2016 GMekong Forum - S07 - From MRC to LMCM

Prof. Daming He Asian International Rivers Center, Yunnan University

From MRC to LMCM towards health economy and health river in GMS: the core mechanism- the transboundary compensative mechanism for water benefit-sharing

2016 Greater Mekong Forum，9-11 November 2016 Bangkok, Thailand，Prince Palace Hotel

1.ChallengesofTransboundaryRiverBasinManagementundertheglobalChange

The utilization and management of transboundary rivers between China and its downstream countries are strongly linked with the water security, food security, energy security, and eco-security in Asia.

Daming He, et al, 2014-07

Thehealthofthesetransboundaryrivershavebeeninfluencedbyamultitudeofdrivers,suchasclimatechange,landuse,cascadedams,roadsystems,navigationandoil/gaspipesdevelopment,slopinglandcultivation,mineralexploration,andurbanizationsince1990s.

l Theriversaretypicallylarge,highlyvariableandunpredictablesystems(includingseveredroughtandfloodrisk),

l withhighpopulationsandpopulationdensities;l likelyparticularlysusceptibletoclimatechange;l politicalcomplexity(typicallyhavingmultipleriparianstateswithunstablerelationships);and

l thetransbouncarywaterissuesinfluencedbyamultitudeofdrivers.

Many‘worldclass’challengesundertheglobalchange

The key and crital challenge: Transboundary Compensative Mechanism at basin-wide level has been missed.

Thegeographicloca-ondecidesthedistribu-onofmemberstatesfortheUNWatercoursesConven-on.

Map of State Parties to the UN Watercourses Convention, 2014.05

Of the 35 ratifications: the vast majority are from either Africa (12) or Europe (16); only two from Asia, None from the Middle East region, none from American.

All the ratifications are almost from the downstream countries and quite few from upstream countries. The two ratifications in Asia, Vietnam and Turkemenistan, for example, are the absolute downstream countries (In Mekong and Arad).

Why do the transboundary geo-issues control the world wide implementation of UN Watercourses Convention? Why do the upstream countries, the vast majority of more than 150 co-riparian countries of trasboundary waters in the world, refuse to sign the treaty and to cooperate at a basin-wide level?

The transboundary compensative mechanism (TCM) has been missed among the co-riparian countries, especially between the upstream countries and the downstream countries.

2.FromMRCtoLMCM:Anewcomprehensivemechanismforriverbasin-regioncooperaFon

The fragmentation of Lancang-Mekong river system and its fragmented environmental governance among the riparian countries have been the key challenge of GMS sustainability since 1990s.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang: The Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Mechanism comes as a natural result of our existing cooperation, and will take full advantage of our close geographic proximity, traditional friendship and complementary economies (Chinadaily, 2016.03.23).

The LMCM, established in 2016, is the first whole river basin cooperation mechanism initiated by the six riparian countries in the basin.

l connectivity l production capacity l cross-border economic

cooperation l water resources l Agriculture and poverty

alleviation

The five priority areas

LMCM covers much more broad cooperative areas than MRC’s.

l politicalandsecurityissues

l economicandsustainabledevelopment

l social,culturalandpeople-to-peopleexchanges

The three cooperation pillars

In LMCM, China will be a major driver to facilitate the upstream-downstream cooperation for the regional transboundary water security.

3.TransboundaryCompensaFveMechanismforWaterBenefitSharing

The water resources collaboration was arranged as a flagship filed in the LMCM. It is clear that the LMCM offers a new opportunity to develop the Transboundary Compensative Mechanism (TCM) for water benefit-sharing towards health economy and health river, basin-wide, to motivate the riparian countries for sustainable cooperation.

We do not know how and where the LMCM and MRC to go, but we really hope:

LMCM Improving

Platforms: Great Mekong Forum, Mekong Wetland Network, FAIR (Forum of Asian International Rivers), WSP, ….. TWSP: Transboundary Watershed Sharing Partnership

MRC Reforming

Platforms Integrating

CooperationCoordination

A River Council

A S&T Committee

A TWSP

If so, we will have the cooperative conditions to develop the TCM of water benefit sharing among co-riparian

countries towards the health river and health economy in GMS, under the LMCM.

(1) Establishing the new mechanism of water governance; (2) Developing the transboundary eco-compensative

mechanism related to water utilization and conservation;

(3) Establishing the mechanism of integrated operating system of cascade dams in the river basin

(4) Expanding the sharing mechanism of data, information, knowledge and technologies; … … .

ThankYou!