Mekong River Basin now facing unprecedented challenges, says Vietnamese PM
The Mekong River Basin is currently facing unprecedented challenges that need to be addressed soon to ensure water security and support sustainable development of countries in the region, said Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the fourth Mekong River Commission (MRC) summit in Laos.
Addressing the summit that opened in Vientiane on April 5, Chinh pointed out major challenges faced by the region due to the synergistic effects of climate change, economic development pressure and the rapid increase in water use, and said those impacts are becoming more and more severe in the downstream areas of the Mekong Delta in Vietnam.
He cited recent studies saying saline intrusion in the Mekong Delta tends to occur one or one and a half months earlier than usual with a larger area and greater intensity. It is predicted that by 2040, the delta would have less than five million tonnes of sediment per year, down more than 9 times now and nearly 30 times compared to 15 years ago.
This will directly affect the livelihoods of more than 20 million people living in the basin, as well as efforts to ensure water and food security for countries in the basin, he warned.
The PM called on Mekong basin countries to renew their cooperation thinking and coordinate actions to meet urgent requirements.
The Mekong River is winding and meandering, but the attitude towards the river is always clear and transparent, for the sake of the ecological environment, the interests of the resident community and the responsibility to future generations, he stressed.
The PM reaffirmed the strong commitment to upholding the 1995 Mekong Agreement, as well as the rules on water use, considering this as the basis for all actions of the MRC and its member countries.
He underlined the need to place the people at the centre of the decision making process, to ensure sustainable livelihoods and enhance the adaptability and resilience of each resident as well as the whole community to rapid changes.
An overview of the fourth MRC Summit in Vientiane, Laos, on April 5.
In his view, the MRC needs to promote its active role in other sub-regional cooperation frameworks, especially in providing information, data and knowledge about the basin and its services, to help other sub-regional cooperation mechanisms effectively implement their activities.
To this end, he proposed that the MRC coordinate with its dialogue partners China and Myanmar to build a monitoring system for water exploitation and use in real time in the basin to promptly inform riparian countries, helping them proactively respond to unexpected fluctuations, water quality problems, floods and droughts, and other water-related emergencies.
In addition, the Vietnamese leader suggested that MRC members and dialogue partners cooperate in promoting the development of green economy, circular economy, and renewable energy resources, contributing to sustainable development, ensuring energy security and responding to climate change.
The Prime Minister also called on stakeholders to assist the MRC with finance, expertise and modern technology to undertake its initiatives as a means of meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and international commitments on climate change.
The MRC Summit is the highest level political event in the MRC calendar that takes place every four years. It gathers the heads of governments of the four member countries (Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos) and political leaders from dialogue partners and development partners to review Mekong cooperation and provide strategic directions.
