture and aquaculture intensity like the Mekong Delta, close to the major cities and in some tributaries show deterioration of water quality. Generally, treatment of industrial wastewater is limited and handling and disposal of industrial hazardous waste are insufficient. So far, industrial water pollution is mainly concentrated around factories and downstream of major urban areas. The problem is expected to increase over coming years as the sector expands. The routine water quality monitoring so far does not cover toxic pollutants. Cases or incidents of toxic pollutants like heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants have been reported and this should be considered an early warning and be followed‐up, but there are so far no indications of toxic pollutants of basin wide or transboundary concern. The rivers annual flood pulse continues to support a rich fishery. The Mekong inland fishery has a key role in feeding the basins inhabitants who have fish as their main animal protein source. The consumption of fish is estimated at 40‐50 kg per person per year. The estimated total production is about 3.9 million tonnes to which the subsistence fishery should be added. There are no clear indications that the catch threatens the fish population but some monitoring studies found a reduction in larger carnivorous fish and a domination of small species which was interpreted as signs of overfishing. The transport of sediment and nutrients with the water flooding the plains of the Tonle Sap Great Lake and the downstream and Delta areas are considered of higher importance to the fish productivity. Huge amounts of fish fry are produced each year on the vast areas of seasonally flooded land. Another characteristic of the Mekong inland fishery is that a large proportion of the fish catch is dependent on migratory fish. These species are at risk from the proposed mainstream dams as would the fish fry production due to hydrological changes, sediment and nutrient trapping behind dams. Wetlands direct use for rice cultivation and freshwater capture fisheries is well known, but other indirect uses which may be less obvious are at least as important: Natural wetlands absorb floodwaters that could otherwise be disastrous during the wet season. Cambodia’s Great Lake, for example, expands in surface
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area as much as four to five times during the wet season. Without this natural absorption capacity, Phnom Penh would be completely flooded every year. Many of the larger cities in the basin, including Vientiane and Phnom Penh, discharge their urban wastewater to large natural wetlands thus achieving a significant level of treatment before waste water flows to the river. Attempts are being made to put an economic value on these services so they can be accounted for in decision making (Table 1). Since wetlands occur in a transition zone where water‐based ecosystems gradually change to land‐based ones, a small difference in the amount, timing or duration of water flows can result in a profound change in the nature of the wetland and its unique plants, animals and processes. Table 1. Annual value of wetland economic benefits for the That Luang Marsh, the largest remaining wetland area around Vientiane covering 2000 ha providing aquatic resources to more that 3000 households as well as valuable ecosystem services such as water purification and flood protection (Gerrard, 2004).
The renowned biodiversity of the basin is still not fully described and new species are discovered every year. Recent estimates of the biota of the greater Mekong region include 20,000 plant species, 430 mammal, 1200 bird, 800 reptile and amphibian, and 1300 fish species, with new species still being described. However, accelerating economic development, population growth and increased consumption patterns are placing pressure on the environment. The Mekong Basin fauna includes 14 species listed as critically endangered (including the Irrawaddy dolphin) 21 species listed as endangered and a further 29 species whose status is vulnerable. It is however facing challenges from the pressures of rapid developments, which could change the habitats and the mechanisms that sustain the high productivity of the ecosystems. The interactions between the society and the environment can be illustrated by using the so‐called DPSIR model (UNEP, 2007) describing the linkages between the environmental state (S), anthropogenic pressures (P) and the underlying direct and indirect driving forces (D). Coupling between the environmental state and society can be described trough the environmental objectives and measures (R)
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implemented to counteract the unwanted impacts (I) on ecosystems, biodiversity and on conditions for human beings (Figure 1). Figure 1. Linkages between society and environment for the Lower Mekong Basin.
Driving forces
•Agriculture•Aquaculture•Hydropower•Mining•Forestry•Water transport•Fisheries•Industry•Service•Households•Tourism
Pressures
•Water abstraction for irrigation, water supply, industry•Discharge of pollutants•Construction of infrastructure•Hydropower dams•Exploitation of fishery resources
State of the Environment
•Water quantity and flow•Flooding•Sediment transport•Erosion, •River morphology•River flood pulse•Water quality•Eutrophication•Biology•Salinization
Impacts on
•Biodiversity•Ecosystems •Natural resources•Economic sectors•Peoples livelihoods
Responses – policy and action plans•Mitigating actions•Environmental policies to reach environmental state objectives•Sector policies (regulation of sectors reduce/change the activities or the pressures)•Environmental awareness•Integrated management of water resources
The economic sectors (driving forces) exercise pressures on the water environment through a range of water uses, affecting the status of the physical and biological environment potentially impacting the ecosystems, biodiversity, the economic sectors and peoples livelihoods. The feedback from the state of environment to the society covers policy initiatives for the environment and for individual sectors.
According to the socio‐economic and sector plans of the LMB countries, all four countries are planning to develop water resources for irrigation, hydropower, flood management, domestic water supply and sanitation, and other uses to boost economic growth, reduce poverty and meet the UN Millennium Development Goals. In particular, the countries’ hydropower and irrigation development plans will significantly affect how the basin’s resources are used and consumed. Ten large (>10 MW) hydropower projects are under construction on tributaries and many more are planned in the LMB, including 11 projects on the mainstream. Many of the hydropower projects on tributaries include significant reservoirs, which will increase dry season flows through the re‐regulation of water resources from the wet season to the dry season. An additional 50 dams are planned for the next 20 years, mostly in Lao PDR. Most of the LMB countries have significant plans for irrigation development. Water transfers from the Mekong mainstream have long been considered by Thailand to complement national approaches to alleviate droughts. Development plans of this size and scope require regional trade‐off discussions where the economic opportunities need to be balanced against the potential impacts on the environment, fisheries and peoples livelihood. While developments on the tributaries have had some localised impacts, no impacts have yet been detected at the basin scale. However, this may change in future due to the large scale of planned development. If fully implemented, these developments would change the river’s hydrological regime, create barriers to fish migration and reduce sediment and nutrient transport. These changes in turn would create follow‐on effects for wetlands, ecosystems and people’s livelihoods.
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1.3 NATIONAL AND REGIONAL ENVIRONMENT RELATED INITIATIVES National level environmental management The MRC Member Countries manage their river environments according to their environmental protection laws and with due reference to MRC agreements and procedures. The environmental management builds on environmental monitoring and assessment and use environmental management tools such as environmental quality standards to assess ambient water quality and environmental impact assessment to evaluate development projects. The capacity and experience in application of these tools vary between countries reflecting a higher capacity in Thailand and Vietnam. For example routinely monitor toxic pollutants in water is not regularly performed in Lao PDR. Strategic environmental assessments (SEA) in their EIA legislation are not yet applied in Cambodia and Lao PDR. The use of environmental standards was recently embedded in the environmental legislation in Lao PDR. This has supported the transboundary collaboration to maintain good/acceptable water quality in the LMB through the Procedures for Water Quality (PWQ). All four Member Countries have established environmental monitoring systems that routinely provide information for environmental management and protection. The monitoring capacity is still under development in Cambodia and Lao PDR with bilateral donors supporting establishment/upgrading of environmental laboratories and capacity building and with MRC support national implementation of the Mekong Water Quality Monitoring Network. Environmental monitoring does not presently include biological monitoring in the Member Countries besides studies and research activities. Monitoring of social aspects is usually undertaken as part of population census surveys or in connection with poverty alleviation monitoring and often implemented by the National Statistical Offices. The EIA legislation of the four countries is similar in the conceptual thinking but varies in the specific details both in terms of when and how the EIA process is conducted. The legislation in Vietnam includes specific reference to the use of SEA for strategies and development plans at national, provincial and cross‐provincial level (e.g. river basin planning across provinces) and SEA has also recently (2009) been included in the Thai EIA management system for policy formulation and project planning. In Lao PDR the EIA legislation was revised in 2010 and includes as the only country specific provision for inclusion of transboundary aspects in EIAs even though the implications are not yet detailed. All countries generally follow internationally recognized processes. The efficiency of EIA implementation reflects the capacity of the countries of which Thailand and Vietnam have the longest experience and Cambodia and Lao PDR are challenged by difficulties in law enforcement, limited capacity, lack of efficient guidelines and manuals and insufficient learning processes in a situation of rapid economic and infrastructure development. Use of tools such as environmental flows assessment is seen in Thailand and Vietnam but in connection with specific studies rather than as a mainstreamed tool as part of a water allocation scheme. Management and protection of wetlands, which constitutes about 2.5 % of the LMB area and provide unique habitats supporting the basins rich biodiversity, are subject to aspects of many different laws (e.g. agriculture, forestry, fisheries, biodiversity conservation) and the vast majority have no special status and are therefore extremely vulnerable to development. Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam are signatories to the RAMSAR convention and Cambodia and Thailand have each designated two RAMSAR sites in the LMB and more sites are identified as potential RAMSAR sites. The three countries also collaborate with UNESCO on identified biosphere reserves of which one in Cambodia (Tonle Sap biosphere reserve) and
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one in Vietnam (Mui Ca Mau National Park) are in the LMB. Lao PDR plans to sign up to the RAMSAR convention in 2010 nominating its first RAMSAR site (the Siphandon area). Regional initiatives Over the past decade, a number of environmental assistance initiatives have developed at regional level in the Mekong River Basin. These are mainly part of either a larger regional development context like the ASEAN regional cooperation and the ADB supported Greater Mekong Sub‐Region (GMS) initiative, or regional NGOs like IUCN, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Wetlands Alliance programme to only name a few. Universities and research institutions, such as the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), the World Fish Centre and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) also have regional environmental involvement in the Mekong River Basin. The ASEAN Working Group on Water Resources Management defined a vision for water in Southeast Asia by 2025 as: “The attainment of sustainability of water resources to ensure sufficient water quantity of acceptable quality to meet the needs of the people of Southeast Asia in terms of health, food security, economy and environment”. The connected Strategic plan of Action includes as one of its focus areas water quality and sanitation with proposed activities in the area of harmonization of river classification systems and standards to enable compatibility of monitoring programmes and management systems across the region. Another focus area of relevance is capacity building and governance including environmental management aspects. The ASEAN focuses on providing specific support to the members with clear capacity building needs to increase regional integration. These countries include Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam. Increasing capacity for environmental cooperation is one of the elements of the proposed MoU between MRCS and the ASEAN Secretariat. The GMS Working Group on Environment (WGE) is responsible for implementation of the GMS Core Environment Programme. The vision of the GMS Core Environment Programme is a “poverty free and ecologically rich GMS”, its goal is to “promote sustainable and equitable development in the GMS” and its purpose is to enhance the development potential, performance, and impact of the GMS Economic Cooperation Program. Current components are i) Strategic Environmental Assessments; ii) Biodiversity Conservation Corridors Initiative; iii) Environment Performance Assessments; iv) Capacity building for sustained environmental management; and v) Program development, delivery and sustainable financing. The Environment Operations Centre (EOC) is the operational unit to implement the Core Environment Programme based in Bangkok, Thailand. WWF has a Greater Mekong Programme working to conserve biologically diverse and threatened forests and rivers within the Greater Mekong region (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and China). WWF works in four so‐called eco‐regions in the Greater Mekong area: the dry forests, the Annamites, the Kayah Karen and Tenasserim and the Mekong River to: i) promote sustainable hydropower in the lower Mekong River basin; ii) support protected area managers and communities to help maintain and protect forest and freshwater habitats; iii) develop responses to threats posed by climate change; iv) ensure conservation of viable populations of flagship species; and v) capacity‐building to create the next generation of environmental leaders. In the Mekong river context WWF has featured strongly within the areas of environmental protection related to sustainable hydropower development, management and habitat protection of flagship species like the Giant Catfish and the Irrawady Dolphin and lately climate change impact and vulnerability assessment for Mekong freshwater biodiversity. Conserving biodiversity is central to the mission of IUCN demonstrating how biodiversity is fundamental to addressing some of the world’s greatest challenges: tackling climate change, achieving
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sustainable energy, improving human well‐being and building a green economy. IUCN works in the Mekong through its water programme (the Mekong Water Dialogue), through a range of regional programme like the water and wetland progamme and the species and biodiversity programme and through country initiatives in the four MRC Member Countries. IUCN has featured strongly within the area of wetland management and biodiversity conservation for the Mekong River Basin. The Wetland Alliance is an alliance between AIT, WWF, the Worldfish Centre and Corin at the Prince of Songkla University in Thailand, with the overall aim to improve local capacity for sustainable wetland management in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam. Its programme strategy is based on the assumption that one of the most effective means of addressing poverty is through locally led management of wetlands and aquatic resources and building local capacity to wetland management for livelihood improvement. It works in eight specific areas of the LMB through engagement of local partners working with communities addressing local priorities to facilitate livelihood improvements.
1.4 KEY ACHIEVEMENS AND LESSONS FROM 15 YEARS OF ENVIRONMENT
PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION Key Achievements The MRC has had a long history of monitoring and investigating the ecological health of the LMB. The collaborative regional environmental monitoring of Mekong river water quality was initiated more than two decades ago. The environmental monitoring under MRC began in 1985 in Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam and later in 1993 in Cambodia. In its early stage, water quality monitoring was the key focus of the monitoring efforts. The basin‐wide water quality monitoring network was established and assistance provided to four water quality laboratories and associated quality assurances/quality control procedures including annual proficiency testing and auditing was implemented in each of the Countries improving the laboratory quality control systems and the general water quality monitoring capacity substantially. The documentation has become more complete, and the activities are more systematic and the laboratories now have capability to perform the analysis for the water quality parameters included in the Water Quality Monitoring Network. Continuous monitoring from the mid 1980s provides a picture of changes over time and has resulted in a large, impartial GIS‐linked database of information that can be used to understand the implications of future planning decisions and mitigation of impacts. The environmental monitoring activities have become increasingly more advanced moving from only covering classical water quality parameters to biological monitoring and monitoring of peoples’ dependence on aquatic ecosystems. Ecological health monitoring was introduced to MRC Member Countries in 2003 and developed over the years from 2004 to 2009. The transfer and implementation of the Ecological Health Monitoring System to the Member Countries and the development of the Mekong River Report Card on Aquatic Ecological Health has increased the understanding among line agencies and the NMCs about the usefulness of bio‐monitoring and its complementary strengths to water quality monitoring. This has expanded the coverage of environmental monitoring from water quality to include ecosystem health with its closer linkage to the protection of peoples’ livelihoods. The links between people’s livelihoods and the monitoring activities were further emphasized in the social monitoring and vulnerability assessment methodologies initiated in 2006. A methodology has been developed and tested and results are widely used to assess potential impacts of future developments. The main outcome from this activity is that MRC together with key stakeholders (MRC, 2009) are now in a structured way able to address social issues with strong linkages to peoples’ dependence on aquatic resources and to implications on poverty.
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Wetland inventories, classification and mapping have been a focus area for the Environment Programme right from the time of signing of the 1995 Mekong Agreement. The wetland maps have illustrated the extent and indicate the importance of the wetlands. More concrete valuation of wetlands has been attempted through compilation of valuation data and studies. Understanding the Mekong River Basin has further been supported by a range of diagnostic and other studies on toxic chemical pollution, the ecosystems dependence on the Mekong River flood pulse and characteristics of the river, the aquatic species and habitats. But it has also become clear that the complexity of the river, its ecosystem and the rich biodiversity are far from fully understood which threatens the robustness of environmental management decisions. Through a range of pilot studies and facilitation programmes MRC has strengthened the national capacity for regional environmental management including transbondary and regional environmental impact assessment, ecological risk assessment, environmental conflict management and environmental flows assessment. A Framework for Transboundary Environmental Impact Assessment (TbEIA) has been developed to supplement the cooperation under the Procedures for Notification Prior Consultation and Agreement (PNPCA). The development of the PWQ and its associated Technical Guidelines confirms the commitment for environmental cooperation of the MRC Member Countries to maintain acceptable/good water quality for the LMB. Aiming at addressing some of the key challenges of future hydropower development, the Environment Programme contributed to an assessment tool on environmental considerations of sustainable hydropower development and to the preliminary design guidance for mainstream dam development, which highlights a range of key issues that need to be considered by developers at the project design stage as well as by MRC Bodies, government line‐agencies and other stakeholders when any proposed hydropower scheme is submitted for the MRC prior consultation process (PNPCA). The understanding of the main environmental problems related to tourism activities and the linkages to water resources management has been outlined pointing at the impact from wastewater from tourist facilities and the aspects of tourism impacts on wetlands and associated ecosystems in particular the transboundary wetlands as the key issues of concern in a regional context. The awareness among stakeholders about the water quality of the Mekong River and the availability and use of water quality data for management purposes have increased through the development of the Mekong River Report Cards for Water Quality, Ecological Health and Social Impact and Vulnerability. MRC Technical Papers have been published and key management aspects disseminated in the MRC Management Information Booklet Series. Annual Technical meetings, Forum meetings and Symposia have been used as means for knowledge sharing and capacity building engaging the MRC Member Countries as well as relevant regional and international organizations. The production of the State of the Basin Report in 2003 and 2010 are key achievements to support all stakeholders in the basin increasing the knowledge and capacity and providing insight to support decision making. Mid‐term review of the Environment Programme 2006‐2010 An external mid‐term review of the most recent Environment Programe (2006‐2010) was conducted in January 2010. The Review Mission found that the Environment Programme had been well managed and had implemented a wide range of activities according to its programme document. The outputs delivered were all of very high quality and technical standard. The programme had taken wise decisions in the way
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it prioritized activities given that it has only had 50% of its planned budget during the first four years of its implementation. The Review Missions overall assessment of the performance of the Environment Programme resembles the findings of the Mid‐term Review of the MRC Strategic Plan 2006‐2010. Aspects like limited tangible benefits for Member Countries, being reactive rather than proactive, lack of sense of real cooperation, lack of impact on country planning and management directions, lack of Member Country cooperation with initiatives, too much focus on MRC processes and insufficient outward looking to the needs of the countries or its stakeholders also comes out in the Environment Programme assessment. The Review Mission was aware that tackling these overall challenges is not only a matter for the Environment Programme management. It is also very much the task of the NMC and NMC Secretariat at country level and of the MRC Secretariat in the larger MRC context. The NMC and NMCS must take on this task by engaging more proactively with country line agencies and other institutions of relevance for environmental management and protection in Member Countries. The Review Mission recommended on the future direction of the Environment Programme and considered three categories of activities: 1. Components/activities that would be maintained and strengthened at regional level, and. of the EP
would be carried over and strengthened: • Basin wide social and environmental (including biodiversity and wetlands) assessment and
reporting based on national monitoring and reporting • Support (including capacity building and technical assistance) to the implementation of MRC
procedures and application of decision support tools including the PNPCA, Procedures on Water Quality and Transboundary Environmental Impact Assessment
• Response to emerging issues (e.g. climate change; chemical pollution; other pressures not known or of limited importance currently and therefore limited understanding of consequences);
• Awareness raising and capacity building will be cross‐cutting aspects for all activities. 2. Components/activities that would be gradually transferred to the Member Countries in support of
building capacity and national ownership, and for sustainability reasons: • Water quality, ecological health, biodiversity and social impact monitoring including
national assessment and reporting; • Wetland inventory and mapping ‐ including national assessment and reporting; • Wetland management.
3. Components/activities that should be taken over or pursued in close partnership with other regional organizations, whatever would be most feasible and efficient
• Research and knowledge generation. By universities and research organizations such as e.g. IWMI, World Fish, MPOWER;
• Development of methodologies and tools. By universities, research organizations (such as e.g. WWF, IUCN, GMS‐EOC, IWMI, World Fish) and the private sector;
• Wetland management. By e.g. WWF, IUCN, Wetland Alliance. The Review Mission further recommended that selected core functions from the EP, the BDP, the IKMP and elements of the FP should be integrated under a River Basin Management Center at the MRC Secretariat during the next Strategic Plan period 2011‐2015. The Center would have one overall objective and seven components constituting the core River Basin Management Function of MRC. It would be placed under the direct responsibility of the CEO. The Center would manage what would be considered core activities of the Secretariat and generally of the MRC. The Center would be organized as a service
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centre that provides monitoring, assessment and forecasting information for basin management at transboundary level. The Center would also: i) provide high quality data and information supporting national developments e.g. of sub‐basin areas; and ii) interact with other development and assessment initiatives in the wider Mekong region. The establishment of the Center would imply rethinking the role and organization of the NMCs to better represent the broader national development needs including those of non‐government stakeholders. The Center would be financed partly by MRC Member Country contributions and partly by donor basket funding. The Climate Change and Adaptation Initiative and the Mekong Integrated Water Resources Management Project would also be anchored at the Center. The Environment Programme would during the next Strategic Plan period 2011‐2015, engage with the BDP, IKMP, the FP and the ‘operational programs’ (e.g. the FMMP, the NAP, and the ISH) in developing the common objective, the outputs and the activities of the Center. This recommendation would need to be addressed at MRC level as it affects the whole organization not just the Environment Programme. Lessons learned from implementation experience Experience shows that it is possible to engage regional collaborative efforts to establish environmental data of the Mekong River Basin and use this as a platform for environmental data sharing and exchange. The process of harmonization of methodology and tools for the Mekong region has provided an opportunity for country participation and involvement in delivering reliable and shared information on a regular basis through sharing of expertise and countries have mutually benefited in terms of improved collaboration. This has also supported national activities both directly and indirectly through capacity building. At the regional level the capacity to resolve environmental issues beyond the national context i.e. transboundary and cumulative impacts has increased. It is also clear that sustainability of environmental monitoring networks and sustainable use of other tools for environmental cooperation require country ownership through strengthening of the institutional arrangements (line agencies, designated laboratory etc.) and capacities. Connection and engagement with national environmental efforts are key to secure relevance of the knowledge and tools and hereby the sustainability of the cooperation. It is important to recognize different levels of interests and capacity among Member Countries and negotiate adjustment of methods and activities to suit all countries needs. Adaptive strategies rather than rigid agreements must be employed as focus and target may evolve changing the shape and circumstances of the environmental cooperation. 1.5 A REGIONAL ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME FOR SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT The Mekong River system faces several major environmental challenges over coming decades. Planned hydropower developments, expansion of irrigation and waterway transport together with the impacts of climate change will have major implications for the river environment and, in some cases, threaten the biodiversity of the basin’s aquatic systems and the livelihoods of those that depend on them. All governments of the LMB wish to develop water resources for irrigation, hydropower and other uses to produce benefits for the many millions who live in poverty in rural areas. At the same time governments realize that the need to develop water resources and achieve benefits for rural people must be balanced with the existing needs of subsistence farmers who supplement what they grow by fishing and gathering food and other materials from forests and wetlands. The LMB is expected to be one of the regions most profoundly affected by climate change. The predicted changes in rainfall and temperature would potentially cause Mekong River flow to increase in both wet and dry seasons. Global warming is expected to shift the potential geographic ranges of species to the
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north or to higher elevations in mountainous regions as individual species are adapted to a specific range of temperatures. The modified seasonal flow pattern in response to climate change would have a key influence on the future species composition and ecosystem productivity. A combination of increased temperature and decreased precipitation in some areas of the basin may result in decreased runoff and lowered groundwater levels, causing the shrinking of some wetlands whereas in other parts of the basin receiving more precipitation a change to more open wetland types could take place. These changes would act as an additional driver of change and impacts would be superimposed on the impacts caused by economic development. These management challenges can be supported by strong IWRM understanding and capabilities across the basin, and across institutions. This should cover robust environmental understanding and knowledge of the basin as well as capability to apply general and tailor made environmental management tools to follow‐up on the environmental status and trends both with regards to the environmental quality, ecosystem productivity and biodiversity and the ability to sustain the livelihood of the people and hereby poverty alleviation. Environmental monitoring and environmental management capacity must be able to adequately address transboundary and basin wide environmental concerns hereby supporting the regional collaboration.
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2 CONTEXT AND RATIONALE 2.1 REGIONAL RELEVANCE The MRC Environment Programme is based on the scope, guidance and framework provided by the 1995 Mekong Agreement. It furthermore responds to the MRC vision of sustainable development, contribution to achievement of the Millennium Development Goals for the Member Countries and the decision by the MRC Member Countries to use IWRM based approaches for basin planning and management. Implicit and explicit references in the 1995 Mekong Agreement to environment and related issues are summarised in Table 2. Table 2. Articles in the 1995 Mekong Agreement with references to environmental responsibilities. Section in the 1995 Agreement
Detail
Chapter II, Definition of Terms (p. 4)
Environment: the conditions of water and land resources, air, flora, and fauna that exists in a particular area
Article 3 Protection of the Environment and Ecological Balance “To protect the environment, natural resources, aquatic life and conditions, and ecological balance of the Mekong River Basin from pollution or other harmful effects resulting from any development plans and uses of water and related resources in the Basin.”
Article 7 Prevention and Cessation of Harmful Effects “To make every effort to avoid, minimise and mitigate harmful effects that might occur to the environment, especially water quantity and quality, the aquatic (Eco‐system) conditions, and ecological balance of the river system, from the development and use of the Mekong River Basin water resources or discharge of wastes and return flows….”
Article 10 Emergency Situations “Whenever a Party becomes aware of any special water quantity or quality problems constituting an emergency that requires immediate response, it shall notify and consult directly with the party(ies) concerned and the Joint Committee without delay in order to take appropriate remedial action.”
Article 24
Functions of the Joint Committee D. To conduct appropriate studies and assessments for the protection of the
environment and maintenance of the ecological balance of the Mekong River Basin. G. To review and approve studies and training for the personnel of the riparian member
countries... [connecting to environment via capacity building]
Note that underlining of text was added to the quotation to emphasise the aspects related to environment. The Millennium Development Goal 7: “Ensure environmental sustainability” has sub‐targets directly referring to environment: “Target 7a: Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes; reverse loss of environmental resources” and “Target 7b: Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a significant reduction in the rate of loss”. The transboundary issues that need to be addressed in an IWRM context to assess sustainability of the scale and scope of currently planned developments of the Mekong basin including large scale hydropower development are numerous and include: • water availability and quality for use by people and to retain ecosystem productivity and provide
essential goods and services • water flow and sediment and nutrient transport changes potentially affecting integrity and
productivity of ecosystems and the river and Delta morphology and stability.
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• fisheries production under pressure from habitat fragmentation, floodplain reduction and blockage of migratory fish;
• floodplain management reducing vulnerability to floods and droughts (including considerations of possible impacts of climate change);
• navigation considering pollution risks, barrier effects of dams and other infrastructure developments • wetland conservation and management including productivity and biodiversity issues such as fish
biodiversity, the Irrawaddy dolphin and other flagship species. IWRM processes address natural resources degradation by maintaining environmental flows thus sustaining ecosystem productivity and supporting people’s livelihoods. Providing equal opportunity for men and women in dealing with these issues is also a challenge. The Environment Programme will support the IWRM based planning and management providing up to date information, knowledge and assessment tools.
2.2 STAKEHOLDERS AND TARGET BENEFICIARIES The ultimate beneficiaries of the Environment Programme are the people in the basin through the progressive realisation of the basin vision. Pilot activities and other field based interventions will have direct positive impacts on some households and small businesses, while the main benefits will be through the implementation of better environmental management and sustainable development providing economic and social benefits with little or no adverse effects on the basin’s environment supporting people’s livelihoods. The intermediate beneficiaries of the programme are the MRC Member Country governments and their staff, the signatories of the 1995 Mekong Agreement. They will benefit through increased capacity to address environmental issues and improved co‐operation between the four countries in addressing environmental issues in the basin. The intermediate beneficiaries will be: • The ministries responsible for environmental management i.e. Ministry of Environment in Cambodia,
Water Resources and Environment Administration in Lao PDR and Ministries of Natural Resources and Environment in Thailand and Viet Nam.
• The National Mekong Committees and their Secretariats which are tasked with coordination between all agencies and stakeholders in the four LMB countries
• Sector agencies requested to integrate environmental concerns in all their planning and implementation of development policies and activities; and
• Local government authorities and local communities in areas of pilot activities and other field based interventions
The Programme promotes participation of stakeholders at all levels in accordance with the MRC Stakeholder Participation Policy and the MRC Communications and Disclosure Policy. Stakeholders will be involved through, for example participation in (i) pilot projects at local, transboundary and regional level, (ii) implementation of tools for environmental cooperation (e.g. TbEIA, SEA), (iii) regional environmental symposia or forums, and (iv) regular meetings, workshops and seminars. The main stakeholders for the Environment Programme implementation will be:
• national environment line agencies • national line agencies engaged in environmental management activities (e.g. MRC related sectors,
planning agencies, climate change agencies)
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• the NMCs and NMC Secretariats, • representatives of national and international NGOs, • private sector, • representatives of local authorities and communities, • national environment experts from research organisations and universities working with
environment related activities relevant for the LMB, • other programmes of MRC, • regional organisations with competences and programmes in the Mekong region related to
environment e.g. ASEAN and GMS, and • Development Partners supporting the Environment Programme
2.3 CROSS CUTTING ISSUES Poverty reduction Poverty reduction is the overall development goal for all MRC Member Countries and the key development assistance goal for Development Partners. Recent social surveys undertaken by the Environment Programme have demonstrated the dependence of rural people on the resources of the Mekong River Basin. The poverty level for the rural population is markedly higher than the country averages which links poverty reduction and protection of ecosystems to sustain their productivity on which a large number of the basin inhabitants depend. Environmental and social information and impact assessment capacity contribute to poverty reduction by supporting the decision making processes for basin development to include considerations on ecosystem sustainability and peoples livelihoods. Key activity areas are the social impact monitoring and vulnerability assessment and improvement of the understanding of the linkages between basin developments, environmental resources and peoples’ livelihoods. Gender responsiveness Women, the majority of the worlds poor, provide invaluable contributions to sustaining communities around the world and managing the earthʹs biodiversity and natural resources. They are together with young children and elderly uniquely vulnerable to environmental degradation. For example, it is well established that environmental hazards are among the major causes of global death and disease, and that the burden falls disproportionately on women, young children, elders and ethnic minority groups who are illiterate to the national language. Besides, the responses and practices to environmental degradation are not always common to these target groups. The challenges of environmental degradation are not gender neutral. Women and men have different vulnerability and capacity to adapt to environmental impacts due to differing roles, opportunities, and access to resources. It is therefore, understanding the differences between men and women’s relationships to the environment plays an important role in developing solutions for more sustainable use of natural resources (UNEP, 2006). In the Mekong region, women are traditionally involved in the management, maintenance, and conservation of natural resources and therefore have detailed knowledge of their local environment. The exclusion of women from decision‐making processes can silence the voices of half of the region’s population depriving society of many skills, experiences, and capacities The MRC Gender Strategy and Gender Policy and “Tool Kits for Gender Responsive Mekong River Basin Development” have been the guiding principles for the Environment Programme to be gender responsive. At regional level gender aspects are considered when assessing relations between the environment and peoples’ livelihood. This informs impact assessments and decisions about mitigation of impacts. Gender tools such as gender analysis and sex‐disaggregated data will be applied. Furthermore, equal participation of men and women in environmental planning, management, monitoring and evaluation at regional level will be monitored and promoted.
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Mainstreaming climate change and environment Climate change is mainstreamed in environmental management efforts by integrating climate change impact and vulnerability assessments for wetlands and other key ecosystems in adaptation planning and through integration of climate change in environmental impact assessments (EIA, SEA and transboundary EIA). Adaptation strategies and action identified through adaptation planning needs to consider possible environmental impacts and sustainability issues just as all other basin developments. The Environment Programme 2011‐2015 will be responsible for these aspects of regional climate change adaptation planning through implementation of environment related activities of the CCAI. 2.4 RELATIONSHIP WITH THE MRC STRATEGIC PLAN 2011‐2015 The vision of the four Member Countries of MRC is “an economically prosperous, socially just and environmentally sound Mekong River Basin”. The expected achievements at the basin scale with regards to environmental sustainability and socially just development are shown in Table 3. The MRC vision and the indicators describing the expected achievements set the direction for the type of data and information to be made available through the Environment Programme and other regional and national initiatives. The related long‐term goal to achieve this vision and the overall goal of the MRC Strategic Plan 2011‐2015 contributing to the long‐term goal along with indicators for achieving these goals in relation to environmental and social aspects are also shown in Table 3. Table 3. Indicators on environmental and social aspects for MRC Vision, long‐term Goal and SP 2011‐2015. MRC vision and goals Indicators on environmental and social aspects Source of Data
MRC vision
An economically prosperous, socially just and environmentally sound Mekong River Basin
Basin wide environmental status and trend assessments conclude that: • The Mekong River water quality is in general of good status,
• There are no toxic pollutants of basin wide or transboundary concern
• The Mekong River biodiversity is maintained • The high productivity of the ecosystems supports a large fishery and the livelihood of the basins inhabitants.
State of the basin report Regular environmental and social monitoring reports
MRC Long‐term Goal
Member Countries manage water and related resources of the Mekong Basin in an effective, sustainable and equitable way
Environmental laws, policies and plans integrate basin‐wide aspects and environmental cooperation mechanisms Decision making on development projects with transboundary or basin‐wide implications have effectively and equitably balanced the economic benefits and the environmental and social impacts and costs
National environmental law, policies and management Reports from the PNPCA process; Transboundary EIA report; JC and Council meeting minutes
MRC SP 2011‐2015 Goal
Member countries apply basin‐wide IWRM approaches in national water and related sector frameworks and development programmes
IWRM planning and management approaches consider impacts on environmental flows, water quality, ecosystem health and productivity, biodiversity, values of wetlands and peoples dependence on ecosystems.
National water resources planning and management for the Mekong River Basin
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Given these overall goals, the current situation of the Mekong River Basin, its environmental and socio‐economic status, development plans and institutional perspectives, five specific goals were formulated for the 2011‐2015 period as shown in Figure 4 reflecting current status of discussion and are subject to review and final endorsement by the MRC Joint Committee and approval by the MRC Council. Figure 4. The Goals of the MRC Strategic Plan 2011‐2015.
Member countries manage water and related resources of the Mekong Basin in an effective, sustainable and equitable manner.
Member countries apply basin‐wide IWRM approaches in national water and related sector frameworks and development programmes
Specific goals 2011‐2015
SP Goal 2011‐2015
Long‐term MRC goal
5.Efficient
organizational transition of MRC for
implementation of its core
functions and full riparianization of its Secretariat.
4. Raised
awareness and capacity
development for IWRM policy adoption and implementation.
3.Efficient dialogue and coordination
processes between basin countries and
other stakeholders for effective regional cooperation.
2. Operational basin‐wide monitoring, impact assessment, modeling, forecasting and knowledge
management systems supporting effective decision making.
1. Adoption of IWRM‐based
Basin Development and related sector strategies and guidelines for
promoting sustainable and equitable development
The Environment Programme supports the MRC specific Goal 1 through provision of environmental and social data, information and increased understanding of the cause‐effect relationships between the drivers of change and the impacts on ecosystems and peoples livelihoods. This also includes climate change impacts and vulnerability assessments and considerations on environmental sustainability of climate change adaptation measures and their effects on peoples’ livelihoods. Environmental and social assessment tools are supporting the adoption of IWRM based strategies and guidelines. The operational environmental and social impact monitoring systems and the assessment and reporting of the results provide understanding about the Mekong River ecosystems and the people depending on those resources and information about status and trends at basin level. This includes not only the known future challenges (like climate change), but all emerging issues engaging early warning principles. This will together with impact assessment of development options support effective decision making for the basin as outlined in MRC specific Goal 2. Regional cooperation (MRC specific Goal 3) is supported by environmental information as well as by a range of specific cooperation mechanisms like the Procedures for Water Quality (PWQ) aiming at maintaining good/acceptable water quality of the Mekong River. Additional instruments related directly
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to environment are the PNPCA and the TbEIA guidelines, which target transboundary assessments of development projects not covered by the PNPCA. Awareness raising and capacity building including outreach activities within the environmental and social aspects will contribute to the MRC specific Goal 4. The MRC long‐term core functions have been defined to facilitate the transition of the MRC from strong focus on development of methods, tools and information to routine implementation of the 1995 Mekong Agreement. Table 4 outlines the four categories of core functions. Seven categories of the River Basin Management Functions were identified through which MRC engages routinely in water resources development and management issues in the Mekong Basin covering the full range of sectoral areas under the mandate of MRC. Table 4: Descriptions of MRC Core Functions Categories Categories Description Examples of Functions (i) Secretariat Administrative and Management Functions;
Functions of a routine and recurrent nature that provide for the management and administration of the Secretariat and support to MRC governance processes as well as support to non‐technical processes under the 1995 Mekong Agreement.
• Governance of the MRC • Financial and administrative management • Personnel management • International cooperation • Communications
(ii) River Basin Management Functions;
Functions of the MRC through which it routinely engages in water resources development and management issues at different scales in the Mekong Basin
• Data acquisition, exchange and monitoring • Analysis, modelling and assessment • Planning support • Forecasting, warning and emergency response • Implementing MRC Procedures • Promoting Dialogue and Coordination • Reporting and Dissemination
(iii) Capacity Building and Tools Development Functions;
Functions providing for continuous capacity building at the MRCS, NMC Secretariats and line agencies and maintenance, and updating of data holdings, processing capacity and analytic capability.
• Capacity building for Member Countries and MRCS across all themes
• State of the art tool development
(iv) Consulting and Advisory Services Functions
Functions that make available the technical expertise, databases, modelling capacities, and expert networks of MRCS to support studies and assessments commissioned by others for sustainable water resources development, both at the project level, and at the basin wide and cumulative level.
• Consulting services • Commissioned studies • Expert advice
The Environment Programme will integrated with other key MRC programmes support the MRC Goal 5 through implementation of the MRC River Basin Management Function providing monitoring, assessment and forecasting information for basin management at transboundary level and also providing high quality data and information supporting national developments e.g. of sub‐basin areas and interact with other development and assessment initiatives in the wider Mekong region. The implementation and management of the Environment Programme 2011‐2015 will follow the direction of full riparianisation of the MRCS included in the MRC Goal 5.
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2.5 REGIONAL AND NATIONAL PRIORITIES The experiences of implementation and the Member Country direction of the MRC towards focusing on Long‐term Core Functions suggest an increased focus on supporting Member Countries in applying developed methods and tools for regional environmental cooperation. The Environment Programme 2011‐2015 will aim at improving the real cooperation between Member Countries, being more proactive, responsive and outward looking and increasing the impact on country planning and management directions. These aspects are to some extent covered through implementation of the Long‐term Core Functions, but additional efforts would be needed to efficiently address them. The experiences also show that the socio‐economic data and information need to significantly strengthened in a joint effort between MRC programmes with key actors including the Basin Development Plan programme, the Fisheries Programme and the environment Programme. Improved national capacity for regional environmental cooperation Continuous capacity building for national institutions and line agencies is necessary to reach a state where they can comfortably be fully responsive to the requirements of regional environmental cooperation and hereby improve the potential for real cooperation between Member Countries. This includes sustainable monitoring programmes for the whole basin with the ultimate goal to have full country implementation and operation of monitoring activities while the regional contribution (the MRCS) focuses on basin wide and transboundary analysis and synthesis of the monitoring results supporting the regional cooperation through an updated knowledge base and state and impact assessments. The second element is implementation of regional environmental cooperation mechanisms like the PWQ and TbEIA Guidelines where national agencies are responsible for implementation while the regional support facilitates cooperation and capacity building and provide technical assistance. Increased dialogue with the Upper Mekong Basin riparian countries is also requested covering sharing of data and information and implementing monitoring activities collaboratively. Taking the lead and reaching out The knowledge on the basins resources has increased substantially over the past five years but significant gaps persist on e.g. wetland values, biodiversity trends, nutrient cycling, sediment dynamics and toxic substance pollution as well as the ability and capacity to construct environmental outlooks supporting decision making. The recent assessment of basin development scenarios and the SEA of mainstream dams have pointed at gaps in the current knowledge, which provide direction for future knowledge production. Against this background MRC as the regional entity should take the lead in filling those gaps of the environmental knowledge and associated capacity building though realizing that this is a major task which can only be achieved efficiently by close interaction with national and regional partners. Stronger linkages with national environment activities for mutual benefits There has been a tendency that MRC activities are undertaken for MRC without sufficiently considering overlaps and synergies with national initiatives in the Basin. This could in some cases result in a detachment between the national and regional level reducing the benefits to the national level and increasing the resources needed to retrieve the necessary information at the regional level. A better integration would enable application of methodologies and tools in a cost effective manner and better suiting country capacities and needs. Increased awareness, understanding and participation Scientific data and information are important but do not always reach and help decision makers and other stakeholders unless they are interpreted to suit the context and deliver clear messages. Improving
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capacity and awareness involve dissemination of environmental data to wider stakeholders to increase the understanding of the Mekong basin. Publication of Report Cards, State of the Basin Report as well as publications in riparian languages will support this effort. The dissemination for awareness raising will be design to reach the different stakeholder groups of the Basin from local level to decision makers. It is a prerequisite for meaningful public participation and involvement in Mekong environment related activities and decision making that data and information is accessible. The aim of improved access to information and public participation in decision‐making is to enhance the quality and the implementation of decisions, contribute to public awareness of environmental issues, give the public the opportunity to express its concerns and enable public authorities to take due account of such concerns. Information will also incorporate gender disaggregated data for better gender responsive policy formulation and implementation. Increased targeting of dissemination of information as well as increased translation into riparian languages would increase the country benefits and promote the potential impact on country planning and management. Improving socio‐economic monitoring and assessment The recent assessment of basin development scenarios and the SEA of mainstream dams have pointed at a strong need to increase the data and knowledge on potential social impacts and opportunities of future basin developments. A range of activities have been undertaken by various programmes over the past years: – Pilot activities on monitoring people’s dependence on water and related resources and their vulnerability to changes in natural resources availability have been undertaken by the Environment Programme.
– The BDP based their assessment on socio‐economic statistical data from the Member Countries. – The Fisheries Programme focused mainly on consumption surveys. The different approaches provide useful information, but a more comprehensive strategy is needed to fully exploit the potential of each approach and to make sure information is fulfilling the needs. A socio‐economic package of activities will be designed engaging EP, BDP and FP with the aim to improve the MRC and Member Country ability to address more fully the potential impacts on people’s livelihoods. This will include involving existing data from national statistical offices and engaging those line agencies in the activities.
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3 OBJECTIVE AND PROGRAMME DESIGN 3.1 Goal, objective and outcomes The overall goal of the Environment Programme 2011‐2015 is the MRC Strategic Plan (SP) Goal: “Member countries apply basin‐wide IWRM approaches in national water and related sector frameworks and development programmes”. The objective of the Environment Programme responds to this Goal by providing environmental and social data and knowledge and efficient environmental cooperation mechanisms as necessary supporting instruments for the application of basin‐wide IWRM approaches at national and regional level. The Design Summary (Table 5) including objectives and outcomes along with indicators used to monitor performance elaborates how to achieve this objective by combining the use of monitoring information (outcome 1) and cooperation mechanisms (outcome 2) with capacity building and awareness raising (outcome 4) while proactively considering appropriate responses to the rapid changes of the Mekong River Basin (outcome 3). The full Design and Monitoring Framework is included in Annex 1. Table 5. Summary design of the EP 2011‐2015 with objective, outcomes and indicators. Objective Indicator Source of Data Programme Objective
Basin management and development in the Lower Mekong Basin is guided by up to date environmental and social knowledge and efficient environmental management cooperation mechanisms.
• Joint Committee, Council and member Country line agencies recognise the influence and value of environmental and social knowledge and tools in improving environmental management
• Transboundary and basin wide environmental and social issues are effectively addressed
• JC and Council meeting minutes • Progress reports on implementation of the MRC procedures and other environmental cooperation mechanisms
Outcomes
1.1 State of the Basin report published regularly to provide a comprehensive overall basin status and development assessment
• State of the Basin report 2014
1.2 The extent to which the regular environmental and social monitoring assessment and reporting is used by national line agencies to support their participation in environmental cooperation of the LMB
• Assessment of agency responses to and use of MRC outputs
1. Environmental monitoring, assessment and reporting. Environmental and socioeconomic data and information are used to assess and report on the state and developments in the basin and to support assessment and mitigation of potential impacts promoting sustainability of basin developments. 1.3 The extent to which the data and information
adequately support the basin wide and transboundary development assessments including the transboundary environmental impact assessments
• Reports on basin wide and transboundary assessments of development projects and plans
• Progress reports on the implementation of the transboundary environmental impact assessment guidelines
2.1 Transboundary cooperation on environmental impact assessment follow the TbEIA Framework
• Annual progress report on implementation of the transboundary environmental impact assessment guidelines
2. Environmental management mechanisms
Decision making on basin developments is based on the use of agreed environmental management tools
2.2 The extent to which the cooperation framework for implementation of the Procedures for Water Quality adequately supports environmental cooperation
• Annual progress report on implementation of Procedures for Water Quality
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Objective Indicator Source of Data
3.1 Evidence that the methods, tools and results identified/developed to assess biophysical and socio‐economic impacts of climate change and to assess vulnerability of ecosystems and communities have been used by key line agencies for adaptation planning
• Triennial status report on Climate change and adaptation in the Lower Mekong Basin
3.2 Level of satisfaction by key stakeholders with CCAI performance on environmental sustainability promotion
• Interview with responsible line ministries in LMB countries and key regional organizations
3.3 Extent to which national policies and plans on climate change adaptation incorporate appropriate environmental protection measures
• National policies and plans on climate change adaptation
3 Emerging environmental issues
Timely response to emerging issues is enabled through research and outreach activities engaging national and regional stakeholders
3.4 The ability of MRC to timely identify and address emerging issues and provide environmental outlooks related to water quality, ecosystem health and productivity and biodiversity
• Independent mid‐term review of EP
4.1 Extent to which environmental and social monitoring systems are transferred to Member Countries and environmental cooperation mechanisms implemented by Member Countries
• EP progress reports
4.2 Evidence of increased awareness of environmental and related social issues of the LMB among senior decision makers
• Government policy statements and documents
4.3 Quality of gender responsiveness in implementation and reporting
• Study on progress of integrating gender aspects in Environment Programme activities
4. Capacity building Improved capacity and awareness of environmental issues and cooperation is established supporting a longer‐term sustainability strategy
4.4 Level of active engagement of key national line agencies and other key stakeholders in implementation of relevant MRC core functions and cooperation mechanisms
• Independent mid‐term review of the Environment Programme
The results chain for the Environment Progamme 2011‐2015 is illustrated in Figure 5 from the level of the MRC Strategic Plan Goal 2011‐2015, the Environment Programme Objective 2011‐2015 to the four outcomes which will collectively enable achievement of the objective given the necessary outputs for each outcome to be achieved are delivered. The first outcome is environmental and social data and information collected through monitoring programmes and other studies reported regularly and used for impact assessments of basin developments. The monitoring includes water quality, ecological health, wetlands and biodiversity, peoples livelihood and gender equality assessed through social impact monitoring. The socio‐economic monitoring and assessment system will be reviewed and adjusted in a collaborative effort between BDP, EP, FP, CCAI and FMMP to increase the value of the data collected and improve the social assessments of basin developments. It is of utmost importance that the monitoring data and information is used for impact assessments and identification of mitigation measures in a qualified way, which is why supporting such assessments is also part of the outputs needed to achieve Outcome 1. A continuous
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review and updating of the monitoring system is included to make sure the information is relevant and responding to the needs of the decision making processes. The second outcome is concerned with mechanisms supporting environmental cooperation such as implementation of the Procedures for Water Quality, the Procedures for Notification, Prior Consultation and Agreement and the Transboundary Impact Assessment Guidelines. These are the existing mechanisms supporting IWRM in a regional and national context and these may be supplemented by other guidelines or cooperation tools at later stages. Use of more general impact assessment tools such as SEA, CIA or EIA methodologies to support assessment of basin developments are also included. The third outcome is responding to a need for being proactive and adaptive in a changing world. The rapid development pace as well as climate change are calling for continuous improvement of the knowledge base as well as for specific measures to adapt to climate change which should include considerations on environmental sustainability and effects on peoples’ livelihoods. The approach taken will include not only the known future challenges (like climate change), but all emerging issues engaging early warning principles. The provision of environmental outlooks to support adaptive environmental management and increasing resilience among riparian women and men will increase the capacity to respond to the emerging issues. This is a huge task which can only be achieved if all forces are joined pointing at the importance of outreach and collaboration with other regional institutions and local partners. The fourth outcome recognises the importance of capacity building and regional integration and the need to make sure the regional knowledge is benefitting Member Countries not only at decision making and government level but also the education at university level for longer‐term impacts. Dissemination will increasingly focus on targeting publications and information materials to support stakeholder engagement including translation into riparian languages to improve the access to environmental information of both women and men in Member Countries. The outcome also relates to the longer term sustainability of the environment related activities for which efficient implementation of the MRC core River Basin Management functions is a key element and the wider partnerships and networks are important for coordination of efforts and development and sharing of knowledge and ideas. There are close linkages between the four outcomes – all support and feed back into the others. The information and knowledge support the implementation of the environmental cooperation mechanisms and the capacity to respond to emerging issues provides a much needed proactive approach making sure the knowledge and cooperation is relevant and up to date. Capacity building, awareness raining and engagement of partners are prerequisite for efficient environmental cooperation and in turn provide feedback on needs and gaps that should be addressed.
Output 4.1 Capacity needs assessed and institutional and national capacity strengthened for regional environmental policy making and cooperation Output 4.2 Environmental education plan prepared and implemented Output 4.3 Communications plan prepared and implemented Output 4.4.Long‐term sustainability strategy for MRC environment activities Output 4.5 Appropriate partnerships, institutional arrangements, staffing and capacities are in place within the MRC Secretariat and NMC Secretariats
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Member countries apply basin‐wide IWRM approaches in national water and related sector frameworks and development programmes
Basin management and development in the Lower Mekong Basin is guided by up to date environmental and social knowledge and efficient environmental management cooperation mechanisms.
1. Environmental and socioeconomic data and
information are used to assess and report on the state and developments in the basin and to support assessment and mitigation of potential impacts promoting sustainability of basin developments.
3. Timely response d to emerging
issues is enabled through research and outreach activities engaging national and regional
stakeholders.
4. Improved capacity and
awareness of environmental issues and cooperation is
established supporting a longer‐term sustainability strategy
2. Decision making on basin
developments is based on the use of agreed environmental
management tools
EP Objective 2011‐2015
MRC Strategic Plan Goal 2011‐2015
EP Outcomes 2011‐2015
Output 3.1 The MRC Climate Change and Adaptation Initiative addresses environmental and social sustainability in adaptation planning and implementation Output 3.2 Early warning of negative environmental trends and identified issues addressed Output 3.3 The understanding of the Mekong River ecosystems and environmental outlooks improved to support impact assessments of basin developments Output 3.4 Outreach to stakeholders and engagement in relevant national, regional and international fora
Output 2.1 Implementation of Procedures for Water Quality (PWQ) Output 2.2 Implementation of Transboundary Environmental Impact Assessment (TbEIA) guidelines Output 2.3 Development and implementation of additional tools and mechanisms for regional environmental cooperation
Figure 5. Environment Progamme (EP) results chain.
Output 1.1 Monitoring of the environmental quality and ecological balance of the Mekong River Output 1.2 Socio‐economic monitoring of development impacts on peoples livelihood and poverty reduction Output 1.3 Regional assessment and reporting of environmental and socio‐economic status and trends published regularly Output 1.4 Environmental and social impact assessments of basin developments undertaken Output 1.5 Environmental and socio‐economic monitoring systems updated to reflect the information needs for environmental cooperation and the capacity of the Member Countries
3.2 KEY FEATURES OF THE ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME 2011‐2015 Implementing MRC Core functions The MRC long‐term core functions have been defined to facilitate the transition of the MRC from a situation of strong focus on development of methods, tools and information to a situation of routine implementation of the 1995 Mekong Agreement. The brief description below of the environmental aspects of the seven River Basin Management Functions demonstrates the integration with and responsiveness of the Environment Programme 2011‐2015 outcomes towards the core River Basin Management Functions. Function 1. Data acquisition, exchange and monitoring. Data acquisition, exchange and monitoring
provide a transparent foundation for mitigation of any harmful effects to the environment, especially on water quantity and quality, the aquatic conditions and ecological balance of the river system. The Outcome 1 responds to the River Basin Management function 1.
Function 2. Analysis, modeling and assessment. The assessment function is central to investigating future development scenarios, strategic planning processes and the sustainable management of the basin’s water resources. The Outcomes 1, 2 and 3 are responding to the River Basin Management function 2.
Function 3. Planning support. The formulation of a BDP has the key objective to identify the economic, environmental and social implications of on‐going and proposed developments in the Basin, and build shared views and directions for the sustainable development of the Basin’s water and related resources. The information generated should then guide national planning. The Outcomes 1, 2 and 3 are responding to the River Basin Management function 3.
Function 4. Forecasting, warning and emergency response. This includes contingency planning for pollution incidents addressing emergency situations as well as all aspects of environmental outlooks including impacts of climate change on ecological and social systems. Outcomes 2 and 3 are responding to the River Basin Management function 4.
Function 5. Implementing MRC procedures. Five Procedures have been developed to implement various Articles of the 1995 Mekong Agreement. The Procedures for Notification, Prior Consultation and Agreement (PNPCA) and the Procedures for Water Quality (PWQ) addresses issues of protection of the environment and ecological balance and in broader terms environmental and social sustainability. The Outcome 2 responds to the River Basin Management function 5.
Function 6. Promoting dialogue and coordination. Dialogue on a range of transboundary and regional issues is fundamental to many of the provisions of the 1995 Mekong Agreement including coordination and addressing differences and disputes and resolution and negotiations with the role of the MRC a facilitator. The Outcome 2 and 4 are responding to the River Basin Management function 6.
Function 7. Reporting and Dissemination. Implementation of the 1995 Mekong Agreement requires data and knowledge to inform decision making mentioning in the Agreement specifically the need to maintain databases and conduct studies and assessments. The Outcome 1 and 4 are responding to the River Basin Management function 7.
Moving towards implementation of core functions implies changing the focus from development of new methodologies and tools to application of methodologies and implementation of tools. These are key elements of Outcome 1 and Outcome 2, whereas Outcome 3 on the other hand provides flexibility and adaptability responding to the prospects of future changes for the Mekong River Basin.
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Responsiveness and outreach In a situation where knowledge is continuously being improved and development is taking place at a rapid pace an adaptive approach is needed to be able to tackle emerging environmental issues in the basin which current methodologies, tools and monitoring activities have not yet taken into account. While the overall focus for the next five years is shifting from data, information and particularly tools development to application and use of this wealth of information and tools for environmental management improving knowledge and updating of methodologies and tools to suit the changing Mekong environment are needed. One of the immediate examples is the potential impacts of climate change, and another the possible emerging pollution by toxic chemicals due to industrial development. Environmental outlooks can support environmental management strategies to address problems at early stages and minimize harms. Outcome 3 is designed to respond to those needs. An Annual Technical Symposium possibly organized together with other MRC programmes will bring all partners together to share knowledge and experiences and discuss the ways to move forward. Integrating regional and national level activities The future prospect of the MRC Core functions implementation is a gradual shift in responsibility from regional to national level maintaining at regional level the basin‐wide guidance, overview, analysis and synthesis functions adding value to the national level activities. An increased transfer of activities to national level may also support a stronger integration of environmental efforts at the national level with the regional activities. More close collaboration with line agencies for implementation of MRC core functions would assist this. The environmental and social monitoring and reporting have clear national components, which should be implemented at national level given the necessary national capacity. Regional assessment and reporting synthesizing the national information into a regional overview would add value to the national efforts supporting regional and national decision making. A combination of capacity building with gradual transfer of activities to national level for Water Quality Monitoring over the past 15 years has shown that this approach is feasible and sustainable and increases national ownership and benefits. This approach will be further explored during the next five years. At the regional level guidance, Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC), support to capacity building and synthesis of the national monitoring data and assessment will be provided. The regional assessment and reporting would not only compile the national information, but report according to indicators of key cause‐effect relationships to demonstrate the possible transboundary and basin wide impacts of basin developments and in this way add value to the national level activities. Implementation of the environmental management tools (Outcome 2) including e.g. the Procedures for Water Quality and Transboundary EIA Guidelines also has national as well as regional elements. The Environment Programme 2011‐2015 includes provision for support to implementation through technical assistance, capacity building and facilitation of regional cooperation, which would lead to transfer of national elements to Member Countries and consolidation of regional level activities. Capacity building and awareness raising Capacity building will include increasing expertise, skills and facilities, but equally important providing an improved understanding of the Mekong River Basin environment and increased dissemination of knowledge targeted at the various stakeholders of the basin. The regular reporting providing timely information will support capacity building as well as awareness raising. Targeting information through the use of key messages and similar methodologies to decision makers is envisaged supporting the dialogue between the MRC Member Countries and the dialogue with the Upper riparian countries China
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and Myanmar. Increasing publication in riparian languages of key technical publications and guidelines for national governments, experts and universities and of more general information for the public will be used to serve the dual purpose of capacity building and awareness raising. A capacity needs assessment will be the foundation for institutional strengthening and will include aspects of capacity differences between countries enabling capacity building strategy to include a focus on reducing those gaps. Integration across MRC programmes Efficient implementation of the core River Basin Management functions requires integration across key MRC programmes working towards a common objective and with shared outputs and activities. The common objective is the Goal of the MRC Strategic Plan 2011‐2015. Table 6 outlines the key outputs/activities where integration between the Environment Programme and other MRC programmes and Initiatives for the period 2011‐2015 is essential. The outputs are further elaborated in section 3.3 and the associated activities are shown in the Design and Monitoring Framework in Annex 1. Table 6: Environment Programme outputs/activities integrated with other MRC programmes and Initiatives Environment Programme outputs/activities MRC programme
Outcome 1 Monitoring of the environmental quality and ecological balance of the Mekong River (output 1.1)
IKMP, FP
Socio‐economic monitoring of development impacts on peoples livelihoods and poverty reduction (output 1.2)
BDP, FP
Environmental and social impact assessments of basin developments supported (output 1.4)
BDP
State of the Basin Report 2015 (output 1.3) BDP and all MRC programmes Outcome 2 Implementation of Procedures for Water Quality (output 2.1) MIWRM‐P, NAP Support to the PNPCA process (output 2.3) BDP, IKMP, ISH, MIWRM‐P Outcome 3 The MRC CCAI addresses environmental and social sustainability (output 3.1)
CCAI
Increasing the understanding of cause‐effect relationships for the Mekong River ecosystems using the DPSIR concept and baseline definition (output 3.3)
MIWRM‐P
Valuation of environmental assets and estimation of losses due to environmental degradation (output 3.3)
FP
Assessment of knowledge gaps related to environmental and social issues and implementation of priority actions to fill gaps (output 3.3)
BDP, MIWRM‐P
Outcome 4 Capacity needs assessment and strengthening of institutional capacity (output 4.1)
ICBP
Long‐tern sustainability strategy for MRC environment activities (output 4.4)
BDP, IKMP, CCAI, MIWRM‐P
3.3 OUTPUTS This section summarises the outputs associated with each of the four outcomes clarifying the links between the outputs and highlighting the logic of the Design and Monitoring Framework in Annex 1. The activities associated with each outcome are also presented as part of the Design and Monitoring Framework in annex 1. Detailed planning of the activities will be part of the annual work planning process.
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Outcome 1: Environmental and socioeconomic data and information are used to assess and report on the state and developments in the basin and to support assessment and mitigation of potential impacts promoting sustainability of basin developments. There are five outputs which contribute to Outcome 1: • Output 1.1 Monitoring of the environmental quality and ecological balance of the Mekong River • Output 1.2 Socio‐economic monitoring of development impacts on peoples livelihood and poverty
reduction • Output 1.3 Regional assessment and reporting of environmental and socio‐economic status and
trends published regularly • Output 1.4 Environmental and social impact assessments of basin developments undertaken • Output 1.5 Environmental and socio‐economic monitoring systems updated to reflect the information
needs for environmental cooperation and the capacity of the Member Countries Environmental monitoring will cover water quality and ecological health (biomonitoring) as well as biodiversity and wetland characteristics (output 1.1). The ecological health monitoring will be extended to include fish in collaboration with the Fisheries Programme aiming at creating a linkage between assessment of the river environment and fish biodiversity. The impact assessment exercises undertaken in connection with the BDP scenario assessments and the Strategic Environmental Assessment of Proposed Mainstream Dams demonstrated an additional need for more quantitative records of wetland characteristics/values and of biodiversity to be able to provide status and trends as well as basis and methods to assess potential impacts of developments. Biodiversity assessments methods are furthermore needed to credibly monitor the achievement of the MDG 7 targeting to reduce biodiversity loss. The second area of monitoring is monitoring people’ dependence to the river resources and in particular the impacts of basin developments on people’s livelihoods (output 1.2). This will follow up on the social impact monitoring and vulnerability assessment undertaken during 2009‐2010, which has demonstrated the strong dependence of rural people on the Mekong River resources. This activity will be integrated with activities of the BDP, the FP and support the CCAI activities on socio‐economic vulnerability assessment. A socio‐economic package of activities will be designed engaging these programmes to improve the MRC and Member Country ability to address potential impacts on people’s livelihoods. It will include using existing national data from e.g. statistical offices and engage those offices in the activities. The monitoring information will be published regularly (output 1.3) using indicators illustrating the linkages between the basin developments and the environment and social aspects derived using the concept of the DPSIR model (Figure 1). The indicators are developed under Outcome 3 supporting improved understanding of the Lower Mekong Basin. Annual reporting will be timely for water quality, whereas monitoring and reporting frequency for ecological health, trends in wetland characteristics, biodiversity and social impact and vulnerability assessment will be 2‐5 years. The State of the Basin report will be published each five years to provide a comprehensive overview assessment. In order to facilitate the use of the collected and reported information, impact assessment studies will be undertaken (output 1.4). The monitoring results as well as the findings and recommendations of impact assessments of basin developments will feed back into updating the monitoring systems (output 1.5). Outcome 2: Decision making on basin developments is based on the use of agreed environmental management tools The key area of the Outcome 2 is implementation of mechanisms that will support the environmental cooperation between the four Member Countries including the Procedures on Water Quality, the
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transboundary EIA Framework and other mechanisms that may arise in the future. Four outcomes are envisaged: • Output 2.1 Implementation of Procedures for Water Quality • Output 2.2 Implementation of Transboundary Environmental Impact Assessment guidelines • Output 2.3 Development and implementation of additional tools and mechanisms for regional
environmental cooperation The national implementation and regional cooperation of the Procedures for Water Quality will be supported within the framework of the Mekong Integrated Water Resources Management project (MIWRM) (output 2.1). Key areas to be strengthened are monitoring of toxic pollutants (heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants) and emergency pollution management. Part of the emergency pollution management is closely linked with activities of the Navigation Programme (NAP) looking at hazard identification and sensitivity mapping. The Environment Programme will support he work of the NAP in relation of mapping of sensitive wetland areas and use the hazard identification to suppor the implementation of the Procedures for Water quality. The transboundary EIA guidelines promote regional cooperation with regards to all projects, which may have transboundary impacts and are not covered by the PNPCA process. The output 2.2 supports the implementation of the agreed transboundary EIA Framework by providing coordination, facilitation and technical support. Supporting the PNPCA process will be undertaken together with development of other mechanisms for environmental cooperation as the need arises (output2.3). Support to implementation of more traditional impact assessment tools such as SEA, CIA and EIA is also included. The Outcome 2 builds on the results of the environmental monitoring information (Outcome 1) as well as other studies improving the understanding of the Mekong River system (Outcome 3) and the capacity building of Outcome 4. Outcome 3: Timely response to emerging issues is enabled through research and outreach activities engaging national and regional stakeholders. Outcome 3 is designed to provide the needed adaptive capacity in the rapidly changing circumstances of the Mekong River Basin emphasizing the need to reach out to stakeholders through four outputs: • Output 3.1 The MRC Climate Change and Adaptation Initiative addresses environmental and social
sustainability in adaptation planning and implementation • Output 3.2 Early warning of negative environmental trends and identified issues addressed • Output 3.3 The understanding of the Mekong River ecosystems and environmental outlooks
improved to support impact assessments of basin developments • Output 3.4 Outreach to stakeholders and engagement in relevant national, regional and international
fora. Climate change is one of the future factors expected to significantly affecting the River Basin including the ecosystems, biodiversity and peoples livelihoods. Output 3.1 considers the impact and vulnerability assessment of ecosystems to support adaptation planning for mitigation of key impact as well as environmental and social sustainability of adaptation options planned to mitigate climate change impacts on economic and social systems. This output is implemented as an integrated part of the CCAI Outcome 1 on adaptation planning focusing on development of methods and tools for impact and vulnerability assessment for environmental systems and application of these methods in basin wide pilots and Outcome 3 on strategies and plans where the Environment Programme will consider integration of climate change into environmental management tools. The water quality of the Mekong River is generally good, but the rapid economic development and particularly the rapid planned development of water
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resources warrants use of an early warning approach enabling appropriate management measures to prevent further and widespread deterioration (output 3.2). This could include particular pollutants (e.g. persistent organic pollutants), pollution or physical impacts from specific sectors (e.g. the agriculture, mining, hydropower) or specific hotspot areas of transboundary concerns. Output 3.3 is supporting this by improving the knowledge of the Mekong River ecological and social system dynamics and by providing environmental outlooks for specific topics, sectors etc. Expertise about the Mekong River Basin exists in many different organizations regionally and well as nationally and improvement of the understanding should reach out joining efforts, sharing knowledge and experience and communicating results and findings using among other means the Annual Technical Symposium (output 3.4). Outcome 4: Improved capacity and awareness of environmental issues and cooperation is established supporting a longer‐term sustainability strategy Outcome 4 covers improved capacity through capacity building, awareness raising and networking supported by appropriate institutional arrangements and efficient management for implementation of the Environment Programme 2011‐2015. It has five outputs: • Output 4.1 Capacity needs assessed and institutional and national capacity strengthened for regional
environmental policy making and cooperation • Output 4.2 Environmental education plan prepared and implemented • Output 4.3 Communications plan prepared and implemented • Outputs 4.4 Long‐term sustainability strategy for MRC environment activities • Output 4.5 Appropriate partnerships, institutional arrangements, staffing and capacities are in place These outputs cover capacity building for regional cooperation at national level focusing on the key aspects of the regional environmental activities such as monitoring, assessment and reporting, impact assessment of basin developments and challenges related to climate change and environment (output 4.1). Appropriate approaches and methodologies for capacity needs assessment will be developed in collaboration with the Integrated Capacity Building Programme (ICBP), who will also support the Environment Programme in the design of the capacity building activities responding in a systematic way to the identified needs. The role of the ICBP is facilitation and providing expertise on capacity building. In the context of implementation of Core Functions and the process of transfer of activities to Member Countries, ICBP is responsible for the capacity building and will be working very closely with all the programmes including the Environment Programme. A more long‐term capacity building is planned trough output 4.2 seeking to channel the knowledge and methodologies into the education systems of the four Member Countries mainly focusing at contribution to university curricula providing appropriate material and in some cases key lectures. Dissemination of results in various forms and targeted at various audiences will be guided by the communications plan (output 4.3). Output 4.4 focuses on efficient implementation of the MRC Core functions, designing a long term strategy for the environment related activities and adapting the mode of operation of the Environment Programme to implementation of MRC core functions as they evolve. A roadmap for transfer of activities to Member Countries will be designed for implementation including appropriate capacity building and other support mechanisms. Output 4.5 covers the continued focus on partnerships with other regional organisations and supporting MRC programmes with regards to integration of environmental and social issues in their activities. Engagement of private sector partners will be investigated together with other MRC programmes. Efficient management of the Environment Programme includes performance monitoring and evaluation in line with the MRC performance management system, reporting to the MRC governance system and
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harmonised annual reporting to all donors of the programme. A midterm review of the programme is envisaged to take place in 2013. 3.4 ADDRESSING SUSTAINABILITY The environment related activities are within the core of the MRC to ensure environmental sustainability and equitable use of the water resources. Based on the long term vision for MRC, the sustainability issues in the current development context, Environment Programme implementation experiences and the prospects of the long term MRC river basin management function discussed above, a number of sustainability factors are identified and how they can be addressed described in Table 7 below showing how the sustainability of Environment Programme activities will be enhanced during 2011‐2015. Table 7 : Environment Programme 2011‐2015 sustainability matrix Sustainability factors How sustainability will be enhanced
MRC Member Countries find Environment Programme outputs and cooperation mechanisms relevant and of adequate quality
Two approaches will be use : i) Consultation with line agencies regularly on programme work plan and activity planning; ii) increased integration with national monitoring activities, with national environmental management systems and other national environmental efforts
Capacity building addresses the differences in capacity between the Member Countries
The targeted capacity building activities will address this integration issue
Increased ownership and integration with national processes through continuous transfer of activities to Member Countries
Institutional capacity building includes development and implementation of a plan to transfer monitoring activities to Member Countries. A continued focus on adapting activities towards improved implementation of MRC Core functions will follow up on this with additional elements if necessary.
Partnerships with organisations supporting LMB governments
A range of regional organisations supports capacity building of the LMB countries on a long‐term basis. Improved collaboration with these organisations and increased outreach to discuss knowledge gaps and joint activities to fill those gaps.
Emphasising the benefits of protecting the environment and sustaining peoples livelihoods
Impact and mitigation assessments of basin developments, the social impact and vulnerability assessment activities, activities on determining wetland and biodiversity tends and environmental outlooks will provide demonstration of benefits. Valuation studies of environmental assets will support this as well as a clear target for gender equality promotion in the process to build capacity to be resilient to environmental degradation and climate change.
Methods and activities adapted to the changing Mekong context to maintain high relevance
Outcome 3 is designed to ensure that the Environment Programme activities and outputs adapt to the realities and continuously seek new understanding of the Mekong river basin, which will also contribute to the overall relevance of the programme
Adequate resourcing of environment related activities to deliver the outputs
The Environment Programme budget and activity level has been adjusted downwards compared with previous periods to reflect two facts: i) the relatively long period focusing on development of new tools should be followed by a period focusing on application the tools for regional environmental management; ii) the need to respond in due course to the gradual change towards long‐term core functions and a much leaner Secretariat.
Efficient implementation at MRCS level implementing MRC long‐term core functions
The Environment Programme has been adjusted compared with pervious programmes to reflect the focus on key activities supporting the 1995 Mekong Agreement and the MRC long‐term core functions. The programme design includes provisions for further adjustments for efficient implementation of the MRC core functions.
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3.5 RISKS AND RISK MANAGEMENT The Design and Monitoring Framework risks associated with objective, outcomes and outputs have been analysed a thorough assessment risks and identification of the risk management and mitigation approaches to ensure that risks do not threat the successful implementation are presented in Table 8 and are also included in annex 1. Risks are to the extent feasible managed though integration into the design by creation of additional activities in the Design and Monitoring Framework. These and the remaining risks without a specific activity attached to address the risk facing the successful overall implementation are provided in the matrix in Table 8 together with risk management strategies. The risks and the success of the risk management strategies will be evaluated as part of the annual performance reporting and adjustments to approaches and corrective actions will be taken in connection with the annual work planning. This will be discussed at appropriate levels to identify the necessary adjustments. Table 8: Risk management and mitigation matrix Risks Risk management and mitigation Risk
level
Political Commitment, macro‐economic context
The momentum of economic development and the prospects of short‐term benefits of water resources developments overshadow the longer‐term costs of environmental degradation and lost ecosystem productivity
Government commitment to protection of environment and peoples’ livelihood is weak in practise
Government commitment to integrate climate change adaptation approaches in development planning may be weak.
Some transboundary issues may be too sensitive to attract the needed level of collaboration between LMB countries
This will be addressed by illustrating long‐term losses by wetland valuation studies and in cooperation with the Fisheries Programme and through the Social Impact Monitoring estimate losses due to environmental degradation
Communication targeted at the policy level and high level representation in the Environment Programme Steering Committee is included to raise awareness at policy level. A strong communication strategy and communication resources are included in the design and monitoring framework. The risks related to climate change adaptation are addressed in cooperation with the CCAI.
A range of transboundary issues are tackled through the MRC procedures. These will be further considered through the MIWRM project. Integration with the MIWRM project will facilitate to overcome this risk.
M3
National level
Inadequate coordination at national level and insufficient engagement of relevant line agencies will continue to detach the regional and national efforts
The national level fails to take full responsibility for national level activities according to the agreed long‐term strategy
Transboundary assessments are not sufficiently integrated in national EIA regulation to make the environmental cooperation efficient.
National working groups will be established for key activities engaging national line agencies to improve continuity and formalise the engagement. Stronger collaboration with other regional organisations may also assist in reducing this risk.
Capacity building will support the implementation of the long‐term strategy for environment related activities. Partners from regional organisations will be engaged in supporting this and the Steering Committee will be regularly consulted.
As a supplement to the PNPCA process a Transboundary EIA Framework considers those development projects with potential transboundary impacts not covered by the PNPCA process. To be efficient it needs to be streamlined within the national EIA system.
M3
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Risks Risk management and mitigation Risk level
Regional outreach The goals or mode of operation of proposed partner organisations do not sufficiently match with MRC goals hindering collaboration
MRC fails to be considered as a credible partner by LMB governments, partners and donors
MRC fails to establish commitment and capacity for proactive outreach
Experience from the past years shows potential to increase the engagement, but also that there are limitations. Specific activities are included to strengthen and further develop partnerships with regional organisations.
The key factors to reduce this risk are high quality, transparency, open sharing of information and recognition of relevant issues (e.g. not denying issues)
MRC often has had difficulties in sharing information about the basin. The outreach depends on active sharing of ideas and experiences. Activities are included in the design and monitoring framework and the RMC communications and disclosure policy will facilitate to reduce this risk.
L2
MRC Support
Data and knowledge provided do not adequately support the needs of the Member Countries affecting the environmental cooperation.
The approaches suggested are too complex or the capacity building insufficient to support increased Member country responsibility for implementation
Capacities of Member Countries are too uneven to affecting the efficiency of environmental cooperation.
Universities in the region show no real commitment in incorporating MRC material in their curricula.
The implementation fails to demonstrate contribution to Member Country achievement of the MDGs.
The Mekong River Basin is very complex and the understanding of the dynamics still needs improvement and gender disaggregated data at times will be difficult to obtain. This is incorporated in the design and monitoring framework and cooperation with the BDP to address knowledge gaps and with the MIWRMP to define a baseline will facilitate to reduce this risk.
Provision for revision for the environmental monitoring systems and capacity needs assessment re included in the Design and Monitoring Framework. Some adjustments of the programme may be necessary to reduce this risk following the Independent Review in 2013.
The capacity building will be based on a capacity needs assessment, which should be designed to highlight specific needs of each of the Member Countries to be able to participate efficient in the environmental cooperation. Focusing the capacity building on closing the capacity difference gap as one aspect of capacity building would reduce this risk.
Universities in e.g. Lao PDR and Thailand have supported the Environment Programme implementation and have requested support to integrate methodologies and results in their curricula. A true commitment however has to be demonstrated. Collaboration will be established step by step starting with well known partners to test the feasibility of approaches.
The goal of the MDG 7 on biodiversity is more explicitly integrated in the programme as compared with the past to more explicitly support the Member Countries on this aspect. Gender responsiveness is also included explicitly. Poverty reduction will be monitored indirectly at programme level but considered more specifically at MRC level with Environment Programme contribution.
M2
Implementation and financing
The Environment Programme fails to The Environment Programme 2011‐2015 is focused on the M3
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Risks Risk management and mitigation Risk level
attract sufficient funding because donors are more interested in popular, new topics such as climate change and hydropower development and because donor funding is in general more scarce.
Information needs are more demanding and complex than the monitoring systems can support due to lack of scientific understanding or limitations to funding of activities at national and/or regional level.
core aspects of MRC and has reduced the funding needs compared with the previous period by more than 35%. Integration with other programmes has been made more explicit. The risk of an amputeed environment programme is that the positive impacts of other programmes like the ISH and the CCAI will be reduced.
The level of ambition needs to balance the resources and capacities. Specific activities are included in the Design and Monitoring Framework to identify future data and information needs together with the BDP and other programmes. This would potentially reduce the gap between the information demands and supplies.
Likelihood: L (low), M (medium), H (high); potential impact: 1 (low), 2 (medium), and 3 (high).
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4 MANAGEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION 4.1 IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY The implementation strategy includes a triangle of partners (national level, MRC, other regional organizations) delivering the necessary outputs and processes to reach the MRC vision of environmental and social sustainability. Engagement of private sector partners will be sought together with other MRC programmes.
Regional organizations: e.g. AIT ASEAN, GMS‐EOC IUCN, IWMI, MPOWER, Sea START, Wetland Alliance, World Fish Center, WWF
National institutions NMC
NMC Secretariat National line agencies; Government research
institutions and laboratories; National universities
MRC MRC Secretariat
Figure 6. Implementation partners of the MRC Environment Programme The role of the national partners is implementation of national level activities, the role of MRC is coordination, guidance, technical assistance, regional synthesis and capacity building and the regional organisations support knowledge production, development of new methodologies and tools and capacity building. This overall model would work differently according to the topic and type of activity. The concept is illustrated in Figure 7 where a time dimension has been included suggesting how implementation of the model would support the move towards MRC Core functions gradually increasing the national level responsibility for those activities that can be implemented at that level, reducing the MRC contribution and continuing the role of the regional organizations building capacity at national and regional level. As the MRC Member Country governments’ capacities increase the role of the Environment Programme will shift to coordination, monitoring and reporting. In the longer term the main functions of the Environment Programme will be funded by the annual contributions from respective line agency budgets of the MRC Member Countries. The time frame for reaching this will be beyond the 5 years of the Environment Programme 2011‐2015, but the direction would be set and initial steps taken in support of building capacity and national ownership, and for longer term sustainability reasons. Specific outputs have been included in the design and monitoring framework (output 4.4) to facilitate the definition of the long‐term strategy arriving at a process such as the one illustrated in Figure
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7. This activity (activity 4.4.1) will be implemented integrated with the formulation of the MRC roadmap towards implementation of core functions as indicated in the MRC Strategic Plan 2011‐2015. Networking is seen as a critical aspect of the Programme implementation to achieve the necessary improvements in understanding the Mekong River system and increasing the knowledge base, as an important mechanism to promote information exchange and institutional linkages and as the mot cost efficient way of reaching key outcomes particularly with regards to addressing emerging issues (Outcome 3). It can also play a role in the long‐term strategy of MRC environment related activities (Outcome 4). An Annual Technical Symposium possibly organized together with other MRC programmes will bring all partners together to share knowledge and experiences and discuss the ways to move forward. Environment programme activity 2011‐2015 2016‐2020 2020‐2024 Water quality monitoring, assessment and reporting Ecological health monitoring assessment and reporting
Wetland mapping, inventory, assessment and reporting Biodiversity monitoring, assessment and reporting
Implementation of Procedures for Water Quality Climate change and adaption Early warning of negative environmental trends Improved understanding of Mekong River ecosystems
National level responsible for national implementation, reporting and costs MRC responsible for coordination, guidance, reporting and capacity building
National level responsible for national implementation and reporting with co‐financing costs MRC responsible for coordination, guidance, reporting, capacity building and co‐financing national level costs
National level responsible for national implementation and reporting MRC responsible for coordination, guidance, reporting, capacity building and national level costs
National level participation engaging line agencies and experts MRC responsible for coordination, guidance, technical assistance, capacity building and national level costs
Support by regional organizations
Figure 7: Illustration of a possible model for transfer of responsibility to Member Countries, the role of MRC and regional organizations for a sample of Environment Programme activities Promotion of good environmental governance (including awareness raising, public participation and gender mainstreaming) is a cross‐cutting element of the Environment Programme implementation. The Programme is implemented in accordance with MRC’s Strategy on Public Participation Policy and the MRC Communications Strategy and Disclosure Policy and promotion of good governance in the environmental sector is pursued in all components as far as it is practical and relevant. This allows for linking good governance issues to practical work, which is more likely to have an operational impact than training and discussions in isolation of concrete activities. Examples include the implementation of the Transboundary EIA requiring public participation in a transboundary context and the social impact and vulnerability assessment directly assessing conditions and concerns of communities.
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4.2 INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS The Programme is managed and executed by the MRC through its Secretariat and implemented through the relevant environment line agencies in the four Member Countries coordinated by the four NMC Secretariats and engaging national research institutes, universities and experts where appropriate. The roles and functions can be summarized as below: NMC Advisory body at national level NMCS Coordinating role Line agencies Implementing agency MRCS Regional coordination, guidance, reporting and capacity building National level A Steering Committee for the Environment Programme with high level representatives from the national environment line agencies and NMCs provides guidance for the overall direction and implementation of the programme fostering dialogue and bringing together resources from national and regional level. TOR for the Steering Committee is included as Annex 3. The four countries differ in institutional arrangements and thus there is variation in the arrangements for the NMC Secretariats. The general arrangement includes a national Environment Programme Co‐ordinator as the focal point for coordination and management of implementation at the national level. They assist in engaging with the national line agencies and experts and ensure that activities are implemented in a way that suits the country needs and context. National level working groups/technical bodies with members from national line agencies and the NMC Secretariats have been established covering key areas such as water quality monitoring, Procedures for Water Quality and Transboundary Environmental Impact Assessment to support the implementation, provide continuity and facilitate maximum uptake by the Member Countries. This approach will be continued supporting the transfer of activities to Member Countries. The increase focus on socio‐economic data requires a specific effort to ensure engagement of relevant line agencies (e.g. national statistical offices), which have not previously been substantively engaged in Environment Programme activities. In support of the Steering Committee and to continuously improve national ownership, coordination, and national uptake of the Environment Programme outputs, a Regional Technical Working Group on Environment assists, facilitates and coordinates the technical implementation of the Environment Programme activities. TOR for the Regional Technical Working Group is included in Annex 4. To ensure a close coordination between the MRC Secretariat and NMCSs through programme implementation, the Environment Programme coordinator at the Secretariat will discuss with the national Environment Programme Coordinators of the Member Countries at Regional Programme Coordination Meetings tentatively once every quarter providing updates of the programme activities, discuss quarterly work plans and follow up on progress and achievements. National Mekong Committee (NMC) The National Mekong Committee (NMC) in each of the Member Countries acts as inter‐ministerial/agency organisation for ensuring cross‐sectoral integration and synergy. Through its
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Secretariat, the NMC coordinates the work of the Environment Programme at the national level and provides links between the MRCS and the relevant line agencies in implementing MRC Environment Programme activities. National Mekong Committee Secretariat (NMCS) The NMCSs provide technical and administrative support to their respective Council and Joint Committee Members, and provide a platform for inter‐agency negotiation and discussion. Reporting lines between the NMCSs and the respective national line agencies is often through the national Environment Programme Coordinator stationed at the NMCSs. The NMCSs provide coordination support to other line agencies and the MRCS on all MRC environment activities at the national level. The NMCSs have an active role in leading the formulation of national positions on certain environmental policy issues with close collaboration with relevant environment line agencies. Relevant environment line agencies will lead the discussions on technical perspectives and implementation matters. MRC Secretariat The Environment Division of the MRC Secretariat has the overall management responsibility for the implementation of the Environment Programme 2011‐2015. Co‐ordination with other divisions and sections of the Secretariat is ensured through the internal MRC coordination mechanism e.g. the Programme Coordination Meetings initiated by the Technical Coordination Advisor. As a cross cutting programme the Environment Programme is closely coordinated with the BDP process, with IKMP, the MIWRM‐P and the FP implementing the Core River Basin Management Function of the MRC, while at the same time providing environmental support to the sector programmes as needed (e.g. by ISH, FMMP, NAP). The Environment Programme is interacting intensely with the CCAI by implementing all environmental aspects of the CCAI (see also section 3.2, table 6) and is similarly implementing outputs of the MIWRM‐P. The organisational structure of the Environment Division is presented in Annex 5. The Chief Executive Director of the MRCS with an assistance by the Director of the Environment Division, has direct reporting responsibility of programme implementation for the MRC Joint Committee. The Director of the Division has overall responsibility for the Programme implementation. With support on strategic guidance by the Environment Programme Steering Committee, the senior management of the MRCS will oversee its implementation. The Regional Environment Technical Working Group will provide technical support and facilitation of achievements of the Environment Programme outcomes through its inputs to the Environment Programme Steering Committee. At technical and implementation level, the MRCS Environment Programme Coordinator will work closely with national Environment Programme Coordinators stationed at the NMCSs. The Environment Programme Coordinator supervises and manages the operations of the Programme, and ensures that planning, implementation and reporting on activities is coordinated between MRC programmes within the Secretariat and by the NMCSs with the implementing line agencies. The Programme Coordinator is supported by a Chief Technical Advisor (CTA). Programme Officers covering key areas of the programme manages specific programme activities. TORs for programme positions are included in Annex 6. 4.3 ORGANISATION AND MANAGEMENT The organisation and management includes a high level Steering Committee, and efficient use of coordination mechanisms within the MRCS. The coordination mechanisms at MRCS level are illustrated in Figure 8.
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Environment Programme Steering Committee: The Steering Committee consists of high level representatives from the Member Country line agencies responsible for environment at Deputy Director General level, National Mekong Committee Secretariat at Deputy Director level, the MRC Environment Division Director and Core Development Partners to oversee the strategic direction of the Environment Programme implementation. The focus of the Steering Committee includes progress and necessary adjustments towards achieving the outcomes, sustainability aspects and risk management and how to maximise the national uptake and benefits of the Environment Programme. The Chair of the Steering Committee is the representative of the country chairing the MRC Joint Committee. The Steering Committee meets once a year. Regional Technical Working Group on Environment: Regional Technical Working Group on Environment consists of technical level representatives of line agencies responsible for environment, National Mekong Committee Secretariat representative at technical level, the MRC Environment Division Director, the Environment Programme Coordinator, the Environment Programme Chief Technical advisor and Senior Environmental Specialist. Other MRCS Environment Programme staff will be engaged as appropriate. The focus of its work is technical support to programme implementation, technical inputs, facilitation of national level activities and advice and support with regards to the planned gradual transfer of activities to the Member Countries. Regional Environment Programme Coordination Meeting: Where the MRCS Environment Division Director, MRCS Environment Programme Coordinator and Chief Technical Advisor, National Environment Programme Coordinators will meet regularly tentatively once every quarter to ensure an effective coordination on programme implementation. The programme work plan by quarter and the progress will be discussed and updated. Any problems encountered during implementation of programme activities will be resolved and decided for corrective actions in a timely manner. MRCS Senior Management Meeting: The CEO and the four MRC Division Directors will provide the overall direction and oversight for the Environment Programme at MRCS level. They are responsible for monitoring of progress towards achieving the outcomes, management of risks, overall coordination within MRCS and assessment of suggestions to adjust the implementation and, through the CEO for briefing and progress reports to the MRC Joint Committee and the MRC Council. The MRCS Programme Coordination Meetings are institutionalised through the Technical Coordination Advisor in the Office of the CEO responsible for regular meetings on aspects of coordination and rolling out of specific organisational policies e.g. the performance monitoring system. The Programme Coordination meetings will be used as the overall mechanism for integration with the key MRC Programmes particularly with regards to moving the operation towards the core River Basin Management function.
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MRC Joint Committee
Senior Management
CEO
Environment Division Director
Environment Programme
Coordination with MRC programmes
CCAIIKMPM‐IWRMP ICBP FMMPFP NAP ISH
Steering Committee
Regional Technical WGs
National EP Coordination
NMCs
BDP
Figure 8. Management and coordination 4.4 BUDGET The budget estimate for the Environment Programme is prepared based on experiences of programme funding and implementation, the activities included in design and monitoring framework envisaged to achieve the outputs and outcomes and the longer‐term prospects of moving towards a leaner Secretariat focusing on core functions of monitoring and reporting supporting the Member Countries in applying developed methods and tools. A target sum at 11 million USD has been apportioned among each outcome and its outputs and activities for the five year implementation period. The summary budget is shown in Table 9 according to MRC budget lines. An activity budget showing the expenditures by outcome and output is included in Annex 2. The activity budget shows that: Outcome 1, dealing with environmental monitoring, assessment and reporting accounts for about 27% for the budget Outcome 2, dealing with environmental management tools like e.g. the Procedures for Water Quality accounts for about 18% of the budget Outcome 3, dealing with emerging issues like climate change adaptation and improved understanding of the Mekong River ecosystems accounts for about 22%
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Outcome 4, dealing with capacity building, awareness raising, communication and programme management accounts for about 23 % of the budget. The standard MRC management and administration fee of 11% is applied to the total. Table 9: Summary budget table covering the five year implementation period 2011‐2015. BL Description Budget requirements in USD
11‐00‐00 International Experts / Consultants 1,056,000
12‐00‐00 International Staff (MRCS) 380,000
13‐00‐00 Support Staff 196,000
15‐00‐00 Official Travel 750,000
16‐00‐00 Project Evaluation 190,000
17‐00‐00 Riparian Experts / Consultants 1,025,000
18‐00‐00 Riparian Professional Staff (MRCS) 2,016,000
21‐00‐00 Sub‐contracts 1,272,000
30‐00‐00 Training 1,365,000
41‐00‐00 Expendable Equipments 325,000
42‐00‐00 Non‐ Expendable Equipment 130,000
43‐00‐00 Construction 0
51‐00‐00 Operation and Maintenance of Equipment 45,500
52‐00‐00 Reporting Costs 390,000
53‐00‐00 Miscellaneous 325,000
57‐00‐00 Contingency 450,000
Subtotal 9,915,000
70‐00‐00 MRC management and administration fee (11%) 1,090,000
Total 11,005,000
The proposed distribution over the five year period shows a 35 % decrease in the annual budget from year 2011 to year 2015 reflecting the downwards trend over the years. This trend does not reflect that the need for environment knowledge and expertise to support the integrated management of the Mekong River resources is decreasing, but that more activities are transferred to Member Countries. A way to illustrate this more specifically is being discussed to provide more explicit measures for Member Country contributions. The budget for 2011 is close to the annual budget for 2010. Nine full time professional staff positions at the MRC Secretariat and two support staff positions are envisaged for the Environment Programme 2011‐2015 implementation. These are (see also annex 5 for description of key qualifications of professions staff):
• Programme coordinator • Chief Technical Advisor (international position until end of 2012) • Senior environmental specialist
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• Five programme officers covering water quality, aquatic ecology and biodiversity, wetlands and biodiversity, environmental policy and management, social science.
• Communications officer (part time) • Programme secretary • Administrative Assistant
Compared with the 2006‐2010 programme this demonstrates a strengthening of wetland and biodiversity expertise and communication. The position as senior environmental specialist is a riparian position as opposed to an international position in the previous programme. Initial funds are available from support provided by AFD (2009‐2012), support from AusAID through the MIWRM project, funding from the Sida 2010 extension budget and funding has been pledged from Danida to support the Environment Programme 2011‐2015. The funding picture is shown in Table 10 indicating a funding gap at US$ 6.575 million. Table 10. Environment Programme funding for 2011‐2015 committed and pledged by 2010 Funding committed and pledged USD AusAID to MIWRM (2011‐2014) 925,000 Danida 2,000,000 AFD (2009‐2013) 525,000 Sida transfer from 2007‐2010 agreement (est.) 440,000 Sida transfer Climate Change (est). 540,000 Total 4,430,000 Funding gap 6,575,000 The key inputs to the environment Programme will include the following: Staff time – this includes both the full‐time staff as well as the required technical staff inputs associated with studies, guidance and pilot projects. Consultancies – Consultant companies and individual consultants may be contracted to undertake specific tasks. These include studies, impact and vulnerability assessments, preparation of guidelines, training and mentoring. Following the completion of the riparinisation process international support is envisages through increased recruitment of short‐term consultants for specific and general tasks. Consultation and coordination meetings – consultation meetings constitute one of the principal forms of discussing and disseminating the results and future challenges. These include the annual meeting as well as the regular consultations and workshops related to the programme activities. It also covers the expenses related to technical, partner and donor coordination. Training events – these include the expenses related to training courses, exchange visits, study tours, Publications – monitoring reports, study reports, State of the Basin report, guidelines and manuals. Communication – publicity material, interactive website, media events, newsletter Travel and logistics associated with meetings, training events Documentation and secretariat expenses – covering the costs of preparing documentation for meetings and the running of the Environment Programme. 4.5 WORK PLAN An Inception Phase will take place during the first three months of implementation where the following aspects will be sorted out: consultations and development of partnership arrangements with key regional partners, feasibility of inclusion of new (private sector) partners, review of the programme performance
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management system particularly the performance indicators to adjust the indicators to provide key information in a cost‐efficient manner. An annual work plan will be prepared for each calendar year in accordance with MRC procedures. The key products and/or milestones for the outputs are shown below where relevant (Table 11). Some products can be defined at this stage whereas other outputs depend on needs and the developments in the basin and have a more continuous character, which is then indicated. Table 11. Key products and/or milestones for the Environment Programme implementation Output Key products and milestones 1.1 Monitoring of the environmental quality and ecological balance of the Mekong River
Water quality monitoring annually; Ecological health monitoring 2011 and 2014; Biodiversity indicators by mid 2012; Biodiversity monitoring by mid 2013; Methodology to evaluate wetland changes by mid 2012; wetland assessment by end 2013.
1.2 Socio‐economic monitoring of development impacts on livelihood and poverty reduction
Completion of the 1st basin‐wide baseline survey of social impact monitoring by end of 2011;
Completed methodology description by end of 2011; 2nd social impact monitoring survey by 2014.
1.3 Regional assessment and reporting of environmental and socio‐economic status and trends published regularly
Outline of indicator based environmental monitoring report by end 2011;
Indicator based environmental monitoring reports 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015;
Social impact monitoring reports 2011, 2014; State of the Basin report 2014.
1.4 Environmental and social impact assessments of basin developments supported
Continuous support to basin development assessments Further development of environmental flows assessment approaches by end 2013
1.5 Environmental and socio‐economic monitoring systems updated to reflect the information needs for environmental cooperation and the capacity of the Member Countries
Continuous review process according to needs
2.1 Implementation of Procedures for Water Quality
Strengthening of the water quality monitoring capacity aligned with the requirements of the PWQ by end 2015
Establish capacity for water quality emergency cooperation by end 2013 Continuously support PWQ reporting and review
2.2 Implementation of Transboundary Environmental Impact assessment guidelines
Continuously support implementation of the Transboundary Environmental Impact assessment guidelines including reporting and review
2.3 Development and implementation of additional tools and mechanisms for regional environmental cooperation (beyond PWQ and TbEIA)
Continuously supporting the PNPCA process
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Output Key products and milestones 3.1 The MRC Climate Change and Adaptation Initiative addresses environmental sustainability in adaptation planning and implementation
Climate change impact and vulnerability assessment tools for biophysical systems by 2011 and updated by end 2012.
Climate change impact and vulnerability assessment tools for social systems by 2012 and updated by end 2013.
Basin‐wide adaptation planning process for ecosystems and biodiversity pilot completed by end 2012.
Guide to integrate regional and transboundary environmental issues into adaptation planning by 2014
Guide to integrate climate change into SEA and EIA processes by end 2011;
3.2 Early warning of negative environmental trends and identified issues addressed
Diagnostic study for toxic contaminants in the Mekong riverine environments by end 2011.
Continuous support to early warning 3.3 The understanding of the Mekong River ecosystems and environmental outlooks improved to support impact assessments of basin developments
Indicators describing cause‐effect relationships between Mekong river environment and basin developments by mid 2011.
Valuation studies of environmental assets Environmental outlooks in 2011 and 2014. Studies on environmental issues
3.4 Outreach to stakeholders of the basin and engagement in relevant national, regional and international fora
The Annual Technical Symposium Presentations at regional and international meetings, workshops and conferences
4.1 Institutional capacity strengthened in regional environmental policy making and cooperation
Capacity needs assessment by end 2011 Training sessions Continuous dissemination of key messages
4.2 Environmental education plan prepared and implemented
Environmental education plan by end 2012 Dissemination of learning material
4.3 Communications plan prepared and implemented
Communications plan by mid 2011 Updating of MRC web site Publication of MRC technical papers Publication of easy to read material in riparian languages
4.4 Long‐term sustainability strategy for MRC activities
Roadmap for activity transfer to Member Countries by end 2012 and updated regularly
Plan to transfer monitoring activities to Member Countries 4.5 Appropriate partnerships, institutional arrangements, staffing and capacities are in place within the MRCS and NMC Secretariats
Inception report by April 2011. Roadmap to improve gender responsiveness of Environment Programme activities
Monitoring and reporting on Environment Programme implementation regularly
Independent review by 2013. 4.6 MONITORING AND REPORTING
There are three levels of monitoring and reporting for the Environment Programme. These are: 1. Status of environmental and social sustainability of the Mekong River Basin– this covers the
collection and analysis of data on the status of the environment, the pressures and the driving forces of change and the impacts on wetlands, biodiversity and peoples livelihoods. The reporting will apply the DPSIR framework for clear illustration of cause‐effects relationships. The environmental policy responses and compliance with environmental objectives will also be included.
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2. Impact of the Environment Programme on environmental sustainability of Basin developments – this level reflects the achievement of the objective and outcomes measuring the extent to which the Environment Programme has influenced aspects such as national policies and plans, regional environmental cooperation, promoted adequate consideration of environmental and social aspects in regional and national IWRM planning and management for the Mekong River Basin, the performance addressing the emerging issues of the Basin and the sustainability of the overall work of the Environment Programme.
3. Progress and performance of the Environment Programme implementation – monitoring of the process of implementing the programme, and products or deliverables against set targets and dates at output level. Reporting on progress would be every six months following a harmonised format for all donors.
Three sets of indicators are used for reporting:
• Indicators for programme performance at objective, outcome and outputs level included in the Design and Monitoring Framework (Annex 1) developed in line with the methodologies and principles of the MRC Performance Management System.
• Indicators at MRC level aimed at monitoring the performance of the MRC Strategic Plan 2011‐2015 implementation (indicators for the Environment Programme shown in Table 3)
• Indicators for environmental status and trends developed using the DSPIR framework for the cause‐effect relationships between development (driving forces) and impacts.
The MRC currently has no formal Quality Assurance (QA) procedures, although there are internal peer review procedures whereby management functions and outputs are supervised, vetted and “signed‐off”. Quality assurance and quality control procedures are applied to the key the environmental monitoring systems and will be further developed over the next five years. The following reports that will support monitoring of the programme performance will be produced by the Environment Programme:
1. The State of the Basin Report to be published in early 2014 and regularly monitoring reports of the environmental status and trends.
2. An annual performance assessment report focusing on the impacts of the Environment Programme on achieving the environmental and social sustainability of basin developments and programme achievements and performance at objective and outcome level, assessment of risks and assumptions and by reflecting on the progress propose any necessary adjustments to the implementation. This report is targeted at serving the management information needs of the Steering Committee and the senior strategic coordination at MRCS. It will be submitted for consideration by the MRCS Senior Staff prior to submission to the Steering Committee.
3. Six‐monthly progress report prepared by the Environment Programme outlining what has been done in the past six months, how much has been spent on which activities, assessment of changes in progress and performance indicators at output level, issues and problems that have arisen. An update of the annual work plan to reflect adjustments necessary for the next six months will be included in the mid‐year progress report. This report will be submitted for consideration by the MRCS Senior Staff before being submitted to the Environment programme donors.
An independent mid‐term review and evaluation of the Environment Programme is planned for 2013.
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5 LIST OF REFERENCES MRC (2009). MRC Stakeholder engagement policy. Draft. Mekong River Commission, Vientiane Lao PDR. MRC (2010). State of the Basin Report 2010. Mekong River Commission, Vientiane Lao PDR. UNEP (2007). Global Environment Outlook. GEO‐4 environment for development. UNEP (2006). UNEP Gender Action Plan
Annex 1. Design and Monitoring Framework for the Environment Programme 2011‐2015 Design Summary
Indicator Source of Data Risk
MRC Long‐term Goal
Member Countries manage water and related resources of the Mekong Basin in an effective, sustainable and equitable way
Environmental laws, policies and plans integrate basin‐wide aspects and environmental cooperation mechanisms Decision making on development projects with transboundary or basin‐wide implications have effectively and equitably balanced the economic benefits and the environmental and social impacts and costs
National environmental law, policies and management EIA reports of development projects; reports from the PNPCA process; JC and Council meeting minutes
The momentum of economic development and the prospects of short‐term benefits of water resources developments overshadow the longer‐term costs of environmental degradation and lost ecosystem productivity
SP Goal 2011‐2015
Member countries apply basin‐wide IWRM approaches in national water and related sector frameworks and development programmes
IWRM planning and management approaches consider impacts on environmental flows, water quality, ecosystem health and productivity, biodiversity, values of wetlands and peoples dependence on ecosystems.
National water resources planning and management for the Mekong River Basin
Governments commitment to protection of environment and peoples’ livelihood is weak in practise
Programme Objective
Basin management and development in the Lower Mekong Basin is guided by up to date environmental and social knowledge and efficient environmental management cooperation mechanisms.
Joint Committee, Council and Member Country line agencies recognise the influence and value of environmental and social knowledge and tools in improving environmental management Transboundary and basin wide environmental and social issues are addressed and effectively solved
JC and Council meeting minutes Progess reports for implementation of MRC procedures and other environmental cooperation mechnisms
Some transboundary issues may be too sensitive to attract the needed level of collaboration between LMB countries
Outcomes
1.1 State of the Basin report published regularly to provide a comprehensive overall basin status and development assessment
State of the Basin report 2014 1. Environmental and socioeconomic data and information are used to assess and report on the state and developments in the basin and to support assessment and
1.2 The extent to which the regular environmental and social monitoring assessment and reporting is used by national line agencies to support their participation in environmental
Assessment of agency responses to and use of MRC outputs
Data and knowledge provided do not adequately support the needs of the Member Countries affecting the environmental cooperation.
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Design Summary Indicator Source of Data Risk
cooperation of the LMB mitigation of potential impacts promoting sustainability of basin developments.
1.3 The extent to which the data and information adequately supports the basin wide and transboundary development assessments including the transboundary environmental impact assessments
Reports on basin wide and transboundary assessments of development projects and plans Progress reports on the implementation of the transboundary environmental impact assessment guidelines
2.1 Transboundary cooperation on environmental impact assessment follow the TbEIA Framework
Annual progress report on implementation of the transboundary impact assessment guidelines
2. Decision making on basin developments is based on the use of agreed environmental management tools
2.2 The extent to which the cooperation framework for implementation of the procedures for water quality adequately supports the environmental cooperation on water quality aspects
Annual progress report in implementation of procedures for water quality
The approaches suggested are too complex or the capacity building insufficient to support increased Member country responsibility for implementation
3.1 Evidence that the methods, tools and results identified/developed to assess biophysical and socio‐economic impacts of climate change and to assess vulnerability of ecosystems and communities have been used by key line agencies for adaptation planning for the Lower Mekong Basin
Triennial status report on Climate change and adaptation in the Lower Mekong Basin
3.2 Level of satisfaction by key stakeholders with CCAI performance on environmental sustainability promotion
Interview with responsible line ministries in LMB countries plus key regional professional organizations on their satisfaction on CCAI’s performance on environmental sustainability
3 Timely response to emerging issues is enabled through research and outreach activities engaging national and regional stakeholders
3.3 Extent to which national policies and plans on climate change adaptation incorporate appropriate environmental protection measures
National policies and plans on climate change adaptation
MRC fails to be considered as a credible partner by LMB governments, partners and donors
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Design Summary Indicator Source of Data Risk
3.4 The ability of MRC to timely identify and address emerging issues and provide environmental outlooks related to water quality, ecosystem health and productivity and biodiversity
Independent mid‐term review of EP
4.1 Extent to which environmental and social monitoring systems are transferred to Member Countries and environmental cooperation mechanisms implemented by Member Countries
EP progress reports
4.2 Evidence of increased awareness of environmental issues of the LMB among senior decision makers
Government policy statements and documents
4.3 Quality of gender responsiveness in implementation and reporting
Study on progress of integrating gender aspects in Environment Programme activities
4. Improved capacity and awareness of environmental issues and cooperation is established supporting a longer‐term sustainability strategy
4.4 Level of active engagement of key national line agencies and other key stakeholders in implementation of relevant MRC core functions and cooperation mechanisms
Independent mid‐term review of EP
Inadequate coordination at national level and insufficient engagement of relevant line agencies will continue to detach the regional and national efforts
Outputs
IO 1 Environmental and socioeconomic data and information are used to assess and report on the state and developments in the basin and to support assessment of potential impacts promoting sustainability of basin developments.
1.1.Monitoring of the environmental quality and
l i l b l f th M k
Water quality monitoring results published timely each year Monitoring reports and database at the MRC data portal
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Design Summary Indicator Source of Data Risk
Ecological Health monitoring results published timely each year
Monitoring reports and database the MRC data portal
Monitoring of status and trends of biodiversity of aquatic systems published regularly every 3‐5 years
Methodology report on biodiversity indicators expressing key elements in halting the loss of biodiversity including data collection system. Monitoring reports and database at the MRC data portal
Mapping and evaluation of wetland area and quality related to biodiversity conservation and livelihood support published regularly every 2‐3 years
Updated wetland map at the MRC data portal Monitoring report on wetland area and quality of key wetland areas
Activities
1.1.1 Water quality monitoring of agreed parameters, at agreed locations and frequency/time following specified QA/QC procedures
1.1.2 Ecological health monitoring using agreed methods including fish, at agreed locations and frequency/time following specified QA/QC procedures
1.1.3 Development of biodiversity indicators expressing key elements of halting the loss of biodiversity in the LMB including methodologies for data collection and establishment of baseline
1.1.4 Monitoring status and trends of biodiversity using developed indicators and assessment methods
1.1.5 Establish methodology to evaluate change in wetland quality with regards to supporting biodiversity, production and livelihoods, establish baseline for selected key wetland sites and develop extrapolation methodologies to evaluate changes in wetland quality
1.1.6 Monitor changes in wetland area and quality using mapping techniques to estimate change in area and the established methodology to evaluate changes in wetland quality
1.2 Socio‐economic monitoring of development impacts on peoples livelihood and poverty reduction
Monitoring of social impacts and vulnerability of communities highly dependent on the Mekong River water and water related resources published regularly every 4‐5 years
Methodology and monitoring reports and database at the MRC data portal
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Design Summary Indicator Source of Data Risk
The extent to which the results of the social impact monitoring and vulnerability assessment support the basin wide and transboundary development assessments
Reports on basin wide and transboundary assessments of development projects and plans
Activities
1.2.1 Complete the 1st full survey of the social impact monitoring and adjust the monitoring programme based on the survey results
1.2.2 Finalise the documentation and methodology description of the social impact monitoring and vulnerability assessment programme
1.2.3 Establish and test methodologies to estimate values of selected socio‐economic indicators (output 3.3) based on survey data and secondary socio‐economic data from data sources in the MRC Member Countries in collaboration with BDP and FP
1.2.4 Social impact monitoring and vulnerability assessment using agreed methods, at agreed locations and frequency/time following specified QA/QC procedures
Indicator based environmental monitoring and assessment report published annually
Environmental monitoring and assessment reports
Social impact and vulnerability assessment report published regularly
Social impact and vulnerability assessment reports
1.3 Regional assessment and reporting of environmental and socio‐economic status and trends published regularly
State of the Basin report published in 2014 State of the Basin report 2014
Activities
1.3.1 Design the outline, format and layout of the annual indicator based environmental monitoring and assessment report
1.3.2 Prepare the annual indicator based environmental monitoring and assessment report
1.3.3 Design the outline, format and layout of the regular socio‐economic monitoring and assessment report together with BDP and FP
1.3.4 Prepare the socio‐economic monitoring and assessment report regularly (every 4‐5 years)
1.3.5 Prepare the State of the basin report 2014
1.4 Environmental and social impact assessments of basin developments undertaken
Environmental flows assessment methodologies used for assessment of relevant development projects
EP progress reports and BDP reports
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Design Summary Indicator Source of Data Risk
The extent to which MRC programmes and key stakeholders in Member Countries appreciate and use the support for basin development impact assessments
Independent mid‐tern review of EP
Activities
1.4.1 Identify the needs for support to assessment of basin developments with potential basin wide or transboundary implications in cooperation with other MRC programmes and stakeholders in the Member Countries
1.4.2 Conduct selected assessments of basin developments with potential basin wide or transboundary implications
1.4.3 Further develop environmental flows assessment approaches and methodologies supporting assessments of basin developments with potential basin wide and transboundary implications
1.4.4 Build capacity in the use of environmental flows assessment methodologies relevant for assessing basin developments with potential basin wide and transboundary implications
Evidence that monitoring results adequately support implementation of the procedures for water quality (PWQ), procedures for notification, prior consultation ad agreement (PNPCA) and the transboundary environmental impact assessment guidelines (TbEIA)
Annual progress reports on implementation of the PWQ, PNPCA and TbEIA Minutes of JC and council meetings
1.5 Environmental and socio‐economic monitoring systems updated to reflect the information needs for environmental cooperation and the capacity of the Member Countries
The extent to which monitoring results provide data and information to calculate environmental and socio‐economic indicators and adequately support BDP basin wide assessments
Indicator based environmental monitoring and assessment reports BDP basin development assessment reports
Information needs are more demanding and complex than the monitoring systems can support due to lack of scientific understanding or limitations to funding of activities at national and/or regional level
Activities
1.5.1 Clear description of the environmental and social impact monitoring systems are established covering methodologies, location, frequency/time and QA/QC procedures
1.5.2 The environmental and social monitoring systems are reviewed and if necessary revised based on experiences of implementation, newly established knowledge, experiences with implementation of environmental cooperation mechanisms and basin development assessments.
IO 2 Decision making on basin developments is based on the use of agreed environmental management tools
Implementation of Procedures for Water Quality
Water quality sampling, testing and measurement undertaken in accordance with the Technical Guidelines for
Water quality monitoring report Annual progress report on
Capacities of Member Countries are too uneven affecting the efficiency of
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Design Summary Indicator Source of Data Risk
Protection of Human Health and Aquatic Life implementation of PWQ
Water Quality in the Mekong River Basin complies with standards of the Technical Guidelines for PWQ
Annual monitoring and assessment report
Water quality emergency cooperation is established and able to respond to water quality emergencies in accordance with the provisions of the Technical guidelines for water quality emergency management
Annual progress report on implementation of PWQ
environmental cooperation.
Activities
2.1.1 Review the current state of preparedness for implementation of the PWQ and identify actions needed to overcome technical and policy related constraints in transfer of implementation of PWQ and its Technical Guidelines to Member Countries
2.1.2 Strengthen the water quality sampling, testing and measurements to bring it in line with the provision of the Technical Guidelines for Protection of human health and aquatic life
2.1.3 Strengthen the capacity for cooperation on water quality emergency management
2.1.4 Implement identified actions to support implementation of the PWQ
2.1.5 Establish and implement appropriate measures for managing the PWQ including updating mechanisms
Development projects in the LMB are screened for potential triggering of the TbEIA Framework
EIA procedure in the MRC Member Countries
Transboundary cooperation on environmental impact assessment follow the TbEIA Framework and use the Technical guidance
Annual progress report on implementation of the TbEIA Guidelines
2.1 Implementation of Transboundary Environmental Impact assessment guidelines
The institutional support adequately supports the environmental cooperation for transboundary environmental impact assessment.
Survey at national EIA departments and NMC Secretariats
Transboundary assessment is not sufficiently integrated in national EIA regulation to make the environmental cooperation efficient.
Activities
2.2.1 Review the current state of preparedness for implementation of the TbEIA Guidelines and identify actions needed to overcome technical and policy related constraints in transfer of implementation to Member Countries
2.2.2 Implement identified actions to support implementation of the TbEIA
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Design Summary Indicator Source of Data Risk 2.2.3 Regularly update the TbEIA Technical Guidance to include new information, methods and tools
2.2.4 Establish and implement appropriate measures for managing the TbEIA
Needs for additional environmental and socioeconomic assessment tools assessed
Workshop reports 2.2 Development and implementation of additional tools and mechanisms for regional environmental cooperation (beyond PWQ and TbEIA)
Identified priority tools developed and capacity in its use built
Guidelines and training material
Activities
2.3.1 Support to implementation of the PNPCA
2.3.2 Review and asses performance of existing tools and guidelines for socio economic and environmental impact assessment
2.3.3 Consult with stakeholders and confirm the need for and purpose of socioeconomic and environmental impact assessment guidelines
2.2.4 Building on existing procedures, guidelines and guidance documents identify and implement activities which will lead to the introduction of priority transboundary impact assessment guidelines which suit LMB Country requirements and are in harmony with national policies
2.2.5 Capacity building in the use of impact assessment tools
IO 3 Timely response to emerging issues is enabled through research and outreach activities engaging national and regional stakeholders
CCAI pilot and demonstration activities include environmental aspects e.g. water quality, wetlands and biodiversity
Pilot and demonstration site adaptation planning reports
Environmental impact assessment tools at regional level integrate climate change aspects
Transboundary EIA and SEA guidance
3.1 The MRC Climate Change and Adaptation Initiative addresses environmental and social sustainability in adaptation planning and implementation
National governments include adaptation considerations in SEA and EIA procedures
Nation EIA and SEA guidance
Government commitment to integrate adaptation approaches in development planning may be weak.
Activities
3.1.1 Methods and tools are identified/developed for climate change impact assessment of biophysical systems
3.1.2 Methods and tools are identified/developed for climate change vulnerability assessment of women and men in particular and the society at large.
3.1.3 Basin‐wide adaption planning process for selected natural systems
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Design Summary Indicator Source of Data Risk 3.1.4 Preparing a guide to integrating regional/transboundary environmental issues into national adaptation plans
3.1.5 Preparing guidelines for integrating adaptation into SEA and EIA, including their use of EIAs for assessing the impacts of adaptation options
3.1.6 Developing, testing and disseminating adaptation planning and implementation training materials
3.1.7 Conducting training courses for trainers in the use of adaptation planning and implementation tools
Environmental monitoring and assessment reports highlight any emerging trends and provide recommendations for action when relevant
Environmental monitoring and assessment reports
3.2 Early warning of negative environmental trends and identified issues addressed
The extent to which recommended actions are followed up be e.g. studies, workshops, monitoring activities, updating of impact assessment tools
Study reports, workshop reports, monitoring reports
Financial limitations may reduce the value of this output.
Activities
3.2.1 Diagnostic studies on water quality focusing on e.g. persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals; nutrient dynamics; hot spot pollution will by conducted timely
3.2.2 Identified emerging trends are discussed with stakeholders to prioritise actions to address the concerns
3.2.3 Priority actions implemented and results reflected in monitoring systems and impact assessment tools where relevant
Environmental indicators linking driving forces, pressures, state impact and responses for water and water related resources established to support regional assessments and reporting
Environmental indicator methodology report describing a DPSIR indicator system for the Mekong River environment including data collection and indicator reporting methodologies
Environmental outlooks produced for selected issues Environmental outlook publications
3.3 The understanding of the Mekong River ecosystems and environmental outlooks improved to support impact assessments of basin developments
Studies on environmental issues based on recommendations of Mekong River basin wide assessments and transboundary concerns expressed by MRC stakeholders
Study reports
Financial limitations may reduce the value of this output.
Activities
3.3.1 Development of environmental and social indicators including indicators for gender resposiveness using the DPSIR framework to strengthen capacity and increasing the understanding of the cause–effect relationships for Mekong River Basin developments
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Design Summary Indicator Source of Data Risk 3.3.2 Valuation studies of environmental assets and estimation of losses caused by environmental degradation
3.3.3 Development and publication of environmental outlooks for key issues
3.3.4 Assessment of knowledge gaps based on the BDP scenario assessment, the SEA of Mainstream dams and other relevant basin wide and transboundary activities
3.3.5 Identified knowledge gaps are discussed with stakeholders to prioritise studies, expert workshops or other mechanisms to fill knowledge gaps.
3.3.6 Implementation of prioritised actions to fill knowledge gaps in collaboration with regional and national partners
The annual technical meetings are considered relevant and discuss the key environmental and social issues
Proceedings if annual technical meeting including participants evaluation
No of papers/presentations annually at national, regional and international conferences
EP progress reports
3.4 Outreach to stakeholders and engagement in relevant national, regional and international fora
No. of interns and JRP in EP EP progress reports
MRC fails to establish commitment and capacity for proactive outreach
Activities
3.4.1 Organisation of an annual technical meeting discussing environmental and social status ad trends and knowledge for the Mekong River Basin
3.4.2 Presentation of EP results at national, regional and international conferences and workshops
3.4.3 Support to and engagement with graduate, postgraduate students, interns and trainees
IO 4 Improved capacity for regional environmental cooperation and increased awareness on environmental issues in the LMB
Awareness of environmental cooperation mechanisms of senior decision makers of LMB increased
Survey of perception at national level
Technical capacity to implement environmental and social monitoring systems in place
QA/QC reports of monitoring activities
4.1 Capacity needs assessed and institutional and national capacity strengthened in regional environmental policy making and cooperation
Technical capacity and national institutional framework to implement environmental management tools in place
EIA procedures in Member Countries Progress reports on TbEIA Guideline implementation Review statements of TbEIA reports
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Design Summary Indicator Source of Data Risk Activities
4.1.1 Following capacity needs assessment conducting a series of training sessions and workshops on emerging environmental issues, areas of improved understanding of the Mekong River system, innovative tools for environmental management, gender mainstreaming etc.
4.1.2 Quality assurance and quality control mechanisms implemented for all monitoring activities
4.1.3 Implementation of the institutional support component of the transboundary impact assessment guidelines
4.1.4 Dissemination of key messages on environmental and social issues of the LMB as well as the value of methodologies and tools to support environmental cooperation through publication of policy briefs, promotion at Steering Committee meetings and MRC governance level meetings and active participation in regional environmental policy related workshops, seminars and conferences
Environmental education plan in place Progress report
No. of universities in LMB using MRC material in environmental education
University survey
4.2 Environmental education plan prepared and implemented
No. of university classes studying environmental sciences, engineering or similar visiting MRCS or requesting MRCS to provide lectures
EP progress report
Universities in the region show no real commitment in incorporating MRC material in their curricula.
Activities
4.2.1 Preparation an environmental education plan
4.2.2 Implementation of the environmental education plan including a.o. support to university curricula, inviting students to MRCS, providing lectures
4.2.3 Preparation and dissemination of learning material based on developed methodologies and results from EP implementation
Communications plan in place EP progress report; communication plan
Number of times media refer to MRC environmental information; Number of press releases on environmental topics
MRC record of press releases and media surveys
The relevance and interest shown for the EP website Website record of hits; website updating record
4.3 Communications plan prepared and implemented
Proportion of information booklets, River Report Cards and other overview material published in riparian languages
MRC website – publications
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Design Summary Indicator Source of Data Risk Activities
4.3.1 Preparation and updating of the EP communication plan
4.3.2 Regularly updating the EP website in line with the MRC website policies
4.3.3 Publication of key results in the MRC technical paper series
4.2.4 Publication of easy to read booklets, brochures etc translated into riparian languages to support awareness raising
The feasibility of the roadmap and the progress of its implementation compared with the intention expressed in the principles of the MRC Long‐term Core Functions
EP progress reports Independent mid‐term review of EP
The degree of transfer of environmental and social monitoring and national assessment and reporting responsibilities and activities to Member Countries according to plans
EP progress reports
4.4 Long‐term sustainability strategy for MRC environment activities
The extent to which EP is able to integrate it activities with other programmes to fulfil its role in the MRC River Basin Management function
EP progress reports MRC reports on progress of implementing the core River Basin Management function
The national level fails to take full responsibility for national level activities according to the agreed long‐term strategy
Activities
4.4.1 Development of a roadmap for gradual transfer of environment activities to Member Countries in line with the principles of the MRC Long‐term Core Functions
4.4.2 Preparation of a plan to transfer activities to Member Countries including capacity needs assessment
4.4.3 Implementation of activity transfer plan including training and capacity building according to capacity needs
4.4.4 Adapt the EP outputs and activities to a continued focus on MRC core functions
4.4.5 Regularly updating the roadmap
4.5 Appropriate partnerships, institutional arrangements, staffing and capacities are in place within the MRCS and NMC Secretariats
The relevance and responsiveness of the EP as perceived by key partners and stakeholders
Interview with responsible line ministries in LMB countries and key regional professional organizations on their perception of EP with regard to relevance and responsiveness
The goals or mode of operation of proposed partner organisations do not sufficiently match with MRC goals hindering collaboration The Environment Programme fails
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Design Summary
Indicator Source of Data Risk
The satisfaction of other MRC programmes with EP interaction and support
Independent mid‐term review of EP
The level of progress of achieving outputs and outcomes EP progress reports Independent mid‐term review of EP
to attract sufficient funding because donors are more interested in popular topics such as climate change and hydropower development and/or because donor funding is in general more scarce.
Activities
4.5.1 Inception report detailing partnership arrangements, feasibility of inclusion of new (private sector) partners, review of the programme performance management
4.5.2 Establishing and maintaining partnerships, working relations and joint activities with key regional partner organisations
4.5.3 Establishing and maintaining partnerships, working relations and joint activities with private sector partners
4.5.4 Development and implementation of a roadmap to improve gender responsiveness in environment programme activities
4.5.5 Efficient and adaptive management of the EP team and resources
4.5.6 Coordination with MRC programmes providing cross cutting support on environmental and social issues
4.5.7 Establishing and implementing a harmonised system of monitoring and reporting in line with MRC procedures
4.5.8 Conducting a comprehensive independent mid‐term review of the EP in 2013
Annex 2. Detailed cost estimates per output
No Output 2,011 2,012 2,013 2014 2015
USD% of total
Outcome 1 2,920,000 26.53 710,000 745,000 560,000 460,000 445,000
1.1Monitoring of the environmental quality and ecological balance of the Mekong River
1,250,000 11.36 375,000 325,000 250,000 150,000 150,000
1.2Socio‐economic monitoring of development impacts on peoples livelihood and poverty reduction
525,000 4.77 125,000 125,000 125,000 100,000 50,000
1.3Regional assessment and reporting of environmental and socio‐economic status and trends published regularly 345,000 3.13 75,000 60,000 25,000 75,000 110,000
1.4Environmental and social impact assessments of basin developments undertaken
650,000 85,000 210,000 135,000 110,000 110,000
1.5Environmental and socio‐economic monitoring systems updated to reflect the information needs for environmental cooperation and the capacity of the Member Countries 150,000 1.36 50,000 25,000 25,000 25,000 25,000
Outcome 21,895,000 17.22 475,000 455,000 360,000 335,000 270,000
2.1 Implementation of Procedures for Water Quality 1,070,000 9.72 325,000 275,000 195,000 145,000 130,0002.2 Implementation of Transboundary Environmental Impact assessment guidelines 410,000 3.73 110,000 75,000 75,000 75,000 75,000
2.3Development and implementation of additional tools and mechanisms for regional environmental cooperation 415,000 3.77 40,000 105,000 90,000 115,000 65,000
Outcome 32,470,000 22.44 665,000 550,000 390,000 450,000 415,000
3.1The MRC Climate Change and Adaptation Initiative addresses environmental sustainability in adaptation planning and implementation 985,000 8.95 225,000 260,000 150,000 175,000 175,000
3.2. Early warning of negative environmental trends and identified issues addressed 425,000 3.86 205,000 55,000 55,000 55,000 55,0003.3 The understanding of the Mekong River ecosystems and environmental outlooks improved to 640,000 165,000 130,000 115,000 115,000 115,000
3.4Outreach to stakeholders of the basin and engagement in relevant national, regional and international fora 420,000 3.82 70,000 105,000 70,000 105,000 70,000
Outcome 42,630,000 23.90 660,000 480,000 595,000 450,000 445,000
4.1Capacity needs assessed and institutional and national capacity strengthened in regional environmental policy making and cooperation 635,000 5.77 130,000 145,000 135,000 115,000 110,000
4.2Environmental education plan prepared and implemented
260,000 2.36 40,000 55,000 55,000 55,000 55,000
4.3Communications plan prepared and implemented
285,000 2.59 85,000 50,000 50,000 50,000 50,000
4.4Long‐term sustianability strategy for MRC activities
350,000 3.18 60,000 35,000 85,000 85,000 85,000
4.5Appropriate partnerships, institutional arrangements, staffing and capacities are in place within the MRCS and NMCS 1,100,000 9.99 345,000 195,000 270,000 145,000 145,000
SUB-TOTAL9,915,000 2,510,000 2,230,000 1,905,000 1,695,000 1,575,000
MRC management and administration fee (11% of total budget) 1,090,650 11.0 276,100 245,300 209,550 186,450 173,250
GRAND TOTAL 11,005,650 2,786,100 2,475,300 2,114,550 1,881,450 1,748,250
Total 2011-2015
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Annex 3. Environment Programme Steering Committee Terms of References
TERMS OF REFERENCE
FOR
THE ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME STEERING COMMITTEE
1. Introduction The Lower Mekong River Basin has a population of approximately 60 million and the great majority of the inhabitants are farmers and fishermen, depending directly on the natural resource base. The integrity of the Basinʹs ecology is vital to their social, cultural and economic wellbeing. The Environment Programme responds to the Article 3 of the Mekong 1995 Agreement: Protection of the Environment and Ecological Balance as well as the Article 7: Prevention and Cessation of Harmful Effects. The focus is current and emerging regional and transboundary environmental issues with the aim to maintain the health of the river through a strategy of environmental monitoring, assessment, knowledge compilation, information dissemination, awareness raising and capacity building to support the MRC Member Countries. The Steering Committee of the Environment Programme is set‐up to facilitate the Joint Committee in ensuring the programme implementation in line with agreed objectives. This TOR provides in detail the objectives, responsibilities and functions of the Steering Committee, its composition, procedures to convene and undertaking meetings as well as other operational matters. 2. Scope of work The scope of the Environment Programme Steering Committee is to oversee the implementation of the current Environment Programme covering the following key aspects: (1) environmental monitoring, assessment and reporting; (2) environmental management mechanisms; (3) responding to emerging environmental issues; (4) Capacity building, awareness raising and partnerships. 3. Objectives of the Environment Programme Steering Committee The objective of the Steering Committee is to: • oversee and monitor the implementation of the Environment Programme, • facilitate the cooperation and coordination of activities of the MRC Member Countries to ensure
protection of the environment and ecological balance of the Mekong River Basin • make recommendations to achieve the objectives of the Environment Programme. The objective and scope of the Environment Programme Steering Committee will be achieved by fostering dialogue and by bringing together resources of both national line agencies and National Mekong Committees, with the management and technical capacity of the MRC Environment Programme. Because of the high level in government of its members, the Environment Programme Steering Committee will be able to translate decision made by the Committee into national legislation of MRC Member Countries. 4. Functions and tasks of the environment Programme Steering Committee
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4.1Function The function of the Environment Programme Steering committee is to oversee the Environment Programme implementation and to report on its outcomes ad implementation t the MRC Joint Committee as required. The MRC Secretariat will provide secretarial and administrative services to the Steering Committee as and when required, and technical assistance through the MRC Environment Programme, in support of its function. 4.2 Tasks
1. Report to and advise the Joint Committee on key and current issues related to protection of the environment and ecological balance of Mekong River basin based on national knowledge, experiences and practices in the Member Countries of the MRC
2. Provide vision and guidance on the management and strategic direction of the Environment Programme in line with the overall MRC Strategic direction and Member Country needs
3. Advise the MRC Secretariat and the MRC Environment Programme on the implementation of the programme workplan and activities with an aim to achieve the programme goal and objectives.
4. Oversight of the implementation of the MRC Environment Programme to ensure its deliverables benefit the Member Countries
5. Facilitate and support the use of established tools, methodology, procedures, knowledge and information, and guidelines to support national legislation, practices and actions as appropriate.
6. Provide coordination and cooperation among national line agencies responsible for environment and related issues, and their research and development institutions, for dissemination of decisions, plans and actions derived to achieve the objectives of the MRC Environment Programme
7. Review and advise on outputs and actions undertaken to achieve the development goals of the MRC Environment Programme
8. Evaluate the performances and achievements of the Environment Programme. 9. Attend and promote the outputs at the Environment Programme Annual Technical Meeting and
regional environmental events 5. Composition and chairperson of the Environment Programme Steering Committee 5.1 Members The permanent and ad hoc membership of the Environment Programme Steering Committee will be as follows:
1. Four permanent members from each of the MRC Member Countries - Three members will be nominated by the national line agencies responsible for
environment and natural resources; they will come from different line agencies/ departments; of whom one will be at the Deputy Director‐General level
- One member will be a representative at Deputy Director or Director level of the National Mekong Committee Secretariat.
2. The Environment Division of the MRC Secretariat: the Director, the Environment Programme Coordinator and the Environment Programme Chief Technical Advisor.
3. The Development Partners funding the Environment Programme will be observers at the Steering Committee meetings.
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4. Ad hoc advisors or ad hoc observers nominated by respectively NMCs or the Environment Division Director as necessary
5.2 Chairperson The chairperson of the Steering Committee will be as follows:
1. The Environment Programme Steering Committee will be chaired by a senior permanent national member of the Steering Committee from the MRC Member Country hosting the meeting.
2. The Chairperson will be given secretarial assistance from the MRC Secretariat through the MRC Environment Programme on a regional level, and through the National Environment Programme Coordinator on a national level.
6. Meetings of the Environment Programme Steering Committee Meetings and venues of the Environment Programme Steering Committee will be as follows:
1. The Steering Committee will meet at least once per year 2. The venue of a meeting will be decided by the Environment Programme Steering Committee at
its preceding meeting 3. Meetings of the Environment Programme Steering Committee will be attended by all Member
Countries 4. Decisions of the Environment Programme Steering Committee will be made based on consensus
principles. 5. Steering Committee meetings will be convened by the MRCS in consultation with the Member
Countries. 6. The country hosting a meeting of the Environment Programme Steering Committee will assist the
MRC Environment Programme in making local arrangements for the meeting 7. Meeting announcement, the proposed agenda and documentation for each meeting will be sent
to all members of the Environment Programme Steering Committee by the Environment Programme at least one month before the commencement of the meeting date
8. The MRC Environment Programme will cover the costs for facilities, travel and per diem for all members and agreed observers attending official meetings of the Environment Programme Steering Committee
9. The MRC Environment Programme will serve as the Rapporteur at the Environment Programme Steering Committee meetings; and provide administrative support for the meetings
The proceedings of the Environment Programme Steering Committee meetings will be prepared as minutes and will together with any other relevant reports be submitted to the Joint Committee for consideration through the CEO of the MRCS. 7. Amendment of the TOR of the Environment Programme Steering Committee Any amendment of the TOR of Environment Programme Steering Committee may be raised and proposed by any of the permanent members of the Environment Programme Steering Committee and is subjected to approval by the MRC Joint Committee.
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Annex 4. Terms of References for the Regional Technical Working Group on Environment
TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR
THE REGIONAL TECHNICAL WORKING GROUP ON ENVIRONMENT
1. Background The Lower Mekong River Basin has a population of approximately 60 million and the great majority of the inhabitants are farmers and fishermen, depending directly on the natural resource base. The integrity of the Basinʹs ecology is vital to their social, cultural and economic wellbeing. The Environment Programme responds to the Article 3 of the Mekong 1995 Agreement: Protection of the Environment and Ecological Balance as well as the Article 7: Prevention and Cessation of Harmful Effects. The focus is current and emerging regional and transboundary environmental issues with the aim to maintain the health of the river through a strategy of environmental monitoring, assessment, knowledge compilation, information dissemination, awareness raising and capacity building to support the MRC Member Countries. The Regional Technical Working Group on Environment provides technical support to programme implementation, technical inputs, facilitation of national level activities and technical advice and support with regards to the planned gradual transfer of activities to the Member Countries. 2. Objectives: Serving as a forum for the MRC Secretariat, the National Mekong Committees (NMCs) and national line agencies to coordinate and agree at the regional level on all matters relevant to achieving the Environment Programme objective, which is defined as: “Basin management and development in the Lower Mekong Basin is guided by up to date environmental and social knowledge and efficient environmental management cooperation mechanisms”. 3. The scope of work: The scope of work of the Regional Technical Working Group on Environment is technical support and facilitation of achievement of the Environment Programme outcomes: (i) Implementation of the environmental and social impact monitoring activities, environmental
reporting, continuous capacity building in and transfer of monitoring activities to the Member Countries.
(ii) Technical assistance to implementation of environmental decision support tools such as the Transboundary Environmental Impact Assessment Guidelines, Procedures for Water Quality and other mechanisms that may be established under the Environment Programme.
(iii) Support and assistance to respond to emerging issues like impacts of climate change on the ecosystems and ecological balance of the River, persistent pollutants and other potentially emerging issues
(iv) Support to capacity building, awareness raising and environmental cooperation and support the design and implementation of the longer‐term sustainability strategy for the Environment Programme implementation (roadmap for implementation of core functions).
4 Functions and tasks of the Regional Technical Working Group on Environment 4.1 Function
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The function of the Regional Technical Working Group on Environment is to provide technical support and advice for effective programme implementation, facilitation of implementation at national level and advise the Environment Programme Steering Committee as requested on technical matters. 4.2 Tasks
1. Report to and advise the Steering Committee on key and current issues related to protection of the environment and ecological balance of Mekong River basin based on regional monitoring, assessment and reporting; national knowledge, experiences and practices in the Member Countries of the MRC and information available from other sources (regional organisations, universities, NGOs, etc.)
2. Facilitate and support the use of established tools, methodology, procedures, knowledge and information, and guidelines to support national legislation, practices and actions as appropriate and hereby increasing the capacity for regional environmental cooperation.
3. Support and facilitate improved synergies between the regional and national level environment activities, removing the sense of detachment between national and regional level activities and hereby increase the benefits to the national level.
4. Support the efforts to improve the understanding of the Mekong River ecosystems and reduce the significant knowledge gaps on e.g. wetland values, biodiversity tends , nutrient cycling, toxic substance pollution as well as improving the ability to construct and use environmental outlooks in environmental management and decision making.
5. Support the design and implementation of a roadmap of gradually transferring activities to MRC Member Countries as an important element in moving towards implementation of MRC Core Functions.
6. Engage with the MRC Environment Programme on the implementation of the programme workplan and activities with an aim to achieve the programme outputs.
7. Review and advise on outputs, actions and products undertaken to achieve the outcomes of the MRC Environment Programme
8. Attend and promote the outputs at the Environment Programme Annual Technical Meeting and regional environmental events
5 Composition and Meetings
The Regional Technical Working Groups for Environment shall be composed of four members from each Member Country and four members from the MRC Secretariat representing the Environment Division and Programme. Four permanent members from each of the MRC Member Countries
– Three members will be nominated by the national line agencies responsible for environment and natural resources; they will come from different line agencies/ departments and should cover the areas mentioned above on the scope of work; of whom one will be at the Director level
– One member will be the Environmental Programme National Coordinator of the National Mekong Committee Secretariat.
The Environment Division of the MRC Secretariat:
– The Director of the Environment Division, the Environment Programme Coordinator, the Environment Programme Chief Technical Advisor and the Senior Environmental Specialist.
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The Director of the Environment Division will serve as Convener, while the Environment Programme Coordinator, assisted by the Chief Technical Adviser and Senior Environmental Specialist, will provide secretarial support. The meetings shall be convened regularly as decided by its members or as directed by the Steering Committee. Participation of other ad hoc members can take place from time‐to‐time in accordance with the requirements of specific subjects under discussion.
5 Decisions and Reporting The Regional Technical Working Group for Environment will make decisions by consensus. Any pending issue shall be submitted to the Environment Programme Steering Committee for instruction and decision. The Regional Technical Working Group for Environment shall prepare minutes after each meeting, review its activities, conclusions and recommendations and distribute them to all members. The Regional Technical Working Group for Environment shall prepare an annual report to the Steering Committee regarding its activities and review of the appropriateness and applicability of procedures, guidelines and other tools and relevant Environment Programme documents with recommendations for amendments if necessary.
6. Modification of the Terms of Reference
The Regional Technical Working Groups for Environment may recommend modifications to this TOR to the Environment Programme Steering Committee. Any modifications of these TOR shall be approved by the Environment Programme Steering Committee.
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Annex 5. Structure of the Environment Division
Climate Change and Adaptation Initiative Office of Climate Change and Adaptation
Environment Programme Coordinator
Chief Technical Advisor
Programme Officers
Administrative assistant
Programme Secretary
Division Director Secretary
Line of command Support
Environment Division Director
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Annex 6. Job descriptions for key Environment Programme Staff The Environment Programme Coordinator
• Heading the EP Team at the MRC Secretariat; • Managing and coordinating all technical, administrative and financial activities to ensure the
effective and efficient implementation of the program in full compliance with all applicable donor funding agreements, the Program document and MRCS procedures and standards;
• Manging the programme’s budget and preparing report to the Director, Environment Division, and donors;
• Preparing progress reports (including financial reporting) and other routine reports in accordance with MRCS procedures and specific requirements of the program;
• Allocates and administers the use of the programme budget with the authorization from Division Director.
• Preparing Term of Reference and allocates budgets for employment of program staff and consultants, and oversees recruitment of staff and consultants;
• Coordinating and mobilizing the resource and personnel requirements for the main activities of the EP;
• Developing and managing the EP training and guidance on its planning and implementation; • Providing EP‐related information to the CEO, the National Mekong Committees, and other
related MRCS programs; • Undertaking general advocacy, promotion and dissemination of EP project and its current
outcome with stakeholders and civil society and support NMC Secretariat EP coordinators in the same effort at national level;
• Undertaking liaison and exchange information with other EP‐related international and regional projects, programs and initiatives;
• Maintaining regular communication with NMCs, NMCS‐EP team, and other EP‐related line agencies in MRC Member Countries; and
• Performing any other duties to the coordination and management of EP implementation and as assigned by the CEO and Director of Environment Division.
Chief Technical Advisor
• Supervises EP programme officers and specialists (both riparian and international) and consultants, particularly concerning technical aspects;
• Supports the Programme Coordinator in coordinating and implementing program activities, organize and facilitate in preparing the implementation plan;
• Drafting inception report, progress reports, and completion report and other routine reports in accordance with MRCS procedures and specific requirements of the program;
• Drafting Term of Reference for employment of program staff and consultants; • Drafts, formulates and updates the EP implementation plans, projects/programs preparations
etc.; • Develops curriculum of the EP training program and guidance on its planning and
implementation;
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• Guides and coordinate the establishment and improvements of EP databases, and link with IKMP;
• Advises on concept notes design and preparation, and check the quality of concept notes and TOR before submission to member countries for comments.
• Guides and coordinates the establishment of network with other International River Organizations, regional initiatives and develop the coordination mechanism;
• Coordinating and communication with senior management officials of the MRC programs and stakeholders for knowledge sharing and dissemination of EP results and outcomes; and
• Guiding and supporting general advocacy, promotion and dissemination of EP project and its current outcome with stakeholders and civil society;
• Provides on the job training to POs on technical issues; • Performing any other duties related to the coordination and implementation of EP Program
as assigned by the Program Coordinator and Director of Environment Division
The Senior Environmental Specialist
• Supports and facilitates the work of the Environment Programme providing technical and management inputs to all aspects of the work under the programme;
• Ensures the substantive quality of the Environment Programme and the overall MRCS work, as it relates to environmental matters;
• Assists and supports environment programme officers to implement Environment Programme activities upon assignments by the programme coordinator;
• Assists the programme coordinator in coordinating, implementing and reporting program activities and organize and facilitate preparing the implementation plan;
• Supports the senior programme managers in their coaching, advise and working together with environment programme officers through the implementation of respective programme activities and actions
• Collaborates and works with the Chief Technical Advisor, Programme Coordinator and Division Director to ensure the required environmental knowledge, skills development, knowledge transfer and mentoring to support the programmes full responsibility and mandate through riparianization and implmentation of the next MRC Strategic plan;
• Proactively assists in identifying, collecting, analysing and reporting on environmental information critical for decision making and the public;
• Performs any other duties as assigned by the Environment Division Director. Wetland/Aquatic Ecosystems Management Specialist (Programme Officer)
• Provides leadership and technical advice on wetland ecosystem issues, especially in the areas of wetlands ecology, wetland valuation, and related wetland climate change issues of the Environment Programme;
• Provides technical inputs to wetlands ecology, wetland valuation and wetland GIS mapping, and wetland climate change activities (preparation of TOR , workshops, proposals, plans, reports, and training courses etc);
• Initiates and manages connections with organizations and projects involved with wetland ecosystem and wetland climate change related issues relevance to the MRC including the ADB Mekong Wetlands activities, ADB‐GMS Strategic Environment Framework, the Wetlands Alliance programme, WWF and Wetlands International;
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• Assess the technical quality of outputs related to wetland ecosystem management and wetland climate chnage, and suggest changes or revisions as appropriate;
• Prepare progress reports with regard to the wetland and wetland climate change activities and other routine reports requested by the supervisor; and
• Performs other duties as assigned by the supervisor. Aquatic ecology specialist (Programme officer)
• Provides leadership and technical advice on aquatic ecosystems and biodiversity issues, especially in the areas of aquatic biology, aquatic biological monitoring, biodiversity conservation, ecosystem services and related issues of the Environment Programme;
• Provides technical inputs to aquatic ecosystems and biodiversity issues, especially in the areas of aquatic biology, aquatic biological monitoring, biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services (preparation of TOR , workshops, proposals, plans, reports, training courses etc);
• Initiates and manages connections with organizations and projects involved with aquatic ecosystems issues, especially in the areas of aquatic biology, aquatic biological monitoring, biodiversity conservation, ecosystem services and related issues relevant to the MRC;
• Assess the technical quality of outputs related to aquatic ecosystems issues, especially in the areas of aquatic biology, aquatic biological monitoring and biodiversity, ecosystem services and suggest and undertake revisions as appropriate;
• Prepare progress reports with regard to the aquatic ecosystems and biodiversity issues, especially in the areas of aquatic biology, aquatic biological monitoring, biodiversity conservation activities, ecosystem services and other routine reports requested by the supervisor; and
• Performs other duties as assigned by the supervisor. Senior Social Science (Programme Officer)
• Assists in the organisation, planning and implementation of the social science components of MRC Environment programmes, including surveys and analysis and compilation of existing information;
• Formulates short and long‐term policies related to Environment Programme, and assess the programme’s activities;
• Assists, supervises and evaluates consultants and technical advisers in the implementation of Environment Programme activities;
• Reviews and edits (as necessary) technical reports pertaining to social issues for the Programme;
• Works as a team member in the overall planning, implementation management and reporting of Environment Programme activities;
• Facilitates inter‐institutional co‐ordination and collaboration, and secures full involvement of the appropriate management levels;
• Manages administrative tasks related to key duties (preparation/reviewing TORs, draft reports, etc.); and
• Performs other related duties as required by the supervisors. The Environmental Policy and Management Specialist (Programme Officer)
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• Assists in the organisation, planning and implementation of the environmental policy and management components of Environment Programme, including surveys and analysis and compilation of existing information;
• Assists, supervises and evaluates consultants and technical advisers in the implementation of Environment Programme activities;
• Reviews and edits (as necessary) technical reports pertaining to social issues for the Programme;
• Works as a team member in the overall planning, implementation management and reporting of Environment Programme activities;
• Facilitates inter‐institutional co‐ordination and collaboration, and secure full involvement of the appropriate management levels;
• Manages administrative tasks related to key duties (preparation/reviewing TORs, draft reports, etc.); and
• Performs other related duties as assigned by the supervisor. The Water Quality Specialist (Programme Officer)
• Assists in the organisation, planning and implementation of the water quality components of MRC EP programmes, including surveys and analysis and compilation of existing information;
• Assists, supervises and evaluates consultants and technical advisers in the implementation of Environment Programme activities;
• Reviews and edits (as necessary) technical reports pertaining to water quality issues for the Programme;
• Works as a team member in the overall planning, implementation management and reporting of Environment Programme activities;
• Facilitates inter‐institutional co‐ordination and collaboration, and secures full involvement of the appropriate management levels;
• Manages administrative tasks related to key duties (preparation/reviewing TORs, draft reports, etc.); and
• Performs other related duties as required by supervisors. Communications Officer
• Develops and updates the communication plan for the EP under the framework of the MRC communications strategy and disclosure policy;
• Ensures a high quality implementation of the communications plan targeted at policy level as well as public awareness raising
• Promotes environmental knowledge and information sharing in collaboration with MRC programmes and national and international partners
• Prepares the Annual Technical meeting of the EP in close collaboration with the EP Team. • Closely collaborates with other communication officers in MRC ICCS, assists with
publication output of the MRC EP; supports the Web Administrator of the ICCS in matters of EP website design and content, in maintaining and updating the EP website;
• Closely collaborates with other MRC Programmes in relation to stakeholder engagement. • Prepares and writes articles, press releases, speeches, newsletters, annual reports, posters,
brochures and other similar publications to promote the MRC EP and its activities; • Responds to media, manages information flows in response to information requests;
undertakes writing and translation functions where capable, promotional functions including
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but not limited to media relations; production of print and web‐ready materials relating to the EP activities;
• Assists with preparation and distribution of external communications, with awareness raising and partnership activities;
• Assist in work with external partners, NGOs, international organizations and other stakeholders in establishing and maintaining partnerships;
• Liaises with the media and with information/communication officers in other relevant organisations;
• Assists in producing key communications materials of the EP in four riparian languages; • Performs other duties as assigned by the supervisor.
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