by Piyaporn Hawiset
26 January 2002
Experts from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, and consultants from the Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) discussed measures for sustainable development of the Mekong River basin at a seminar in Phnom Penh. At the January 23-25, 2002 seminar, jointly organised by the Mekong River Commission (MRC) and the CGIAR, participants also discussed how to combine economic development with environmental protection.
They pointed to the need to collect data for research and analysis of socio-economic mechanisms, and ecosystem and political regimes of the Mekong sub-region, thus facilitating sustainable development in the region.
The participants shared information on water resources and ecosystems for the development of projects on water utility, development and environmental protection in the basin. They also dealt with how to help MRC member countries to mitigate floods and control salt and alum water. Vietnamese experts presented the seminar with experiences on irrigation work and the building of hydro-electric power plants. They spoke of problems Vietnam faces in flood control, environmental protection and poverty eradication.
According to Trinh Hoang Ngan, head of the Vietnam National Mekong Committee Office in Ho Chi Minh City, the seminar made progress in defining the demands of each country lying in the Mekong Basin, based on the agreement signed by MRC members in 1995 on multilateral co-operation for sustainable development in the basin.
The Mekong sub-region consists of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.