Experts at a conference in Chiang Rai held out hope that future
transborder water conflicts such as the one over Laos' Xayaburi dam will be
dealt with in a more inclusive and sustainable manner, but the concept is still
in its infancy in the region
In a conference room in Chiang
Rai recently, more than 100 water experts from around the world put their heads
together to try to find new approaches to dealing with transborder water issues
more effectively. Jargon flew about the room, especially the term "hydro
diplomacy". Not surprisingly, a topic on everyone's lips was the Xayaburi
dam project in in Laos, where last Wednesday, despite strong protests from
locals and environmentalists and unsettled points of contention among Mekong
River Commission (MRC) member states, Laos suddenly proceeded with a
ground-breaking ceremony at the construction site to mark the official start of
the project.
At the conference, Dr Robert
Mather, with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), said
the Xayaburi dam project has shown that a shared vision on water resources does
not exist in the Mekong region. Each country still looks out only for its own
interests and not at sharing benefits in development opportunities.
"If we apply the concept of
hydro diplomacy to the Mekong situation, we may have more choices other than
negotiations on ambitions to build a dam ...'' said Mr Mather. He defined hydro
diplomacy as a negotiation among riparian countries to achieve shared benefits.
The dialogue needs to be inclusive, embracing all concerned stakeholders and
all sectors to achieve a sustainable goal. In hydro diplomacy, a negotiation
platform, generally a river basin organisation, has a crucial role in bringing
about a consensus among the stakeholders. In the Mekong region, the MRC acts as
the negotiation platform. However, said Dr Mather, something is apparently
missing from the current mechanism of the MRC.
As water issues, especially those
with transborder elements, grow more
complex, conventional solutions are proving insufficient. Aban Marker Kabraji,
IUCN Asia's regional director, reiterated this point during her talk at the conference,
saying that it is clear that a traditional approach is not robust enough to
address transboundary water use issues.
She said new concepts are needed
as is greater scientific knowledge.
"Hydro diplomacy calls on
scientific and technical experts to work hand-in-hand with national and local
politicians, decision makers and stakeholders to reach negotiated agreements
for solutions that can be implemented and which will endure," said Mrs
Kabraji.
Gopalkrishna Gandhi, former
governor of India's West Bengal state, said that in water disputes there are
too many stakeholders, with each lobbying for their own vested interests.
Therefore the process of creating a dialogue on transborder water issues
requires, along with technological expertise, "socio-psychological
sensitivity'', as well as counter-lobbying skills and political courage. Even
with all this, the proper dialogue can only be achieved after what he called
the "right diplomatic initiative''.
Hans Guttman, chief executive
officer of the MRC, said the organisation has been implementing hydro diplomacy
in its processes, under which the member countries are brought together to
discuss important issues with the MRC acting as the facilitator and providing
technical support. "When there are competing demands and different
opinions about impacts, technical support may be able to move the discussion
forward,'' said Mr Guttman on the sidelines of the conference.
"I think there are a lot of
discussions among the governments about the Xayaburi dam, and there are a lot
of diplomatic discussions. The Lao government is trying to address concerns. At
the end a political decision will be made,'' added Mr Guttman.
However, Mr Mather again voiced
reservations on whether the current mechanism is able to deal with the rising
challenges in the region. He said that although the MRC has successfully
facilitated a process to implement hydro diplomacy, it is not yet sufficient to
pave the way for a true consensus on holistic water management. International
water management forums elsewhere have developed international agreements which
can be enforced on parties, and in some cases water conflicts are even put
before the courts, said Mr Mather,
adding that nothing like this is happening in the Mekong region.
Mr Mather suggested it may be
time for the region to try other options in dealing with transborder water
issues. As Asean countries are integrating, with stronger enforcement
mechanisms for joint resolutions, it is possible the MRC could be upgraded and
made a part of Asean to strengthen its mandate.
"The challenge is that our
current mechanism is limited. So, [the question is] whether or not we should
have a new mechanism and what it should be,'' he said. "The current
mechanism focuses mainly on the water aspect and fails to integrate other
factors such as economy, which can also have impacts on water management.
Without integration and holistic methods, water management will never work,''
he said.
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