Water & Development Publications - Helsinki University of Technology

TKK-WD-01

Ssu-Mao

Yun-Chin-Hung
Phongsaly

Dien Bien Phu Hanoi

Keng Tung Muang Sing

Mae Sai  Muang Xay Xamneua

Huay Xay 

Luang Prabang Xamtai

Phayao Xayabury
Phonsavan
Phonhong
MODERN MYTHS OF THE
Pakxanh
MEKONG
Vangvieng
Lak Sao


A critical review of water and development concepts, principles and policies

Vientiane

G


ulf
Nong Khai
Matti Kummu Marko
Loei Keskinen OlliThakhek
Varis (eds.)

of
Udon Thani


To
nk
Nongbua Lumphoo Sakon Nakhon

in


Mukdahan
Savannakhet
Ban Phai Roi Et
Chaiyaphum Yasothon Saravane
Phon
Sekong
       Pakxong
Surin Pakxe
Pak Chong Buri Ram Det Udom Attapeu Kon Tum
Muang Khong
Anlong Veng Pleiku
Bangkok


Sisophon


Aranyaprathet Siem Reap Ban Long

Stung Treng



Pailin




Dac Min



Kratie Snuol
   


Phnom Penh
Takhmau
Gulf of Thailand Koh Kong


Takeo Svay Rieng

Kampong Som Kampot

Ho Chi Minh City

Can Tho
Kien Luong Tra Vinh
South China Sea
Bac Lieu
Ca Mau

AB HELSINKI UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

Water & Development
Research Group
“Science must begin with myths,
and with the criticism of myths”
Karl Popper
 Water & Development Publications - Helsinki University of Technology

Modern Myths of the Mekong

A critical review of water and development concepts, principles and policies

Matti Kummu Marko Keskinen Olli Varis (eds.)

Helsinki University of Technology - TKK
Water Resources Laboratory
P.O. Box 5200
FIN-02015 TKK
water.tkk.fi/global

© 2008 by TKK & authors

All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-951-22-9102-1
ISBN 978-951-22-9103-8 (PDF)
ISSN 1797-254X

First published by
Water & Development Publications - Helsinki University of Technology
Espoo 2008

Layout and cover by Tiina Merikoski

Printed by Yliopistopaino, Helsinki, Finland

This publication is available electronically at

water.tkk.fi/global/publications

All the articles in this book have been peer-reviewed by two independent reviewers.
The views presented in the articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher.
 i

FOREWORD
Water related myths abound in all classical mythologies irrespective of geographical area. This is a distinctive
indication that water in its many functions is very basic to humans. Water is even considered as an element
in several theories or mythological constructions, ranging from as distinct philosophies as that of Aristotle
to the classical Chinese Feng Shui concept.

Water’s most basic function to humans and the development of societies has not changed much over the
millennia. Still, water is seen as an entry point to ecosystem management, a key to understanding the
climate change and climate dynamics, a cornerstone of public health policies, to social development, to
many economic functions (such as irrigation, energy production, forestry, industrial development etc.) and
so forth.

Development policies and maxims are also rich in the reference to water, again in many ways. This book
analyses a highly interesting and relevant collection of modern water related myths – as the authors call
such concepts – within the major development challenges of the Mekong Basin in Southeast Asia. An array
of myths is dismantled and analyzed thoroughly so as to facilitate more profound understanding of these
development concepts and consequently in assessing the design of more relevant, more specific and more
functional development policies as those dictated by ‘one-size-fits-all’ type of generalistic approaches that
are common in these days.

This study stems from the long-term commitment of Helsinki University of Technology to water and
development research and education. The University celebrates currently its centenary with the university
status. Water is one of the oldest areas of the university and keeps maintaining its high standing and quality
within the profile of this leading technological research and educational institution in Finland.

The reason why the Mekong Basin is the topic of research in this volume is the fact that this area is one of
the focal geographical hotspots of Finnish development co-operation. Helsinki University of Technology
has been involved in the water research and education in the region since 1989 and in the past six years,
we have been working extensively with Mekong in several settings. The skeleton of this activity has been
the work under the Mekong River Commission, jointly with SYKE Finnish Environment Institute,
Environmental Impact Assessment Center of Finland and several other actors. In addition, activities with
NGOs, Asian Development Bank and several universities within the region have taken place.

This book received funding from the Academy of Finland, which we appreciate greatly. We equally appreciate
the impressive input of all the authors who contributed to the volume as well as their organizations.

Pertti Vakkilainen
Professor of Hydrology and Water Resources Management
Helsinki University of Technology
ii
 iii

FOREWORD
Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) and its various elements are in the core of several
chapters of this book. The concept of IWRM has been well established in the last years, and ambitious
targets were set up in the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 for preparing IWRM plans
for all major watersheds by 2005. This proved to be too optimistic, and a true momentum to carry out this
historical work was not gained. This provides another example of the difficulties to build a truly integrated
approach, combining and harmonizing economic, environmental and social factors in a planning and
management framework.

Something seems thus to be missing from the picture, something that prevents reaching the originally
intended results and outcomes of IWRM. It seems not to be a technical question, but rather a mental and
spiritual one. This argument is supported by several analyses made on integration processes that point to
the enormous importance of attitudes and communication skills of the persons involved in the team work
between decision-makers, planners and scientists.

A great deal of personal and motivation skills are needed to settle different perceptions, opinions and
traditions into a harmonic planning scheme, and thus to find a fair policy of incorporating the needs
and rights of different stakeholders into the decisions. The actors need to share a sufficient level of
social responsibility – a property that seems be on a declining mode rather than on an emerging one. A
transparent impact assessment and planning process, based on personal integrity and openness is worth
respecting and should definitely be strived for. Critically important is that these properties are transferred
to the institutional and political level as well. This would inject new life in the entire IWRM process, with
its many social and political hurdles. Simple to say, but nevertheless an extremely important exercise is to
evaluate frequently the true nature of the objectives of the basin development process, and to review them
with respect to their public acceptability and impacts by all stakeholder groups.

If the above properties, no doubt idealistic, are missing from the planning process, the entire IWRM
concept may become just a façade and cover story, turning into a destructive tool that both creates and leans
on different myths. One of these myths, perhaps the most dangerous, is the oversimplified perception that
economic growth reduces poverty. Much more honest and responsible thinking and dialogue is needed to
achieve a balanced strategy for sharing the benefits and costs of developments between the people living
in the basin. This is particularly timely in the Mekong Basin due to the galloping passions of turning the
basin into a gigantic electricity mill. Current planning and decision making processes in the basin are in
no way in accordance with the IWRM principles. The question of development is more than just making
money; it is also protecting the natural resources that the people are depending on for their food security
and livelihoods.

When assessing the development impacts on people, comprehensive life quality index should be used as
the main criteria. The conventional and old-fashioned GDP method does not make sense, particularly not
in an area such as the Mekong where people live mainly in rural areas, practically in subsistence economy.
iv

The GDP method undermines the dominant role of ecosystem services in the people’s life, and instead
talks only of dollars (also) in this connection. The fate of the rural poor is critical since the governance
conditions and transboundary nature of impacts most evidently constrain any benefits produced by
hydropower to actually reach the poor. On the opposite, the poor are often loosing the necessary basis for
their living, namely the existing natural resources, fisheries in particular.

The IWRM framework provides an excellent opportunity for cooperation between riparian and
international actors within all its disciplinary coverage. It also underlines the importance of continuous
capacity building for developing and improving the planning and decision making processes. The need for
capacity building is, however, usually connected to the riparians only. My understanding is that it is at least
as important to build the capacities of the international collaborators for understanding and experiencing
the geographic, cultural and political contexts in the region. This builds the basis of continuing, extending
and sustaining cooperation as a product of the invested work and resources. I personally consider this book
to be a product of this kind.

Juha Sarkkula
Team leader, WUP-FIN Project
Senior research scientist, Finnish Environment Institute
 v

CONTENTS

PREFACE vii

PART I: Nature
Dirk Lamberts
Little impact, much damage: the consequences of Mekong River
flow alterations for the Tonle Sap ecosystem 3

Naoki Miyazawa, Kengo Sunada & Pech Sokhem

Bank erosion in the Mekong River Basin: Is bank erosion in my town
caused by activities from my neighbors? 19

Jussi Nikula
Is harm and destruction all that floods bring? 27

Lu Xi Xi, Wang Jian-Jun & Carl Grundy-Warr

Are the Chinese dams to be blamed for the low water levels in the Lower Mekong? 39

PART II: Making living out of nature

Eric Baran & Chris Myschowoda
Have fish catches been declining in the Mekong River Basin? 55

Bernadette P. Resurreccion
Mainstreaming gender in community fisheries in the Tonle Sap: Three myths 65

PART III: Development

Terry Lustig, Roland Fletcher, Matti Kummu, Christophe Pottier & Dan Penny
Did traditional cultures live in harmony with nature? Lessons from Angkor, Cambodia 81

Ulla Heinonen
Millennium development goals and Phnom Penh: Is the city on track to meet the goals? 95

Marko Keskinen
Population, natural resources & development in the Mekong:
Does high population density hinder development? 107

Ulla Heinonen
The hidden role of informal economy: Is informal economy insignificant
for Phnom Penh’s development? 123

PART IV: Politics and policies

Pech Sokhem & Kengo Sunada
Modern upstream myth: Is a sharing and caring Mekong Region possible? 135

Carl Middleton & Prom Tola

Community organizations for managing water resources around Tonle Sap Lake:
A myth or reality? 149

Katri Mehtonen
Do the downstream countries oppose the upstream dams? 161

Olli Varis, Muhammad Mizanur Rahaman & Virpi Stucki

Integrated Water Resources Management plans: The key to sustainability? 173

BIOGRAPHIES 185
vi

PREFACE
We often tend to look back to people in ancient
cultures and think that their everyday lives were
full of myths, while in the modern times the
information boom keeps dismantling such myths
and replaces them with informed behaviour and
rational decision making.
The modern world is, however, equally governed
by various myths. These myths are, of course,
volatile and domain-specific, but people seem
nevertheless to need “simple truths” that help us in
understanding the world of extreme complexities
and above all in taking actions in a coordinated
way. Whereas such simple truths might be useful,
they also distort our actions as they present very
simple and one-sided projections of reality. Simple
truths can also be used to justify certain kinds of
decisions and strategies. As a result, policies and
agendas related to development and environment
are exposed to various myths, just like most human
activities.
We approached the scientific community of
water and development researchers working on
the Mekong River by a call with this challenging
concept, and asked them to send us research
papers that would elaborate the concept by real-
life research cases. In that context, we decided to
call our myths as Modern Myths (i.e. present-day’s
myths) in order to distinguish them more clearly
from traditional myths that can be regarded as
“stories that a particular culture believes to be true
and that use the supernatural to interpret natural
events and to explain the nature of the universe
vii
and humanity” (as was defined in Wikipedia in
December 2005). We welcomed of course also
references to more traditional myths but those
remained secondary within the project.
Hence, this book aims to “scrutinize commonly
believed Modern Myths“. We asked the authors
to address the actual commonness and prevalence
of the Modern Myths that they wanted to present
and analyse. The basic issue with the Modern
Myths included in the book is that in the everyday
development and water discourse, they tend to
present too simplified and one-sided picture of
reality. Therefore, it was crucial that the authors
not only condemned the Modern Myth to be wrong
(that would be simplified and one-sided as well),
but rather showed that the reality is much more
complex and versatile than the Modern Myths
usually present. Therefore, in some occasions the
Modern Myth may be completely false, while in
other occasions the Modern Myth may turn out
to be more or less correct. In addition, the papers
aimed to address the problems and biases that have
resulted (or may result) from the simplified picture
portrayed by the Modern Myths.
Our aim was to produce a peer-reviewed book that
would be scientifically sound and at the same time
easy to read. Therefore the structure and approach
of the papers were advised to be more practical
and down-to-earth than what is usually expected
from peer-reviewed scientific articles. Besides, we
accomplished a summary volume of the articles
with translations to the major languages of the
viii
Mekong Region: Chinese, Lao, Burmese, Thai,
Khmer and Vietnamese, in order to enhance the
dissemination of the results within the region.
The 14 myths that are scrutinized in this volume
are classified into four groups:
• Nature
• Making living out of nature
• Development
• Politics and policies
This collection of Modern Myths of the Mekong
has been produced within a research project by
the Helsinki University of Technology, Finland.
The 3-year research project (2005-2007) analysed
Integrated Water Resources Management
(IWRM) in the Mekong River Basin. The concept
of IWRM has been strongly endorsed by the
United Nations and other international actors
during the past several years. The Mekong River
is a good example of an international river basin
that involves multiple sectors and actors, and thus
needs integrated management.
IWRM is based on the so-called 3E principle:
waters should be used to provide Economic
wellbeing to the people, without compromising
social Equity and Environmental sustainability.
Waters should be managed in a basin wide
context, with stakeholder participation and under
the prevalence of good governance. Since the
Dublin International Conference on Water and
Environment Issues of 1992, and further the
Bonn International Conference on Freshwater of
2001, an integrated approach to water has been
promoted around the world - in different seminars,
conferences and publications.
Recognizing that IWRM is largely still a theoretical
concept with not much sound scientific background
from real-life development projects, the objective
of the project was to investigate scientifically
how the IWRM process in the Mekong Basin is
institutionalized, and implemented in practice.
This three-year project is carried out through
the organisation of annual workshops. These
workshops were planned carefully to constitute a
logical continuous process and a mutual learning
opportunity, and the results of each workshop were
used to plan and design the next one:
• The first workshop was a diagnostic one,
assessing what we know about the nature,
about the societies, about the governance
system etc. relative to the policy frameworks
we are working with. The focus of the first
meeting was IWRM in the Tonle Sap Lake,
Cambodia and it was held at the Royal
University of Phnom Penh in Cambodia in
February 2005. A special journal issue was
prepared on the basis of the workshop papers
to the prominent International Journal of
Water Resources Development, published by
Taylor and Francis, U.K. (Volume 22, No. 2).
• The second workshop took place at National
University of Laos in Vientiane, Lao PDR
in February 2006 and produced this book.
The workshop scrutinised a set of commonly
believed myths of sustainable water resources
management and challenged them by
thorough scientific analysis. We attempted
to go inside the mindsets (myths) in our
thinking, and looked at how we could break
too simplistic concepts and instead fuel
discussion and move it onwards from yes-no
kind of argumentation.
• The third and last of the workshops scrutinised
the theme Mekong at the Crossroads. The
workshop was held in Chiang Mai, Thailand
in May 2007 in cooperation with M-POWER
and Chiang Mai University’s Unit on Social
and Environmental Research. The major
literal outcome of the third work package
was a collection of research articles which
constitute a special issue for the Ambio journal
(Vol. XXXVII, No. 3, 2008) as well as a series
of papers for other journals and publications.
The third workshop looked more to the action,
to the choices towards the future as well as the
different kind of challenges that can possibly
hinder these choices.

We hope that this volume encourages discussion
on ways to identify and dismantle the modern
myths of water and development discourse and, in
particular, focuses it to the possible future pathways
for balanced water resources management in the
Mekong Basin.
The book as well as the entire project has been
facilitated by the joint funding from the Academy
of Finland (under the contract 211010) and the
Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. The
project was done in close connection with the
Finnish-funded WUP-FIN Lower Mekong
ix
Modelling Project that was active in years 2001-
2007. We would kindly like to extend our cordial
thanks to all authors of this volume and to all other
individuals and organizations that have contributed
to this project. Special thanks are due to Prof.
Bounthan and his team at the National University
of Laos and Dr. Juha Sarkkula from SYKE Finnish
Environment Institute for facilitating in such a
great manner our work in Vientiane in February
2006. Equally, we wish to thank Professor Pertti
Vakkilainen for continuous strong support to our
work.
Matti Kummu
Marko Keskinen
Olli Varis
Phayao Xayabury
Phonsavan
Phonhong

Vangvieng Pakxanh
Lak Sao


Vientiane

G


ulf
Nong Khai
Loei Thakhek

of
Udon Thani


To
nk
Nongbua Lumphoo Sakon Nakhon

in


PART I: Nature
 Water & Development Publications - Helsinki University of Technology AB

LITTLE IMPACT, MUCH DAMAGE:

THE CONSEQUENCES OF MEKONG RIVER FLOW
ALTERATIONS FOR THE TONLE SAP ECOSYSTEM
Dirk Lamberts
Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium

Recent decisions regarding activities causing flow alterations in the Mekong River have been guided by
environmental impact assessments (EIA) which concluded that their impact will be small, and hence can be
mitigated or compensated. Current EIA practices do not assess impacts on integrative processes such as the
flood pulse and thereby fail to identify the full consequences of flow alterations for the Tonle Sap ecosystem.

1 Introduction
Flood pulse was proposed by Junk et al. (1989) as
the term for an ecological paradigm integrating
the processes of productivity in river-floodplain
ecosystems. There is growing evidence that the
cycle of flooding and drought in the Tonle Sap
Lake-floodplain ecosystem in Cambodia is also
here the main force determining ecosystem
productivity (MRCS/WUP-FIN, 2003, Penny
et al., 2005; Lamberts, 2001). While the annual
hydrograph cycle of rising and falling water
levels has been known and exploited for many
Corresponding author:
Dirk Lamberts
Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Deberiotstraat 32, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
Email: dirklamberts@yahoo.com
centuries, it is only in the past decade that this has
been complemented by limnological (Lamberts,
2001; MRCS/WUP-FIN, 2003), botanical
(McDonald & Veasna, 1996; McDonald et al.,
1997), ichthyological (Lamberts, 2001; MRC,
2003a; Chan et al., 2005), natural resource use
(Demuynck, 1995; Luco, 1997), geochemical
(Tsukawaki, 1997; Tsukawaki et al., 1994, 2003)
and social (Haapala, 2003; Keskinen, 2006)
evidence of a flood pulse sensu Junk et al.
Despite a complete lack of data on both aquatic
and terrestrial primary production, the Tonle Sap
ecosystem is widely described as highly productive
(e.g., Mekong Secretariat, 1992; Rainboth,
1996; MoE, 1998; van Zalinge, 2002; Sverdrup-
Jensen, 2002; Baran, 2005). This is usually based
on dubious information regarding secondary

© 2008 TKK & Lamberts ISBN 978-951-22-9102-1

Kummu, M., Keskinen, M. & Varis, O. (eds.): Modern Myths of the Mekong, pp. 3-18
4 Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part I: Nature
productivity and fish catches (Lamberts, 2006).
Adequate and practical measurement methods
and terminology for flood-pulsed ecosystem
productivity are still largely undeveloped. It is
particularly the dynamic spatial aspect of the
flood pulse that renders traditional measurements
of ecosystem productivity unfit. The need for such
tools becomes apparent when comparisons of
ecosystem productivity are made with other, non-
pulsed systems. There is no doubt, however, that
the natural resources of the Tonle Sap ecosystem
sustain a large number of diverse livelihoods (e.g.,
ADB, 2004a).
Economic development in and around the basin
and the associated growing demand for water
and energy from the River makes anthropogenic
alterations of the flow in the Mekong River seem
inevitable (e.g., Wu, 2003; MRC, 2003b; Cogels,
2004), and possibly already occurring (MRC,
2003b). In particular China has an insatiable need
for energy to sustain its annual 9.4% growth in
GDP and 16.6% growth in industrial production
(The Economist, 2006) and is pressed hard to
tap all resources available to meet this demand.
Neighbouring countries such as Lao PDR, where
development is at a much slower pace, find it
difficult to resist the prospects of substantial
income derived from foreign funded hydropower
development in which nearly all the electricity
is exported. There is currently no reason to
believe that the processes driving economic
development will produce a different outcome
of what has been the case in first world countries
with respect to alteration and overall degradation
of rivers (pollution, river training, flood control).
This in spite of the progress made in integrated
water resources management and the existence of
regional co-ordinating bodies such as the Mekong
River Commission (MRC) and the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations.
What will be the impact of these developments
on the Tonle Sap Lake? In order to answer this
question it is necessary to appreciate the processes
that are at the basis of the Tonle Sap ecosystem.
Environmental impact assessment is a process in
which the impact of an activity or a plan on the
environment is assessed systematically. Common
practice EIAs consider such impact on discrete
components or sectors of the environment such as air
quality, surface and groundwater, soils, vegetation
and wildlife. In this process, not just direct impacts
are considered but also indirect impacts, impacts
cumulated with those of other plans or activities,
and secondary impacts for example as a result of
developments generated by the proposed plan or
activity. Guidelines for EIA typically (e.g., ADB,
2003a; EU, 1985, 1997; World Bank, 1999) do not
consider integrative processes such as those of the
flood pulse which are not just merely indirect or
cumulative impacts. In this respect, the direct,
indirect, secondary and cumulative impacts on
each of the environmental sectors may be assessed
as limited, while the damage to the environment
as a whole may well still be substantial and beyond
what is acceptable or can be mitigated.
2 Tonle Sap as a flood-pulsed
ecosystem: combining aquatic and
terrestrial production
The Tonle Sap ecosystem in Cambodia is a major
component of the Mekong basin, consisting of the
Tonle Sap Lake, the Tonle Sap River and their
surrounding floodplains. The Tonle Sap Lake is
linked to the Mekong River through the 100 km
long Tonle Sap River tributary. The flow of the
Mekong River shows enormous natural variations
throughout the year, among the largest in the
world (Welcomme, 1985). When water levels in
the Mekong rise above a threshold level, usually in
late May - early June, flow in the Tonle Sap River
is reversed and Mekong water is pushed into the
Tonle Sap River and Lake. Extensive flooding
lasting about 5 months is the result, covering
vast floodplains, and increasing the Lake’s water
depth from about 0.5 to 6-9 metres. During the
wet season, the volume of the lake increases from
about 1.3 km3 to 50-80 km3 depending on the flood
intensity, and its surface area increases from 2,500
km2 to 10,000-15,000 km2 (Kummu, 2003).
Variation between years can be substantial, but
the Tonle Sap ecosystem seems highly resilient to
these naturally occurring interannual variations.
Lamberts - Little Impact, Much Damage
Exceptional flood and drought occurrences are
indeed one of the important characteristics of
flood-pulsed ecosystems (Junk, 1997). The effects
of droughts on fisheries production for example can
be significant but do not appear to be noticeable
for more than a few consecutive years at worst
(Campbell et al., 2005).
The flood pulse concept as developed for river-
floodplain systems (Junk et al., 1989) applies
with minor changes as well to ecosystems where
the parent water body is a lake. It focuses on the
lateral exchange of water, nutrients and organisms
between a river or a lake and the connected
floodplain. It considers the importance of the
hydrology and hydrochemistry of the parent water
body but focuses on their impact on the organisms
and the specific processes in the floodplain. The
flood pulse as the succession of periodic flooding
and drought is the driving force in the floodplain-
lake system. The floodplain is considered as an
integral part of the system that is periodically
coupled and decoupled from the parent river
or lake by the areas that are oscillating between
a terrestrial and an aquatic status, the so-called
Aquatic/Terrestrial Transition Zone (ATTZ) (Junk
et al., 1989).
Characteristics of flood pulse include its modality
(one or more peaks), predictability, amplitude,
duration, smoothness and rapidity of change. All
of these characteristics have important ecological
significance. Predictable pulsing favours the
adaptations of organisms and increases primary
production and efficiency of nutrient use.
The nutrient status of the floodplain depends on
the amount and quality of dissolved and suspended
solids of the parent lake or river. MRCS/WUP-
FIN (2003) provides an insight in the deposition
location and quantity of suspended solids in the
Tonle Sap ecosystem. While sedimentation in the
lake proper is very small, substantial amounts are
deposited in the floodplain vegetation on the verge
of the permanent lake. The nutrient status of the
deposited solids is as yet unclear. Internal processes
of the floodplain, however, and nutrient transfer
mechanisms between the terrestrial and aquatic
5
phase strongly influence nutrient cycles, primary
and secondary production and decomposition. At
the same time, flooding is considered a disturbance
factor, leading to a regular setback of community
development and maintaining the system in an
immature, but highly productive stage (Junk &
Piedade, 1997).
Water level changes influence river and lake
systems four-dimensionally in space and time.
Rising water levels not only increase the wetted
surface of the lake and the floodplain but at the
same time influence the exchange between
groundwater and surface water.
When Tonle Sap River and Lake water
inundates their floodplains via overspill or via
floodplain channels, various key processes occur
simultaneously that drive diurnal and seasonal
limnological changes. For a more detailed
description of all the floodplain processes and
their succession see Junk et al. (1989) and Junk &
Wantzen (2004).
As demonstrated independently for the Tonle Sap
by Lamberts (2001) and MRCS/WUP-FIN (2003),
the progression of flood waters creates specific
conditions throughout the floodplain. Any pre-
flood thermal and chemical heterogeneity between
lake and floodplain pools temporarily resets.
This provides opportunities for certain species to
occupy niches in the floodplain habitats that offer
specific disadvantages to most other species such
as severe hypoxia or anoxia. Considerable inputs
of lake water bound substances (dissolved and
suspended, organic and inorganic) flush into the
floodplain (MRCS/WUP-FIN, 2003, Penny et al.,
2005, Tsukawaki et al., 2003).
As terrestrial habitats are flooded, large amounts of
inorganic and organic matter deposited during the
terrestrial phase are mobilised by the overlaying
water. This mobilisation process constitutes one of
the most important processes of the flood pulse for
the Tonle Sap (Figure 2). By bringing the organic
and inorganic matter that has accumulated in the
terrestrial habitats into the aquatic phase, large
amounts of nutrients and energy are transferred
6 Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part I: Nature

into the water. This fuels directly and indirectly
additional aquatic productivity through a large
variety of pathways and processes. In this respect,
the floodplain vegetation functions as a nutrient
pump, mobilising the nutrients deposited in
the floodplain and from the floodplain soils into
the ecosystem processes. Formation of anoxic
conditions in the sediment-water interface may
be an additional process promoting the release
of sediment bound phosphorus into biologically
available forms.
the migration or adaptation skills to survive the
flooding are killed and their biomass is transferred
to the aquatic phase. Non-flooded habitats
including parts of trees and other floodplain
plants that remain above the highest flood level
provide refuges for terrestrial organisms such as
large numbers of ants. Flooded forest trees in the
Tonle Sap floodplain provide roosting and nesting
locations for what are believed to be the largest
water bird colonies in Southeast Asia (Goes &
Hong, 2002).

Mobile organisms such as fish actively seek
floodplain carbon in mass migrations as soon as
flooding begins in order to feed in the floodplain.
When small floodplain fish migrate back to the
Lake when the water recedes, they are preyed upon
along their migration routes in large quantities by
predators, including those permanently resident in
the Lake.
The immobile terrestrial organisms (mostly
macrophytes) that become flooded create a huge
spatial structure, providing a patchy variety of
habitats and substrate, often characterised by
very high surface/surface ratios. This habitat
and its substrate functions are important for the
development of aquatic communities which
include fish assemblages, epiphytes and biofilms.

Large amounts of terrestrial organisms (in Aquatic organisms are flushed or migrate into the
particular insects and soil invertebrates) that lack floodplain or eclode there from resting stages.

Figure 1 Tonle Sap floodplain vegetation towards the end of the flooding with about 1 meter of floodwater remaining.
The trees are covered in decaying stranded aquatic macrophytes. A thick layer of floating aquatic macrophytes accumulates
between the floodplain trees.
Lamberts - Little Impact, Much Damage 7

This influx and migration occurs in stages, and specific physical and chemical characteristics and
in function of the limnological conditions in specific species assemblages (Lamberts, 2001).
the floodplain and the presence of adaptations These changes either have a direct influence
by the aquatic organisms to unfavourable water on aquatic and terrestrial fauna and flora in
conditions. During the early stages of flooding,
large parts of the floodplain become depleted in
oxygen as a result of the decomposition processes
Table 1 Completed, ongoing and planned hydropower
of organic matter accumulated during the reservoirs in the Mekong Basin (adapted from ADB 2004c).
terrestrial phase. This process of influx of aquatic
organisms also includes the development of ACTIVE STORAGE
(106.m3/year)
aquatic epiphytic communities and phytoplankton
communities. PROJECT COUNTRY 2010 2025
Manwan China 257 257
Terrestrial carbon and floodplain products from Dachaoshan China 367 367
the canopy of the floodplain forest, such as Xiaowan China 9,900 9,900
terrestrial invertebrates, fruits and seeds, are Gonguoqiao China 120
incorporated in the aquatic food webs through Jinghong China 249
direct ingestion by other organisms, bacterial Nuozhadu China 12,300
decay and remineralisation, and the development
Mengsong China -
of biofilms. The relative importance of these
Ganlanba China -
pathways is still largely unknown and no
Nam Leuk Lao PDR 123 123
information is available specifically for the Tonle
Nam Lik Lao PDR 826 826
Sap ecosystem.
Nam Ngum 3E Lao PDR 983

When the water levels fall, several key processes Nam Ngum 2B Lao PDR 150
occur simultaneously. Water stored in the Nam Ngum 5 Lao PDR 252
floodplain with any dissolved and suspended matter Nam Ngum 4A Lao PDR 337
enters the river or lake. The ATTZ falls dry and Nam Bak 2B Lao PDR 119
becomes colonised by terrestrial organisms. Large Nam Theun 2 Lao PDR 3,510 3,510
amounts of water-borne organic carbon becomes Theun Hinboun Ext. Lao PDR 2,870 2,870
stranded and incorporated in the terrestrial food
Huoay Ho Lao PDR 480 480
webs (Figure 1).
Xepon Lao PDR 361 361
Xe Kaman 3 Lao PDR 108
As the floodwater further recedes, aquatic
Xe Kaman 1 Lao PDR 3,340
organisms move to permanent water bodies or
show adaptations to periodic drought. None of the Xe Kong 5 Lao PDR 2,210

fishes known from the Tonle Sap have developed Nam Kong 3 Lao PDR 299
specific adaptations for the long drought that Xe Xou Lao PDR 1,710
separates two flood seasons. However, zooplankton Yali Vietnam 779 779
is known from the floodplain to assume resting U. Kontum Vietnam 123
forms at the end of the flood period and remain Pleikrong Vietnam 1,022
dormant in the floodplain during the drought. Se San 4 Vietnam 470
Most mobile aquatic organisms move back to
D Xuyen Vietnam 484
permanent water. Fixed aquatic organisms without
Ban Tou Srah Vietnam 483
drought adaptations die off.
Lower Se San 2D Cambodia ?
Lower Se San 2U Cambodia ?
Permanent water bodies in the floodplain become
increasingly isolated from the Lake and develop Lower Sre Pok 2 Cambodia ?
8 Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part I: Nature
the floodplains and related rivers and lakes, for
example through changes in community structure
and composition, or indirectly trigger various
behavioural traits, such as spawning and migration
of fish, breeding of waterfowl and reproduction
and migration of terrestrial invertebrates.
3 Flow alterations in the Mekong River
Flow alterations in the Mekong River will occur
as the result of completed, ongoing and planned
development of hydropower generation structures
(Table 1), flood mitigation measures, navigation
improvement interventions and overall increased
abstraction and diversion of water, mostly for
irrigation (MRC, 2003b; ADB, 2004b). These
activities will result in anthropogenic flow
alterations, which, contrary to natural interannual
variations in flow, will have much further reaching
implications.
It is too early and there are insufficient data to
draw conclusions about whether flow variations
that are being observed are indeed manmade or
natural variations (Lu, 2008). Flow attenuation
secondary
producers (including biofilm and biofilm products) and nutrient cycling
primary
phytoplankton
producers
Food loop
secondary
producers
Figure 2 Main primary and secondary productivity pathways in the Tonle Sap flood-pulsed ecosystem. The width of the arrows
indicates the relative importance of the processes.
is commonly predicted as a result of the dams
construction, whereby the extreme water levels (low
and high) would be less extreme, meaning more
water in the dry season and less flood water during
the flow peak. Many factors, however, determine
the precise effects of a dam upon the flow regime
of a river (McCartney et al., 2000), including dam
design and related operational procedures that
can generate a wide range of discharge patterns
depending on the reservoir function. At this time
it is unclear what the short and long term flow
patterns will be.
4 Impact of flow alterations on flood
pulse and ecosystem productivity
Flood pulse characteristics have been identified
and described by Junk et al. (1989), Welcomme
(1985), Welcomme & Halls (2004) and several
others. The characteristics of the flood pulse
determine the extent, intensity and efficiency of
the associated processes that determine ecosystem
productivity. Flood pulse characteristics include
hydrodynamic, chemical and ecological elements.
Many flood pulse characteristics are the source
Detrital loop: producon of bacterial biomass
aquac terrestrial
epiphytes macrophytes
zooplankton herbivores
macro-
invertebrates detrivores
plankvorous amphibians
fishes
Food webs
Lamberts - Little Impact, Much Damage 9

of a cascade of consequences for ecosystem 5 Impact of flow alterations on fisheries

productivity. productivity
Fisheries production is of particular interest in the
The hydraulic forces of the flood waters determine Tonle Sap ecosystem as it provides directly and
erosion and transport of matter in general: indirectly a livelihood basis for at least one million
sediment, nutrients, larvae, eggs, plankton and people (ADB, 2004a). While directly related to
particulate organic matter. The speed at which ecosystem productivity, fisheries productivity has
water levels fall at the end of the flood and related a number of specific characteristics related to the
flows and carrying capacity determine e.g. the flood pulse. Welcomme & Halls (2004) analysed
ability of floating aquatic vegetation to float out the importance of flood pulse characteristics
of the floodplain into the lake proper, and thereby in river-floodplain systems specifically for fish
the accumulation of water-borne aquatic carbon production (Figure 3).
in the floodplain and the terrestrial food webs.
Many floodplain organisms have a ‘physiological
The hydrodynamic characteristics and associated and phenological window of susceptibility’ to the
physical and chemical processes also determine a benefits and disturbances of flooding (Junk &
number of ecological functions and characteristics Wantzen, 2004). In particular fish have developed
of the flood pulse: (i) accessibility of the floodplain physiological adaptations, life history strategies
for fish and other swimming aquatic organisms; and behaviour for spawning and feeding to cope
(ii) ability of terrestrial organisms to migrate into with the fluctuating hydrological conditions
non-flooded habitats or to deploy adaptations. This (Welcomme, 1985; Bunn & Arthington, 2002).
is mostly related to the progression speed of the Altered flood regimes of rivers throughout
flood water in the floodplain. The amplitude and the world have usually resulted in loss of fish
timing of flooding must be appropriate for water production and biodiversity, while the impacts on
fowl roosting and nesting, and synchronised with fish and fisheries of interventions that change the
bird migration and reproductive cycles. Dry season form and hydrograph of rivers can be anticipated
water levels allow for the development and isolation (Welcomme & Halls, 2004).
of permanent water bodies in the floodplain.

10 CONTINUITY
TIMING
9
SMOOTHNESS
Water level [m], amsl in Hatien

7
RAPIDITY OF
a CHANGE (b/a)
6

5 AMPLITUDE

4 b

2
DURATION
1

0
May

Apr
Mar
Nov

Dec

Feb
Jun

Jul

Oct

Jan
Aug

Sep

Month

Figure 3 Flood pulse characteristics for river-floodplain ecosystems applied to Tonle Sap Lake hydrograph (adapted from
Welcomme & Halls 2004, hydrograph from MRCS/WUP-FIN 2006).
10
Table 2 Major flood pulse characteristics of the Tonle Sap ecosystem and their susceptibility to being affected by
anthropogenic flow alterations in the Mekong River.
FLOOD PULSE
CHARACTERISTIC
Periodicity in the flooding
and drought
Inter-annual variation in
the flooding and drought
Extent (area) of flooding
Amplitude of the flooding,
or the height of the flood
water
Duration of the flooding
Variation and
spatiotemporal patterns
in connectivity between
the main lake and the
floodplain habitats as
determined by the flood
pulse
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part I: Nature
SUSCEPTIBILITY TO IMPACT FROM FLOW
CHANGES
High The periodicity in the flooding in
the Tonle Sap ecosystem is directly
linked to the hydrological cycle and
changes thereof of the Mekong River.
The flow reversal in the Tonle Sap
River is a threshold process, making
it susceptible to changes that are
disproportionate to the continuous
process of flow variation in the
Mekong River.
High Directly related to the flow in the
Mekong River. Anthropogenic flow
alterations are expected to reduce the
frequency and amplitude of natural
inter-annual variations
High Directly related to the flow in the
Mekong River. The change in area
that will be flooded can be affected
by both the average low water flow, as
well as the amplitude of the flooding.
Furthermore, the area that becomes
flooded depends on the ability of flood
waters to progress into the floodplain,
and flood mitigation structures may
affect the accessibility of parts of the
floodplain.
High Directly related to the highest water
level in the Mekong River, as well
as the duration of this peak. The
amplitude of the flooding is closely
related to the extent of flooding in
little sloping floodplains such as the
Tonle Sap floodplain.
High While approximately one third
(Kummu et al., 2008) of the water
retained in the Tonle Sap ecosystem
originates from its own tributaries,
the duration of the flooding, and in
particular the duration of any stage
of the flooding is determined by the
water level in the Mekong River at the
junction with the Tonle Sap River.
Medium
IMPACT ON ECOSYSTEM
PRODUCTIVITY
The periodicity and inter-annual
variation in the flooding and drought
allow the development of specifi c
flood pulse associated processes
that can greatly increase ecosystem
productivity. In particular, stable
regular patterns of variation stimulate
the development of behaviour in
many organisms that increases the
occupation of niches and the use of
primary products.
The extent (area) of flooding is a
very direct determinant of ecosystem
productivity: the larger the area that
becomes flooded, the greater the
interaction area between aquatic and
terrestrial phases (the ATTZ) and
the larger the potential transfer of
floodplain terrestrial organic matter
and energy into the aquatic phase.
The water depth in the floodplain
determines the volume of the euphotic
zone on which aquatic photosynthesis
can occur.
The duration of the flooding determines
to which extent production processes
can develop and remain active. It
determines the ratio between the
initial phase of the flood pulse during
which digestive processes dominate
to that when the biological oxygen
demand is low.
The diversity of hydrological patterns
is a key element for the maintenance of
habitats and species diversity in river-
floodplain systems in general (Junk &
Wantzen 2004), and in the Tonle Sap
ecosystem in specifi c. The modality
of the flood pulse has an impact on
organisms living near the transition
zone but that are exclusive to either
of the phases (aquatic or terrestrial):
even small temporary transgressions
will affect plants, epiphyton, biofilms
and benthic organisms that become
briefly submerged or exposed.
Lamberts - Little Impact, Much Damage 11

Table 2 Continues...

FLOOD PULSE SUSCEPTIBILITY TO IMPACT FROM FLOW IMPACT ON ECOSYSTEM

CHARACTERISTIC CHANGES
Chemical quality of Low Anthropogenic flow alterations as
inflowing flood water such are not likely to cause signifi cant
changes to the chemical quality of the
inflowing flood water.
Sediment load in the flood High The flow changes as such will have
water only a limited impact on the sediment
load. Nonetheless, the construction
of dams on the main channel creates
sediment traps that already have a
signifi cant impact on the sediment
load of the Mekong River (Sarkkula et
al. 2003, Kummu & Varis, 2007).
Amount of floodplain Low Flow alterations in the Mekong River
exogenous matter that is are not expected to generate large
carried into the ecosystem variations in the River’s phytoplankton
based primary productivity, or its
ability to collect leaf litter from
upstream. The current load of organic
matter is relatively low.
PRODUCTIVITY
The chemical quality of inflowing
flood water defines the extent to which
some of the processes that determine
water quality and seasonal variation
in the floodplain can develop.
Sediment in the flood water is believed
to carry nutrients into the system,
and as such the sediment load of the
inflowing water determines to a large
extent long-term overall ecosystem
productivity (Kummu et al., 2006).
The impact on ecosystem productivity
is exacerbated as the nutrients are a
facilitating factor for other terrestrial
primary production processes.
The same applies to the amount of
floodplain exogenous matter that is
carried into the ecosystem, albeit
that the relative importance of
this is smaller than in the case of
river-floodplain systems. The most
signifi cant impact would be the living
exogenous matter carried into the
system in the form of migrating fi sh
or drifting eggs, larvae and juveniles.

The timing of the flood is important to many fish
species because of the synchronisation between
the flood phase and physiological readiness to
spawn and associated behaviour such as migration.
Particularly for the Tonle Sap ecosystem, the
migration in and out of the ecosystem is crucial in
the life cycle of many species, and this migration
relies on flow directions and water quality, as well
as rigid external migration triggers such as the
lunar phase. Timing of the flood pulse has a role
in the distribution of drifting eggs and larvae of
certain fish species, and their survival, growth
and distribution. The timing decides whether
an organism can benefit from the flood-borne
resources or apply survival strategies or not (Junk
& Wantzen, 2004). Anthropogenic flow alterations
as a result of dam operations likely involve a shift
in the timing of the flood pulse.
Continuity is a flood pulse characteristic that is
particularly significant for total spawning species.
These are fishes that are dependent on a single
reproduction window that uses a particular stage
of the flood pulse cycle. Interruptions in the
flood pulse or a temporary recession of flood
water might render water quality such that it is
unsuitable for the survival of eggs, larvae or even
adult fish. Smoothness of a flood is a measure of
the steadiness of the rise and fall of the waters, or
the degree in which localized rainfall influences
the characteristics of the flood pulse. Tonle Sap
floods are generally fairly smooth, although in
recent years impact of sudden halts in the rise of
flood waters have been suspected of contributing
to a large reduction in catches of Henicorhynchus
siamensis in the Tonle Sap ecosystem by disturbing
its entry in the floodplain (Nao Thuok, pers.
comm.).
The rate of rise and fall of the flood waters, or
the rapidity of change, is potentially critically
important for many fishes. Nesting species can
have their reproductive cycle disrupted by fast
rising water levels, or attached eggs can become
emerged during rapid fall of flood water. The
rapidity of falling water levels in the floodplain
12
is also an important factor as it could leave many
fish trapped in the floodplain, in temporary of
permanent floodplain ponds or channels. Here,
they are highly vulnerable to being caught. The
importance of the speed of water rise is illustrated
in the Amazon River flood-pulsed ecosystem where
a slowly rising water level leads to interruption
and/or delay of spawning migration of many
migrating fish species and in extreme cases to
gonad absorption (Junk & Wantzen, 2004).
The amplitude of a flood is the difference between
the low water level and the maximum reached
during the flood. The amplitude, and especially
its natural inter-annual variation, has implications
for the connectivity between floodplain pools and
the permanent lake.
The duration of flood is measured from the time
the water levels rise from the permanent lake area
until they reach that level again after the flood
event. Longer duration of flooding extends the
growing season for species that use the floodplain
for feeding. The duration of the flooding has
an impact on the terrestrial vegetation that is
physiologically adapted to a certain duration of
floods but that will suffer from longer floods,
resulting in a total die-off in case of permanent
submersion.
Dry season water levels, and in particular variation
thereof, can have a great impact on the extent and
nature of various habitats for a range of organisms
during the dry season. The dry season water level
in the lake determines to a large extent its water
quality. In most unregulated systems, the dry
phase is limiting to population densities, acting as
a sort of a filter through which a population has to
pass to survive into the following year (Welcomme
& Halls, 2004). The effects of changes in one year
often can be detected for as much as five years
following the event.
Based on the impact of the flood pulse on different
aspects of fish ecology and fisheries, impacts of
changes in the flood pulse on fisheries productivity
can be evaluated to the extent that sufficient
specific knowledge is available. The scarcity of
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part I: Nature
sound specific knowledge on the complex matters
of fisheries production and productivity of the
Tonle Sap ecosystem limits all current impact
predictions on fisheries productivity to uneducated
guesswork. The response time of the impact of
changes to the flood pulse on the fisheries depends
also on the status of the fisheries. Fisheries that
are heavily exploited generally show a shift in the
catches from larger species to smaller fishes that
have shorter life cycles (Welcomme, 2000) and
impacts will be felt faster but may be limited in
time. There are indications that current natural
resource use of the Tonle Sap has exceeded the
ecosystem productivity optimum (van Zalinge
2002). Such developments need to be taken into
consideration when assessing the impact of flow
alterations on fisheries productivity.
6 EIAs and flood pulse impacts
assessment: current EIA practice, and
its failure to assess integrative impacts
The flood pulse paradigm is currently the
most comprehensive and adequate approach to
explaining and measuring ecosystem productivity
of such pulsed ecosystems. One of the greatest
merits of the flood pulse concept is that it considers
the integration of terrestrial and aquatic processes
that seems so important in determining ecosystem
productivity of flood-pulsed systems, be they rivers,
lakes or mangrove forests.
Environmental impact assessments are still made
using concepts that have been superseded by the
flood pulse concept. Also, contemporary EIA
methods involve the assessment of the impact of an
activity on discrete elements of the environment
such as the air, soils, groundwater, wildlife etc. (see
e.g., ADB, 2003a; EU, 1985, 1997; World Bank,
1999).
In some environments where there is little or no
interaction between these sectors, this sectoral
approach is adequate to assess environmental
impacts. Noise pollution from airport operations
typically bears little relation to the impact of these
airport operations on say the groundwater quality
of the area. Cumulative and secondary impacts
Lamberts - Little Impact, Much Damage 13

are considered as part of an EIA to assess the
interaction with impacts of an existing situation,
or with impacts of (planned) new activities. This
approach focuses on accumulation of impacts
between activities within environmental sectors
rather than on environmental characteristics that
originate from interaction between elements or
processes considered separately in these traditional
EIA sectors (Figure 4).
In the few cases where accumulation between
EIA sectors has been considered (and none of the
current common EIA guidelines requires this),
truly integrative processes and concepts such as
that of the flood pulse are not adequately covered.
The recognition of such integrative processes is
a prerequisite for effective impact assessment.
Figure 4 shows how elements of cross-sectoral
environmental issues are assessed for impacts in
EIAs but how large parts and important aspects
are not included.
case of further anthropogenic alterations to Mekong
River flow. There are two main explanations for
this: firstly, there is still widespread ignorance
about the flood pulse concept and the importance
of its processes, and, secondly, present day EIA
practices cannot handle integrative, cross-sectoral
processes.
Recognition of the flood pulse as an ecological
paradigm in relation to the Tonle Sap ecosystem
is still limited, even within circles with a clear
relevant mandate such as the MRC. Recent
flagship publications by MRC on the state of the
Basin (MRC, 2003b) and on an EIA and strategic
environmental assessment system for the lower
Mekong countries (MRC, 2002a, b) do not use or
refer to the flood pulse as an ecological paradigm.
Other groups are collecting further evidence of
the flood pulse in the Tonle Sap ecosystem (e.g.,
Kummu et al., 2006) but the mainstreaming of
this information is happening at a very slow pace.

The traditional EIA approach has failed to To illustrate the shortcomings of current EIA
safeguard the Tonle Sap ecosystem. There are no practices, it is worthwhile having a closer look at
indications either that this will be different in the one of the recent, more explicit attempts at assessing

Activity

The Environment

S1 S2 … Sn-1 Sn EIA sectors

Cross-sectoral
element of flood
pulse

Impact assessment

Impact assessed
by sector

Sector-based mitigation, management and monitoring, and

decision making

Figure 4 EIA practice and cross-sectoral environmental issues such as the flood pulse. The circular arrows symbolise flood pulse
processes within an EIA sector (e.g., photosynthesis by phytoplankton in the surface water sector), the horizontal arrow represents
cross-sectoral flood pulse processes (e.g., transfer of terrestrial organic matter to the aquatic phase). Si: EIA sector i.
14
the impact of flow alterations on the Tonle Sap
ecosystem using advanced EIA techniques. The
most explicit and comprehensive assessment of the
impact on the Mekong River basin of any project
was made for the Nam Theun 2 hydropower
dam project in Lao PDR. In a bid to assess the
full range of impacts, the Asian Development
Bank (ADB) and the World Bank ordered an
unusual Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA)
of the construction and operation of the project
(ADB, 2004b, c, d). The report mentions: “It was
commented from the side of the World Bank that
the CIA was a good report that has allayed concerns
about the extent of downstream impacts as well as
addressed regional issues. The recommendations,
however, need to be strengthened, for instance in
relation to the use of the NT2 as a model for other
hydropower development projects in the future.”
The CIA examined the marginal impacts of the
dam project as well as those accumulated with all
other known ongoing and planned hydropower
developments in the basin (Table 1).
The description of the cumulative impacts for
Tonle Sap of all planned hydropower development
states a dry season water level rise of 28 -70 cm
at Chaktomuk, the junction between the Tonle
Sap and the Mekong Rivers. The corresponding
increase in Lake water level by up to 63 cm is not
mentioned in the summary of cumulative impacts
nor does it get any significance attached elsewhere
in terms of impact. The report continues with the
corresponding drop in Tonle Sap high water levels
by comparing them to the overall flood amplitude
and its natural interannual variation, to conclude
that the impact is minimal (5 year forecast) to
significantly negative (20 year forecast). In this,
the CIA assesses only one characteristic of the
flood pulse with respect to fisheries production,
and that is based on the ill-informed belief that
the fisheries “are favoured by high wet season
water levels.” (ADB 2004b, Hortle et al., 2005).
All other parameters that determine fisheries
productivity as discussed earlier are disregarded in
the assessment.
A rise in dry season water levels at the Tonle
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part I: Nature
Sap-Mekong junction will lead to a rise of the
permanent water level of the Lake, which would
result in a massive die-off of all the terrestrial
vegetation in the new permanently aquatic area.
This process, the negative impacts of which could
be felt for several years (Roberts 2004), would have
a serious impact on ecosystem productivity.
In the fisheries annex of the CIA (ADB 2004d) the
existence of a flood pulse in the Mekong system is
acknowledged, and the impact of alterations to the
hydrology of the Mekong River on many aspects of
the flood pulse is briefly discussed. The assessment
hardly transcends the sectoral approach and huge
gaps remain in the assessment of the impact (e.g.,
the entire detrital loop is ignored, as well as the role
of flooded vegetation as a direct food source). The
impact on the flood pulse as such is not discussed.
The direct impacts on the Tonle Sap Lake of the
construction and operation of the Nam Theun 2
dam alone are found to be insignificant based on
the same flawed argumentation (ADB, 2004b).
One of the most critical processes of the flood
pulse is the transfer of terrestrial organic matter to
the aquatic phase (Junk et al., 1989; Junk, 1997).
This involves a variety of pathways, including
ingestion and digestion by aquatic organisms,
bacterial decomposition, biofilm formation and
metabolism, and leaching of photosynthesis
products. While affected by changes identified
in several sectors of an EIA (soil fertility, surface
water quality and level, groundwater dynamics),
the impact on the process as such is not assessed
unless all the sectoral impacts are integrated in
a purposive manner, which requires an explicit
acknowledgment of the presence of the flood pulse
processes.
7 Conclusion:
Little impact, much damage
The significance of the flood pulse processes for
the Tonle Sap ecosystem means that the impact
of flow alterations in the Mekong River cannot be
adequately assessed without specifically examining
the consequences for the flood pulse.
Lamberts - Little Impact, Much Damage
The fact that the deployment of best available
resources to assess the impact of projects does
not produce the intended results of adequate
impact assessment is both a failure of the
system of environmental safeguarding and of its
implementation. Impacts are assessed in line with
the requirements, legal, contractual and political,
cumulative impacts are predicted beyond the call
of duty, and these are all judged to be small, if not
insignificant. Or are they?
There is no doubt that the environmental impact
assessments that have been carried out with regard
to the Tonle Sap ecosystem include some excellent
studies and analyses. Within their scope, they have
achieved what they set out to do. The business of
impact assessment studies is a highly competitive
sector, and the resources at the disposal of the EIA
practitioner are typically tight. The requirements of
international organisations are often equally tight,
and this makes that there is little space or incentive
for anything that goes beyond the minimum
requirements for the impact assessment. National
public sector EIA requirement combined with
private sector funding for a project offers probably
the least demanding conditions for environmental
safeguarding.
The example of the Nam Theun 2 dam shows how
cumulative impacts assessments do not lead to
adequate assessment and mitigation or avoidance
of environmental damage in case of cross-sectoral
processes such as the flood pulse. Furthermore,
the cause of environmental damage is dissipated
among all the other developments contributing
to the cumulative impact, and the process is used
to minimise or even ridicule the marginal impact
of the specific project. Since in most cases all the
other factors contributing to the cumulative impact
are beyond the control of the project promoters,
these projects and their impacts are used as positive
justification for the project at hand, providing
impunity for breaching environmental and social
safeguarding requirements.
15
This example also shows that it is currently
possible to meet the environmental safeguarding
requirements of the World Bank and ADB while
hardly even beginning to scratch on the surface
of the real damage that is done, in this case to the
Tonle Sap ecosystem. Conservation of which, at
the same time, is at the centre of the ADB country
strategy for Cambodia (ADB, 2005a, b), and to
which effect unprecedented flows of funds are
being created (ADB, 2002, 2005c).
In the same way as the large amount of questionable
information that is available in relation to the
Mekong and the Tonle Sap (see for examples
Poulsen et al., 2002; Van Zalinge, 2002; Baran,
2005 or Campbell et al., 2005), current EIAs and
EIA processes do a disservice to responsible and
informed water resources management by leading
decision makers to believe that they are adequately
informed. Certainly with respect to the impact on
Tonle Sap ecosystem productivity and biodiversity,
the requirements and feasibility of mitigation, and
ultimately the consequences for livelihoods this is
not the case.
In addition to the environmental values at stake
in this Man and the Biosphere Reserve of global
biodiversity significance, there are equally so the
livelihoods of over one million local people that
are directly or indirectly derived from the natural
productivity of the Tonle Sap ecosystem (ADB,
2004a). These people and their ancestors have
endured war, genocide, floods and droughts but
none of these calamities has brought about the
loss of resilience, neither of the people nor that of
the natural resource they depend upon to rebound
after times of adversity. The current fluvicide, as
Roberts (2004) calls it, will achieve precisely that.
Acknowledgements
The author is grateful to Matti Kummu who kindly
helped with one of the figures. This work has received
funding from the Academy of Finland Project
211010.
16
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 Water & Development Publications - Helsinki University of Technology AB

BANK EROSION IN THE MEKONG RIVER BASIN:

IS BANK EROSION IN MY TOWN CAUSED BY THE
ACTIVITIES OF MY NEIGHBORS?
1 1 2
Naoki Miyazawa , Kengo Sunada & Pech Sokhem
1 Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Medicine and Engineering, University of Yamanashi, Japan
2 Japan Science and Technology Agency, University of Yamanashi, Japan

This paper examines the myth that human activities in one location cause bank erosion on the opposite
bank or scouring/sedimentation of the riverbed downstream. The equilibrium relationship between the grain
size of the riverbed and the dimensionless tractive force during flooding of the Mekong River is described.
Erosion of the bank returns the river to equilibrium conditions from non-equilibrium conditions caused by
human activities. Areas where severe bank erosion will occur are also identified.

1 Introduction
The Mekong River flows over 4,800 km from its
source on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau, at an
elevation of over 5,200 m above mean sea level,
to the South China Sea. It passes through six
countries, China, Myanmar, Lao PDR, Thailand,
Cambodia, and Vietnam (MRC, 2003).
The river leaves Chinese territory and its elevation
drops to around 300 m. The elevation of the river
Corresponding author:
Naoki Miyazawa
Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Medicine and
Engineering, University of Yamanashi
Takeda 4-3-11, Kofu
Yamanashi 400-8511, Japan
E-mail: miyazawa@yamanashi.ac.jp and
sunada@yamanashi.ac.jp
is 260 m at the Golden Triangle, where Thailand,
Laos, and Myanmar converge; the distance from
the river mouth is over 2,000 km. The reach from
the Golden Triangle to the river mouth is referred
to as the lower Mekong River (Sok, 2003).
There are many sediment-related issues associated
with the Mekong River, particularly bank erosion.
Farm and residential lands near the riverbank have
been damaged by bank erosion, resulting in a loss
of household income sources. The lower Mekong
basin, which includes Laos, Thailand, Cambodia,
and Vietnam, presently has a population of more
than 50 million. The riverbank zone in the basin
provides important economic goods and services
for production and consumption, as well as areas
for population settlement, and social and cultural
arenas. The population density along the riverbank

© 2008 TKK & Miyazawa, Sunada & Sokhem ISBN 978-951-22-9102-1

Kummu, M., Keskinen, M. & Varis, O. (eds.): Modern Myths of the Mekong, pp. 19-26
20
is much greater than in other parts of these
countries, excluding the coastal zones. Riverbank
degradation would lead to declining profits.
The Mekong River forms the border between Laos
and Thailand, with a length of about 1,100 km
(Tansubhapol, 2005). The two countries conferred
and agreed to define the political border as the
thalweg (deepest line) of the river channel. The
thalweg is shifted by scouring and sedimentation
of the riverbed and riverbank erosion. This shifting
of the border is a very sensitive political problem.
Human activities have changed the natural
processes in the Mekong River. The activities
in one location (riverbank protection, riverbed
excavation) can alter the flow velocity patterns and
thereby affect erosion on the opposite bank and the
Figure 1 Lower Mekong River and river segment division.
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part I: Nature
scouring/sedimentation process of the downstream
riverbed. An external consultant discussed the
shifting boundary lines due to excessive erosion of
the Lao riverbank due to bank protection on the
other side and changes in the flow channel which
made an island that was once part of Lao now part
of Thailand (Brown, 1999).
The objective of this paper is to clarify how
human activities in one location affect scouring/
sedimentation of the riverbed and bank erosion
downstream or on the opposite bank.
2 Morphological characteristics
We will first discuss the morphological
characteristics of the Lower Mekong River
(Figure 1).
Miyazawa et al. - Bank erosion in the Mekong River Basin 21

The Mekong flows in a rock-cut channel in the
reach from Chiang Saen to Vientiane (Gupta,
et al., 2002). The channel in this reach is
geologically composed of Paleozoic-Mesozoic
folded sedimentary rocks with deposits of sediment
delivered by water flow on them. The channel
meanders around Chiang Khan (photo second
from the left in Figure 4) and point bars are formed
on the outside banks of bends. Sand bars develop in
alluvium in the reach from Vientiane to Thakhek
and move downstream. Point bars are formed at
the outside banks of bends in the meandering
reach between Vientiane and Nong Khai. The
river forms braided channels in the reach between
Pakse and Khone Falls. There are places where
the river splits into numerous smaller channels
separated by islands. The river width varies greatly
downstream of Khone Falls (Figure 2).
The landscape becomes very flat and the floodplain
covers considerably large areas downstream of the
border between Laos and Cambodia. The sediment

Figure 2 Longitudinal variation of river width in the mainstream of the lower Mekong River.

Figure 3 Longitudinal variation of average bed elevation in the mainstream of the lower Mekong River.
22
is much finer, ranging from sand to fine mud. This
zone is influenced primarily by sedimentation, but
there is also localized erosion with local movement
of sediments. The main channel meanders across
the floodplain area. The shapes of individual
meander bends are constantly changed through
erosion and sedimentation. Each bend has a deep
outer portion in which rapid current erodes and
undercuts the bank (fourth photo from the right in
Figure 4). Sediment is deposited on the insides of
the bends to form point bars.
The river discharges to the South China Sea at
the Mekong delta. Slowing of the current in the
coastal flatlands causes massive sedimentation of
silt. The main channel of the river splits and the
river reaches the sea through a number of arms.
The channel of the lower Mekong River can
be divided into many segments with similar
characteristics and the same riverbed slope (Figure
3) as depicted in Figure 1. We will next discuss
the areas in which bank erosion is severe in the
Mekong River and the causes of erosion.
3 Bank erosion
3.1 Bank-erosion hot spots
Identifying the areas where bank erosion is
severe in the lower Mekong River is important
for discussing the stability of the river channel.
The reaches with severe bank erosion include
the Mekong delta (Luu et al., 2004 and Viet et
al., 2004), the Chaktomuk confluence in front of
Phnom Penh (MRC, 2002), and the meandering
reach between Vientiane and Nong Khai (JICA,
2004 and Rutherfurd et al., 1996).
Bank erosion is a major problem in the reach
from Vientiane to Nong Khai. The river actively
meanders in the Vientiane Plain, scouring of
the riverbed and eroding the outer bank and the
sedimentation on the inner banks of bends. JICA
research (2004) indicated that the length of bank
erosion between the Sangthong distinct and the
Namghum mouth, Vientiane, is 29.1 km and that
the erosion rate is 10 to 30 m/year.
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part I: Nature
The flow discharge and sediment discharge play
dominant roles in the morphology at Chaktomuk
confluence, where the Mekong, Tonle Sap, and
Bassac rivers merge. Lengthening of the Chroy
Chang Var Peninsula between the Mekong River
and the Tonle Sap River has been proceeding at
a rate of about 10 m per year since 1876 (MRC,
2002). This area has experienced severe bank
erosion.
There has been serious bank erosion in the Mekong
delta, particularly in the Tan Chau reach, where
the channel bends with a significant curvature. An
analysis of satellite imagery by Viet et al. (2004)
revealed that the length of erosion from 1966 to
2002 at Thuong Phuoc, the left side of the Mekong
River, was 6 km and the width was 1,250 m, and
thus the erosion rate was 34.7 m/year. The length
of erosion at Sa Dec, the right side of the Mekong
River was 10 km and the width was 1,200 m, and
thus the erosion rate was 33.3 m/year.
3.2 Cause of bank erosion
Bank erosion is affected by the water-flow velocity,
geotechnical properties, and the vertical-layer
structure of the bank and vegetation (particularly
the root and stem zone), and occurs for several
reasons. Bank erosion occurs intermittently and
cyclically. The process of scouring at the base of the
riverbank causes the soil mass of the bank to slide
downward and deposit (Figure 5). The deposited
soil mass is then flushed due to water flow. The
width of erosion in this event is one to three times
the height of the riverbank. Another cause of bank
erosion is dramatic lowering of the river-water
level. The water-level difference in the Mekong
River between the flood and dry seasons is 10 m
or more. The groundwater table in the riverbank
remains high during the high-water period in the
flood season. The river water lowers rapidly when
the flood season ends, but the groundwater table
is reduced gradually. This causes an imbalance
in water pressure on the riverbank slope. Pore
pressure acting on the bank slope may cause bank
failure if the riverbank materials are fine and the
permeability is low. Bank erosion can also occur as
a result of waves caused by passing ships.
Miyazawa et al. - Bank erosion in the Mekong River Basin 23

Figure 4 Land forms of the Mekong River (photos were taken in 2005).

Figure 5 Bank erosion.

24
The authors’ field survey indicated that the
riverbed in the lower Mekong River is composed
primarily of sand, while the riverbank is chiefly
composed of silt and clay. The bank material is
finer than the bed material since the riverbank is
formed by sedimentation of suspended particles.
Thus, the bank slope is very steep and overhanging
of the riverbank was observed.
We describe human activities conducted along
the Mekong River in the next section and discuss
the impact of human activities on the scouring or
sedimentation of the riverbed and bank erosion.
4 Human activities
4.1 Bank protection
The Mekong River has the lowest ratio of bank
protection, due mainly to a lack of funding. It is
estimated that less than 8% of the 4,900 km-long
Mekong River bank is protected by engineered
structures. Thailand is the only country in
the Mekong basin that can invest extensive
financial resources on bank protection and flood
embankments along its critical riverbank stretches.
A stretch of 40 km on the Laos side is considered
to contain areas of bank erosion; only 4 km of the
Figure 6 Relationship between grain size of riverbed and dimensionless tractive force.
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part I: Nature
stretch is under proper bank protection (Stephens,
1999).
Mekong River Commission and its predecessor
have played a role in the riverbank protection.
However, this issue is no longer included in their
work programme, since riverbank protection is
considered to be a national project rather than a
basin-wide project.
Bank protection systems are expensive and
cannot be automatically considered in any river
development project, particularly in rural areas,
where the cost may be considered to be greater
than the value of the assets to be protected.
4.2 Influence of human activities on
bank erosion
Human activities in one location can cause bank
erosion on the opposite bank and scouring or
sedimentation of the downstream riverbed. The
equilibrium relationship between the grain size
of a riverbed and the water force acting upon the
riverbed grains during a flood (at average annual
maximum discharge) was obtained by analyses of
discharge, riverbed material, and topography in
Miyazawa et al. - Bank erosion in the Mekong River Basin
the Mekong River by the authors and of rivers in
Japan by Yamamoto (1994) (Figure 6).
This equilibrium relationship can be represented
by a single curve. The dimensionless tractive force,
calculated by use of hydraulic parameters, deviates
from this equilibrium curve if human activities
such as riverbank protection or riverbed excavation
are executed in one position. Eventually, erosion
of the bank will return the river to an equilibrium
condition from a non-equilibrium condition.
5 Conclusions
This chapter examined the myth that human
activities in one location cause bank erosion on
the opposite bank or scouring or sedimentation
of the downstream riverbed. The equilibrium
relationship between the grain size of the riverbed
and the dimensionless tractive force during a flood
in the Mekong River was obtained by analyses
of discharge, riverbed material, and topography.
Bank erosion returned the river returns to an
equilibrium condition from a non-equilibrium
condition caused by human activities, such as
bank protection or riverbed excavation.
25
We identified the areas in which severe bank
erosion will occur which included the meandering
reach between Vientiane and Nong Khai, the
Chaktomuk confluence where the Mekong,
Tonle Sap, and Bassac rivers converge, and the
Mekong delta. These areas are also advancing
toward urbanization and therefore are regions to
be protected from bank erosion.
The scouring or sedimentation and bank erosion
of individual reaches and the impact of human
activities on them have not yet been analyzed
quantitatively due to a lack of necessary data and
deficiencies of the model. We hope that these
analyses lead to a solution to the bank-erosion
issue.
Acknowledgements
This work was financially supported by the Academy
of Finland (project 211010). The authors also
acknowledge financial support for the field survey
by the COE 21st Century Programme and the Japan
Science Technology Agency’s CREST Programme.
We sincerely thank the Technical Support Division
of the Mekong River Commission and WUP-FIN
Projects for their generous data provision.
26
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Tansubhapol, B., 2005. After 2-year gap, talks on
demarcation due, Laomedia.net.
Viet, P.B., Nguyen, L.D. & Duan, H. D., 2002. Using
remotely sensed data to detect changes of riverbank in
Mekong River, GIS Development.
Yamamoto, K., 1994. Alluvial Fluviology, Sankaido, pp.
2-10, pp. 70-72 (in Japanese).
This publication is available electronically at
water.tkk.fi/global/publications
 Water & Development Publications - Helsinki University of Technology AB

IS HARM AND DESTRUCTION

ALL THAT FLOODS BRING?
Jussi Nikula
Water Resources Laboratory, Helsinki University of Technology, Finland

Human settlement in the Lower Mekong River Basin face forceful floods every monsoon season,
to a lesser or greater extent. The control and mitigation of the floods’ destructive force and harmful impacts
have consequently been set as one of the top priorities in water management plans in the region.
But could there be also some benefits from the floods?

1 Introduction
Damaged roads and bridges, irrigation channels
full of sludge, destroyed harvests, interrupted
businesses and even human suffering may face
people who live in flood-prone areas. The negative
effects of floods, such as damage to infrastructure
and environment as well as disturbances to
economic and social activities, are so obvious and
provoking also in the Lower Mekong Basin that
flood management has been set as one of the top
priorities in many water resource management
Corresponding author:
Jussi Nikula
Water Resources Laboratory
Helsinki University of Technology - TKK
P.O. Box 5200, FIN-02015 TKK, Finland
E-mail: jussi.nikula@tkk.fi
policies in the region (e.g. MRC, 2004; Tinh &
Hang, 2003; Mao, 2005). In addition, wider public
attention is focused almost exclusively on the
destructive impacts of floods.
Traditionally floods have been controlled with
relatively simple, tough extensive, structural
solutions. History has shown how technical
approach to flood management is handicapped
in front of a multidisciplinary management task.
The case of Mississippi River, where taming
the river with dams, locks and levees has lead
to massive problems with land losses, saltwater
intrusion, storm events, relative sea level changes
and caused significant ecological and economical
consequences (Izzo, 2004), provides a classic
example of the problems related to the traditional
flood management approach.

© 2008 TKK & Nikula ISBN 978-951-22-9102-1

Kummu, M., Keskinen, M. & Varis, O. (eds.): Modern Myths of the Mekong, pp. 27-38
28
The Lower Mekong Basin and its floods
have not been harnessed with extensive flood
control structures. Only the Mekong Delta in
Vietnam is strongly affected by the human made
structures. Modern water resources management
strategies, which generally follow the principles of
Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM)
paradigm, are applied throughout the basin.
The IWRM paradigm “emphasises coordinated
management and development of water, land,
and related resources in order to maximise the
resultant economic and social welfare without
compromising sustainability of vital ecosystems”
(Global Water Partnership 2000: 22). Due to the
enormous complexity and the multidisciplinary
nature of water resource issues it is however very
challenging to manage water resources and their
multifactorial impacts on regional economies,
social benefits, and environmental integrity
of floodplains dimensions in a balanced and
integrated manner.
The importance of understanding the diverse
nature of the water resources management issues,
also regarding floods, has been widely recognised
(e.g. Cogels, 2005; Global Water Partnership,
2000). The objective of this chapter is to provide
the reader with an integrated perspective on flood,
which takes into account the economic, social as
well as ecological dimensions of the river basin’s
nature and societies. Consequently, this chapter
introduces the general characteristics of floods and
the flood’s significance to the ecology and society
of the area. Subsection 2.1 focuses on floods
as an integral part of the Lower Mekong Basin
River system and ecology. The socio-economic
implications that are beyond the immediate flood
control and damage mitigation are discussed in
subsection 2.2.
This chapter also aims at exploring the conceptions
about floods among water management
organisations and experts in the Lower Mekong
Basin. It is observed if the water resources
management organisations have been able to obtain
balanced policies concerning the management of
the detrimental and beneficial effects of floods.
These policies influence the development of the
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part I: Nature
Lower Mekong Basin, and current and future
development will eventually show if Mekong will
turn into another Mississippi or if it will be a best
practice example in the future discussions. A few
of the essential water management policies in the
Lower Mekong Basin are reviewed in section 3.
The Lower Mekong Basin is understood in this
chapter as the Cambodian, Laotian, Thai and
Vietnamese part of the Mekong River Basin. These
four countries are the members of the Mekong
River Commission (MRC), an organisation that
aims at sustainable management and development
of the basin’s water resources for the countries’
mutual benefit. Different working plans and
strategy papers of the MRC are consequently
central to the water resources development in the
region. The review of the water policy papers is
not extensive but focuses instead on a few essential
papers. When discussing the occurrence of floods
and their implications, this chapter focuses mostly
on the Cambodian and Vietnamese floodplains
below Kratie (see Figure 1) in the lower reaches
of the Mekong. In these regions the occurrence
of floods is more frequent and extensive than
elsewhere in the Lower Mekong Basin (MoWRM/
CNMC, 2003: 4).
In addition to the Mekong River Commission,
another strong international player in the region is
the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The Greater
Mekong Subregion (GMS) programme of ADB
includes the four previously mentioned countries
as well as China and Myanmar. The programme
aims at subregional economic cooperation and has
contributed to the development of infrastructure
to enable development and sharing of the region’s
resource base (ADB, 2005c). Papers published
in association with GMS are similarly seen as
indications of the development tendencies in the
region.
2 Floods are only bad?
In year 2000, floods in the Lower Mekong Basin
created massive destruction. More than 800 people
lost their lives due to a strong flood season and
the economic damage was assessed at more than
Nikula - Is harm and destruction all that floods bring? 29

104°0'0"E 106°0'0"E

Permament water
Sisophon
Siem Reap Floodplain
Battambang Country border
Tonle Sap
Lake

Mekong
Kampong Thom
Pursat

Kratie

Ton
Kampong Chhnang

le S
12°0'0"N

ap R
Kampong Cham

iver
Koh Kong PHNOM PENH

100

Bassa
km
c
Ho Chi Minh City
Thailand Chau Doc
Sihanoukville
Cao Lanh
Ha Tien My Tho
Mekong

BANGKOK
Cambodia
m
na

10°0'0"N
t
Vie

Can Tho
PHNOM PENH
Ho Chi Minh City
Gulf of South
Thailand China Bac Lieu
Sea

Figure 1 The floodplains of the Lower Mekong Basin. (Map by Matti Kummu)

US$ 400 million (MRC, 2004: 51). The following
year, 2001, more than 300 people lost their lives
on account of floods, while economic damage was
assessed at more than US$ 100 million. Again, in
2002, major floods caused loss of life and property
in all the four countries of the Lower Mekong
Basin. During each of these three years between
one and eight million people were affected by
floods. They faced either a need for evacuation, or
loss of crops and livestock, or were prevented from
going to work or to school. (ibid.).
The floods pose a major threat to people’s lives and
property (MRC, 2004: 52). Especially vulnerable is
the predominantly rural population in Cambodia,
Laos and Vietnam, of which 40 % live below the
poverty line. Serious floods have negative impact
on their fragile social and economic systems.
(ibid.). Floods often occur in Cambodian rural
communities that are already characterised by
widespread poverty, livelihood insecurity and
food insecurity (Helmers & Jegillos, 2004: 29).
Helmers & Jegillos (ibid.) note that the key point is
that before floods occur, many rural Cambodians
are already vulnerable in many ways to adverse
impacts from them. They also observe that the
negative impacts of floods in the past are one of
the causes of the already existing vulnerability.
When reading about these examples of floods’
destructive force it is easy to understand the roots
of the popular negative conception of floods.
However, the next two subsections will provide
an integrated perspective on floods by introducing
the floods’ role in the Mekong River system and its
implications to the local livelihoods.
30
2.1 Floods – Integral element of the
Mekong River system
So far we have discussed floods without clearly
considering the definition of the term. Oxford
English Dictionary (Oxford University Press, 2005)
defines flood as an overflow of a body of water over
land that is not usually submerged. This definition
is acceptable but the different flood characteristics
of diverse water bodies should be kept in mind.
Above-mentioned definition is most suitable for
arctic-temperate zones where precipitation and
river discharges are usually equable. The tropical
and sub-tropical large rivers behave, however, in
a different manner. For example in the Mekong,
the precipitation and river discharge have strong
seasonal variations. As we can see in Figure 2, the
water level in the Mekong mainstream at Phnom
Penh varies from less than 2 meters above mean
sea level (amsl) in the dry season to 8 or even more
than 11 meters amsl in the wet season. Also the
variations between the years are considerable. It is
more relevant to refer to dry season and wet season
water levels, or daily water levels, in the Lower
Mekong Basin instead of single mean water level
value.
The floods of the Lower Mekong mainstream
and adjacent floodplains are characterised by
rather predictable, annual, single-peak flood pulse
with large flood amplitude. Smaller parts of the
catchment, especially in its upper parts, experience
more frequent and less predictable flood pulses
with smaller amplitude and shorter duration.
Due to this natural variation in precipitation and
river discharge, the extensive annual flood pulse is
an integral element of the Mekong River system
(MRCS/WUP-FIN, 2003: 11; Lamberts, 2001:
22). To broaden our perspective from the damages
floods can cause let us consider the natural
environment in which a flood pulse is a critical
process (Sverdrup-Jensen, 2002).
Local ecological features are formed through the
interplay of the physical environment and the
biotic community. Availability of water is one of the
most important physicochemical environmental
factors. Hydrology, in the form of annual floods,
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part I: Nature
is an essential contributing factor in the ecosystem
processes of the Tonle Sap Lake and its floodplains
(Sverdrup-Jensen, 2002) as well as other parts of
the floodplains in the Lower Mekong Basin (e.g.
Bonheur & Lane, 2002: 34; Poulsen et al., 2002;
Fox, 2004: 5; Sverdrup-Jensen, 2002: 3).
During the dry season the borders between land
on floodplains and permanent water bodies
are rather clearly distinguishable. Aquatic and
terrestrial ecosystems, that interact to a lesser
degree during the dry season, are put to a direct
interaction by rising water level during the wet
season. Ecosystems that face fluctuation between
terrestrial and aquatic conditions are called
floodplain ecosystems, or pulsing ecosystems
(Junk, 1997a). The flood pulse concept (Junk et
al., 1989; Junk, 1997a) emphasises the indivisible
nature of the river-floodplain system. After all,
water systems and their floodplains have common
water and sediment budgets. The same feature
applies also on many biological aspects, such as
the exchange of organisms, biomass and energy.
(ibid.).
Biological productivity of the floodplain ecosystems
in the Lower Mekong Basin is very intense. Tonle
Sap Lake and the adjacent floodplains, which are
a central part of the Lower Mekong floodplains, are
claimed to be one of the most productive freshwater
ecosystems in the world. (e.g. Kummu et al., 2007;
Lamberts, 2001). As Lamberts (2001) notes,
this assessment is based mainly on the amount
of harvested fish. Comparison of floodplain fish
yield estimates (Lieng & van Zalinge, 2001) shows
that the estimated fish yield in the Tonle Sap
floodplain (139-230 kg/ha/yr) is 7 to 850 percent
higher than those of Amazonian, Bangladeshi and
Indonesian floodplains. According to Bonheur
and Lane (2002) the Tonle Sap Lake is the fourth
most productive captive fishery in the world.
The principal reasons for the extraordinary
productivity of the vast floodplains are considered
to be efficient nutrient recycling as well as and
high annual sediment and nutrient fluxes from
the Mekong (e.g. Lamberts, 2001). Also the area’s
rich biodiversity is seen as a contributor to the high
productivity. (e.g. Kummu et al., 2007).
Nikula - Is harm and destruction all that floods bring? 31

1998 2000 2003 2004

12

10

8
Water level [m]

0
01-Aug

01-Nov

01-Dec
01-Sep

01-Mar

01-Apr
01-May

01-Feb
01-Jun

01-Jan
01-Oct
01-Jul

Figure 2 Mean daily water level in Mekong mainstream at Chroui Changvar, Phnom Penh (Mao 2005).

The basic mechanism for the intensive nutrient bound nutrient load, which ensures a periodic
cycling within the floodplain ecosystems is enhancement of the nutrient stocks of the
attributed to the fluctuation between terrestrial floodplains, is also regarded important to the
and aquatic conditions caused by floods. Plants and floodplain productivity (e.g. Kummu et al., 2007).
animals living in the floodplain use the available In addition to the intense nutrient cycling and
nutrients during their active growth phase and nutrient replenishment from the floods, the
transfer some of them to less active phase. For extraordinary biodiversity is a characteristic
example, plants that grow during the dry season feature of the ecosystem in the Mekong
utilise the nutrients in the sediments or nutrients floodplains. Changes in water level, erosion and
released by stranded aquatic biomass and store sediment deposition reform physical environment
them in their tissue. Once the flood submerges and disturb plant and animal communities. The
them they start decomposing and releasing the peculiar environmental conditions caused by
nutrients into the water. Then, aquatic organisms, the flood pulse have forced the biotic organisms
such as bacteria, algae and macrophytes can take to respond by morphological, anatomical,
up the nutrient released by decomposing terrestrial physiological, phenological, and/or ethological
organic material. Some aquatic organisms may adaptations. Different biotic communities and
also directly use the biomass produced during stages of succession result in remarkably diverse
the terrestrial phase, e.g. some fishes feed on fruit spatial structure of the floodplain habitats.
and/or terrestrial invertebrates. (Junk, 1997a). These habitats host a rich variety of species,
which contribute efficiently to the ecosystem
Floodwaters contribute to the biological productivity. (Junk, 1997b; Kummu et al., 2007).
productivity in others ways as well. The sediment- Probably the most well-known example of the
32
species’ adaptations to the local conditions in
the Mekong Basin is the massive fish migration
that takes place between the feeding and rearing
grounds in the floodplains and the dry season
refuges in the Mekong mainstream. Migratory
behaviour has evolved with the environment in
which they occur, and thus are finely tuned to the
environment and vulnerable to environmental
changes (Poulsen et al., 2002).
As we can see, the common denominator behind
the different factors of the extraordinary ecological
productivity of the floodplains seems to be the
annual flood. Nikula (2005: 13, 105) conducted
an extensive review on the ecological literature on
Tonle Sap Lake and Lower Mekong Basin. The
review supports the conclusion that the annual
flood pulse is necessary to the functioning and
high productivity of the floodplain ecosystems
in the Tonle Sap and elsewhere in the Lower
Mekong Basin. More detailed insight to the
floodplain ecology is provided by Dirk Lamberts
in his article about Tonle Sap ecology elsewhere
in this publication.
2.2 Socio-economic implications of floods
High productivity of the ecosystem generally
ensures richer abundance of natural resources
and other benefits that the floodplain ecosystem
delivers to people. These benefits, also called as
ecosystem services, include rich fishery resources,
advantageous conditions for rice cultivation and
provision of construction wood, clean water,
and shelter among others. A large proportion of
the people in the Lower Mekong Basin practise
agriculture, fishery and other livelihoods that are
directly dependent on the natural resources.
Ecosystem services have been divided in four
categories by Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
(2003). The categories include provisioning,
regulating, cultural and supporting ecosystem
services. Here we take a look at the provisioning and
supporting services, which are defined as products
obtained from the ecosystem (provisioning
services) and as services that are necessary for
the production of all other ecosystem services
(supporting services) (ibid.).
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part I: Nature
Example of the provisioning ecosystem services is
the vast range of food and fibre products derived
from plants, animals and microbes. Materials
from wood, aquatic plants and many others can be
utilised. Fuel materials, such as wood and dung,
serve as sources of energy. (Millennium Ecosystem
Assessment, 2003). Lower Mekong Basin is
especially famous for its rich fishery resources.
The provisioning ecosystem services are often also
called as (living) natural resources. In this paper
they are used as synonyms.
The main supporting ecosystem services are
soil formation, nutrient recycling and primary
production. Also some regulating services, such as
erosion control, have a strong supporting nature in
cases when their impacts on people arise indirectly
and in longer term. (Millennium Ecosystem
Assessment, 2003). Erosion control, for example, is
not directly used by humans. However, changes in
the erosion control would impact the advantageous
conditions for rice and other food crop production
in the floodplains of Lower Mekong Basin.
Considering the idea of ecosystem services
together with the information on floodplain
ecosystems provided in the previous subsection
(2.1) we are able to see the benefits of the floods.
In other words, the high productivity of the
ecosystems leads to richer availability of natural
resources, thus providing provisioning services,
such as fish, game, fuel and construction wood,
aquatic products, and fruits among others. The
sediment load brought by the floods enhances the
supporting services by providing nutrients for the
primary production and soil replenishment.
As mentioned, 40 % of the predominantly rural
population in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam
live below the poverty line (MRC, 2004: 52). A
great majority of the 60 million inhabitants of the
Lower Mekong Basin are farmers and fishers, all
of which depend directly on the natural resource
base (MRC, 2006). Keskinen (2003) studied the
livelihood structure of Tonle Sap area, a central site
of the Lower Mekong floodplains. He concluded
that while fishing and rice cultivation are the
main sources of livelihood in the predominantly
Nikula - Is harm and destruction all that floods bring?
rural area the diversity of secondary and tertiary
sources of livelihood is enormous. The livelihood
structure is also characterised by seasonal variation
between the different livelihood activities. Like
fishing and rice cultivation, the supplementary
livelihood activities are generally very dependent
on availability of natural resources, such as diverse
aquatic and forest products. These versatile
resources are especially important to the poorest
people, who may not have access to any other
sources of livelihood. (ibid.).
People’s diets rely strongly on natural resources
that are dependent on the flood pulse. Rice is the
staple food for the people in the Lower Mekong
Basin. In Cambodia, the average rice yield from
the floodplains is greater than the overall average
of the lowland rice varieties (Vanhan, 2004). The
estimated fish production of two million tons per
annum in the Mekong River Basin (Coates et al.,
2003) is a significant protein source. In some areas
in Cambodia up to 80 percent of peoples’ annual
protein intake comes from fish (Fox, 2004).
Other aquatic products are essential sources of
supplementary nutrition and they function as a
back-up reserve when the primary sources fail.
For example, villagers in the Attapeu Province in
Laos access and use frequently a broad diversity of
aquatic plants and animals (close to 200 different
species) (Meusch et al., 2003). Also there fish and
aquatic animals make up the main animal protein
sources in people’s diets (ibid.).
3 Policy paper analysis
What kind of stand do the water-related policy
papers take on floods? How do they address the
complicated processes that the floods are part
of? These are the main questions asked in the
following two subsections. It is explored if the
myth “floods are only destructive” lives on in the
policy papers.
3.1 Taming the floods
Human health risks, damages on infrastructure
and property, environmental impacts as well as
other harmful impacts of floods are quite obvious
33
as was shown earlier. Therefore it is natural to find
different types of strategies in the relevant water
resource management policies that aim at taming
the floods. This subsection presents a short analysis
of such policies and a glance on the work of other
authors regarding flood management in the Lower
Mekong Basin.
Article 1 of the 1995 Mekong Agreement, which
is the constituting document of MRC, states that
member countries will cooperate among others in
flood control in a manner that optimises the mutual
benefits and minimizes the harmful effects that
might result from natural occurrences and man-
made activities. The concrete work in the MRC
Secretariat is based on Core Programmes, Support
Programmes and Sector Programmes. The latest
remarkable development regarding flood issues
is the launch of new Core Programme, namely
Flood Management and Mitigation Programme,
in 2003 (MRC, 2003).
MRC’s Work Programme for year 2005 explains
how the commission’s activities contribute to
its strategic plan (MRC, 2004: i). According
to the Work Programme, Flood Management
and Mitigation Programme (FMMP) aims at
preventing, minimising or mitigating people’s
suffering and economic losses due to floods, while
preserving the environmental benefits of floods
(MRC, 2004: 11). During year 2004 the main
activities conducted under the programme covered
flood preparedness and response issues as well as
early warning systems (MRC, 2004: 24). The
immediate objectives for the year 2005 were set as
establishing Flood Mitigation and Management
Centre, reducing vulnerability of society to floods,
enhancing mediation and coordination capacity,
strengthening competence in flood preparedness
and mitigation, and increasing institutional, human
resources and technical support (MRC, 2004: 52).
As we can see, the Flood Management and
Mitigation Programme of MRC is occupied
primarily with the negative impacts of floods.
The notion in the FMMP objectives that the
environmental benefits of the floods should be
preserved does not seem to attract much attention
34
in the MRC Work Programme. This is a notable
bias, since FMMP is the only programme in MRC
that directly deals with floods. Nevertheless, it must
be also noted that while FMMP is focused on the
protective measures some other programmes of
MRC bring up the ecological aspects of floods as
well. Those programmes are reviewed in the next
subsection (3.2).
The Greater Mekong Subregion programme of
ADB has pointed out flood control as one of the key
areas in pursuit of its strategic thrusts. The GMS
Flagship Program on Flood Control and Water
Resources Management (ADB, 2005a) strongly
underlines the negative impacts of floods and
supports the Flood Management and Mitigation
Programme of MRC. Also the GMS development
matrix (ADB, 2005b) includes a variety of flood
related projects. Common to all of them is that
they address only the question of flood control and
mitigation.
A few authors have also noted the biased perspectives
on floods in the international organisations. For
example, Ian Fox (Fox, 2003: 1) states that ADB’s
flood mitigation projects have tended, like other
similar projects implemented throughout the world
over the same period, to follow a standard, top-down,
predominantly engineering approach. According
to him such approach reflects the commonly held
conception that the impacts of floods are almost
wholly negative and that significant investments
in large-scale flood control measures are required
to prevent damage to valuable assets, including
important urban centres and also agricultural
land.
While the influence of the international
organisations on the Lower Mekong Basin’s water
resource management is more indirect and also
normative to some extent, the national policies
and ministries have often more concrete and
implementing role. The coping strategies with floods
in the two most flood-prone countries in the Lower
Mekong Basin, namely Cambodia and Vietnam,
have been quite different. The flood protection
measures in Cambodia have been relatively
modest (Mao, 2005: 3), while extensive control
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part I: Nature
structures have been constructed in Vietnam. For
example, Tinh and Hang (2003: 2) state that the
Vietnamese government has always put disaster
management, particularly flood and storm control
as top priority in its agenda. According to them,
structural solutions have been considerable drivers
of flood control systems. As an example, Tinh and
Hang mention the dyke and embankment systems,
which have been emphasised in the government
strategies.
The conceptions about floods, regarding their
harmful impacts and benefits, are probably not
very different in Cambodia and Vietnam (compare
e.g. Tinh and Hang 2003 and MoWRM/CNMC,
2003) but rather different in these countries are the
levels of financial, physical and human capital that
allows the construction of flood control structures.
Despite the waterworks undertaken during the
Khmer Rouge regime (1975-79), this period and
the following years of political instability (into
the 1990s) halted effectively such development
in Cambodia. Meanwhile the flood protection
strategies were actively implemented in the
Mekong Delta in Vietnam.
This short analysis presented above shows that these
policy papers reflect their writer’s deep concerns
about floods’ destructive force. Protective measures
are straightforward responses to the threats posed
by floods.
3.2 Living with the floods
The review in the previous subsection (3.1)
focused on the flood management policies, which
do not portray the whole picture. The beneficial
aspects of the floods are better represented in some
of the other water management policies that take a
different perspective on water resources.
The MRC’s Work Programme for year 2005
describes the contexts and objectives for each
programme (MRC, 2004). Especially in
association with the Fisheries Programme, the
beneficial effects of floods are highlighted. It is
stated that maintenance of the flood pulse and
migration routes is fundamentally important to
Nikula - Is harm and destruction all that floods bring?
the health of the fisheries. By inundating vast areas
of wetlands the annual flood creates remarkably
productive habitats for fish to spawn and feed. The
floods’ contribution to the overall productivity of
the ecosystem is also mentioned.
MRC’s other programmes consider the basin’s
aquatic habitats as well. One of the problems
addressed in the Water Utilisation Programme
is that increased water utilisation for human
purposes, e.g. irrigation, threatens the basin’s
natural habitat and aquatic ecosystem (MRC
2004). These concerns are shared with the
Environment Programme, which points out that
the reduction of biodiversity as well as decreased
complexity and extent of aquatic habitats are
primarily due to environmental degradation.
Basin Development Plan (ibid.) acknowledges the
needs to protect, preserve, enhance and manage
the environmental and aquatic conditions in the
river basin. However, only the Environmental
Programme of these three programmes spell out
explicitly the complicated ecological processes
related with floods and suggests measures how
those should be taken into account in the water
resource management.
According to MRC Secretariat (MRC, 2004: i)
the Work Programme for 2005 is built around the
concept of Integrated Water Resource Management
(IWRM). The IWRM approach calls for balanced
development between economic, social and
environmental objectives. Based on the analysis
carried out in this paper, it can be concluded
that the MRC has not been able to consider these
objectives equally in its Work Programme. The
environmental benefits and resulting social benefits
of the floods are not sufficiently addressed. The
underlying reason for the shallow consideration
of the ecological aspects in the MRC programmes
may be explained by Coleen Fox (2004). She
takes MRC as an example in her Mekong case
study, which shows, according to her, how the
failure to incorporate ecological knowledge into
the design of international river basin institutions
leads to a narrow focus on avoiding conflict over
one dimension of the resource at the expense of
others. In addition, Campbell (2005) argues that
35
the education of water resource professionals,
of which many have engineering background,
does not provide sufficient understanding of the
importance of floods to the ecological and socio-
economic processes.
Yet, it must be acknowledged that this analysis
is based on a limited review of a few programme
papers and limited literature. The actual
implementation work done under the auspices of
MRC could not be analysed in the scope of this
chapter.
An example of somewhat more comprehensive
approach to flood management is the European
Water Directors’ (2003) “best practices document”
on flood prevention, protection and mitigation.
Whereas the MRC and ADB policies regarding
floods seem to undervalue the beneficial effects
of the floods and the floods’ importance to the
overall characteristics of the river system, the
best practices document pronounces such issues
clearly. For example, it is stated in the executive
summary that:
• Flood events are a part of nature. They have
existed and will continue to exist. As far as
feasible, human interference into the processes
of nature should be reversed, compensated
and, in the future, prevented.
• Considering the evolution and trends, the
approach to natural hazards requires a change
of paradigm. One must shift from defensive
action against hazards to management of the
risk and living with floods…
• Human uses of floodplains should be adapted
to the existing hazards…
• Mitigation and non-structural measures tend
to be potentially more efficient and long term
more sustainable solutions to water-related
problems and should be enhanced…
In the Mekong region, there are signs of this
paradigm change that the best practices document
calls for. For example, WWF (2004) has supported
36
such development by bringing forward the floods
as natural phenomenon and the benefits of the
floods to the local communities. One of the
earliest governmental responses to the changing
attitudes was the new strategy of the Government
of Vietnam, which carries the name “Live with
Floods”. The new strategy has promoted low-
tech measures, traditional coping strategies and
acknowledgement of the benefits of the floods
(Tinh & Hang, 2003). It remains to be observed
how the paradigm change evolves.
4 Conclusions
The interconnections between the floods and the
productivity of the natural resources are complex
and often not very well understood. This naturally
decreases our ability to appreciate all the natural
productivity-related, positive outcomes of the
floods. Another reason for the development of the
common belief “floods are mostly destructive”
could be compressed in two word pairs: control-
adaptation and formal-informal. The negative
impacts of floods are most obvious in arrangements
in which human livelihoods and other activities are
based on strong control of the natural structures
or processes, such as irrigation systems and roads.
Such arrangements bind financial capital and
are usually funded through formal channels.
Therefore the natural variation in water level
fluctuation, which one year may exceed the safety
marginal of human-made control structures, are
clearly seen as destructive and the economical
losses are measurable. On the contrary, traditional
livelihoods, such as family fisheries, small-
scale agriculture, hunting and gathering, have
adapted to the local conditions. They utilise the
rich natural resources of the floodplains without
posing extensive control on them. In societies like
in Cambodia, and especially among its poorest
people, these livelihoods have a strong subsistence
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part I: Nature
nature and the connection to formal economy is
weak.
The analysis of flood related policies in the Mekong
region showed that there is strong conception
that the floods bring mostly harm as they occur.
Such thinking is however slowly being replaced
by more balanced and comprehensive approach,
which considers also the complicated flood-related
ecological processes and their benefits to the
people.
Floods are an integral part of the Mekong River
system. Similar to wild animal and plant species,
humans have also developed adaptations to
the fluctuating water level. Floods of average
magnitude, or reasonably close to it, pose no
significant additional risk to the human activities
in the Lower Mekong Basin. The most serious
damages are cause by larger and rarer floods. For
the most part, floods contribute to the human
well being by enhancing the ecological diversity
and productivity as well as inspiring water festivals
and other fascinating cultural phenomena of the
Mekong Region.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Dr. Olli Varis, Dr. Pertti
Vakkilainen, Marko Keskinen, Mira Käkönen, Katri
Makkonen, Mizanur Rahaman and Ulla Heinonen
as well as the whole Mekong Myths team of authors
with whom I have had many nice discussions while
developing my ideas for this paper. Matti Kummu
has also contributed to the discussions and been
especially helpful with the technical details related
to this paper. I would like to thank also the whole
WUP-FIN team for giving me the initial opportunity
to experience the mythical Mekong. This work has
received funding from the Academy of Finland
Project 211010.
Nikula - Is harm and destruction all that floods bring?
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 Water & Development Publications - Helsinki University of Technology AB

ARE THE CHINESE DAMS TO BE BLAMED FOR

THE LOWER WATER LEVELS IN THE LOWER MEKONG?
Lu Xi Xi, Wang Jian-Jun & Carl Grundy-Warr

Department of Geography, National University of Singapore, Singapore

The Lower Mekong has recently experienced lower water levels in the dry seasons.
Many people believe that this phenomenon is a consequence of the construction and operation
of the Chinese dams in the upper part of the Mekong main stream, the Lancang River.
This chapter examines the low flows of the Lower Mekong with aims of revealing truths, myths, and
uncertainties of the water levels alterations related to the Chinese dams.

1 Introduction
China has proposed a cascade of eight dams, and
two of them have been completed, Manwan in
1993 and Dachaoshan in 2003, to meet its need for
electricity in the Upper Mekong River (or Lancang
Jiang). The entire hydropower cascade involves
over 23 km3 of active reservoir storage (Mogg,
1997). Apart from providing renewable energy, the
Mekong cascades are supposed to provide better
flood control during the wet season and increased
water supply in downstream areas during the dry
Corresponding author:
Lu Xi Xi
Department of Geography
National University of Singapore
Singapore 119260
E-mail: geoluxx@nus.edu.sg
season. Chapman and He (1996) estimated that
impact of Manwan and Dachaoshan dams on
the water discharge are insignificant due to their
small capacity and significant changes will only
be noted after the operation of Xiaowan dam.
When Xiaowan dam is completed, dry season
flows can be increased up to 70% as far as 1,000
km downstream in Vientiane, Laos, due to the
impoundment of discharge during the wet season
(He & Chen, 2002; IRN, 2002). This would be
beneficial downstream in terms of irrigation and
navigation development, hydropower transmission
and possible flood control through flow regulation
by the cascade reservoirs.
Yet the reality is that the Mekong River has
recently been hit by the lower water levels. This
has been perceived by many NGOs and local

© 2008 TKK & Lu,Wang & Grundy-Warr ISBN 978-951-22-9102-1

Kummu, M., Keskinen, M. & Varis, O. (eds.): Modern Myths of the Mekong, pp. 39-51
40 Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part I: Nature

communities as a result of the two upper stream The questions we want to address are:
dams in China. However, a report released by
Mekong River Commission (MRC) suggests that • Were the water levels really lower in the recent
the recent droughts of the Mekong River were years at the study sites?
mainly due to the dry weather in combination
with forest clearing rather than the Chinese dams • In which degree did the first dam (i.e. the
(MRC, 2004; Phouthonesy, 2003). Apparently, Manwan Dam) alternate the water discharge?
these reports about the impacts of the Chinese
dams are not consistent. In fact, most of them are • What are the uncertainties related to the
contradictory (Appendix 1). This paper aims to hydrological alteration as a result of the
examine the water flow at Chiang Saen and Chiang Dam?
Khong, nearest gauging sites to the Chinese dams,
with special reference to the low flows in the dry
seasons.

Figure 1 The Mekong River showing the study gauging sites.

Lu et al. - Are the Chinese dams to be blamed for the lower water levels in the Lower Mekong?
2 The Mekong River
The Mekong River, which originates in the Tibet-
Qinghai plateau, flows through a distance of
approximately 4500 km, before it enters the South
China Sea at the Vietnam Delta (Figure 1). The
first 2,000 km, the upper basin, flows through the
Chinese territory while the lower basin covers an
area of 600,000 km2 in Myanmar, Thailand, Laos,
Cambodia and Vietnam. Though abundant in
biodiversity, the Mekong River is one of the most
undeveloped rivers in the world, hence providing
Figure 2 Water level values at Chiang Saen. (a)
shows an abrupt jump of water level between Dec 15
and Dec 16, 1993 caused by the move of Chiang Saen
gauging station to 500 m downstream from 4 April
1992 to 15 December 1993. Therefore, the water
level values after Dec 15, 1993 should be subtracted
by 0.62m in order to compare with the water level
before the date. This calibration can be validated by
the strong linear relationship between the water level
of Chiang Saen and Sop Ruak who are near to each
other ( b and c).
41
these countries a great asset for harnessing the
river for hydropower development, irrigation
project, flood control and domestic uses, which is
crucial and beneficial for economic development,
regionally and locally.
Administratively, the Mekong River basin is
divided into two sub-basins: the Upper Mekong
Basin (24% of total drainage area) and the Lower
Mekong Basin (76% of total drainage area).
The lower Mekong basin currently supports a
population of about 60 million people, and is
expected to increase to 90 million people in 2025.
Correspondingly, electric power demand in the
whole Mekong region is estimated to increase
by 7% annually to 2022, requiring a fourfold
increase in current electric generating capacity
(MRC, 2003). In view of the future demand and
economic viability of hydropower for the Mekong
region, numerous projects to tap the hydroelectric
potential of the Mekong River have been planned
by individual countries; in tandem, research
examining the potential environmental and social
ramifications of these hydropower projects is also
growing steadily.
The lower Mekong study area is characterized by a
largely tropical climate, with two distinct seasons –
a wet season from June to October and a generally
dry season for the rest of the year. In the lower basin,
mean annual precipitation varies from over 3000
mm in Lao PDR, and Cambodia to 1000mm in
the semi-arid Korat Plateau in Northeast Thailand
(MRC, 2003). The river usually begins rising in
May and peaks in September or October, with the
average peak flow at 45,000 m3s-1. Between June
and November, discharge from the Mekong would
have amounted to about 80% of its total annual
discharge. Around November, flows start receding
and reach the lowest levels in March and April, at
approximately 1,500 m3 s-1 (Kite, 2001).
3 Data and Methods
The study uses the historical data archived in
Lower Mekong Hydrologic Yearbook by MRC.
The time series of this study ranges from 1962 to
2003. The gauging stations of Chiang Saen (both
42 Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part I: Nature

Table 1 of dams. For example, applying the IHA model,

Parameters Hydrologic Degree of
Magilligan & Nislowb (2005) found that Dams
Alteration (%) Hydrologic had significantly modified hydrologic regimes
Alteration on a nationwide scale, for large and small rivers
Parameter Group 1 during the previous century in USA. In the non-
January 0 low parametric RVA (Range of Variability Approach)
February -32 low analysis, the full range of pre-impact data for each
March -77 high
parameter is divided into three different categories
based on either percentile values (The Nature
April -75 high
Conservancy, 2005): the lowest category contains
May 14 low
all values less than or equal to the 33rd percentile
June 25 low
from the median; the middle category contains
July 25 low
all values falling in the range of the 34th to 67th
August 50 medium percentiles; and the highest category contains all
September 25 low values greater than the 67th percentile. In order to
October -25 low assess the degree of hydrologic alteration, Richter
November 14 low et al. (1998) introduced a factor of hydrologic
December 14 low alteration calculated for each of the three
Parameter Group 2 categories as:
1-day minimum -75 high
Hydrologic Alteration factor = (observed
3-day minimum -75 high
frequency – expected frequency) / expected
7-day minimum -50 medium
frequency
30-day minimum -50 medium
90-day minimum -50 medium
Richter et al. (1998) divided the range of hydrologic
Parameter Group 3 alteration factor into three classes: 0-33%
1-day maximum 14 low representing low degree of hydrologic alteration;
3-day maximum 25 low 34-67% representing medium degree of hydrologic
7-day maximum 25 low alteration; and 67-100% representing high degree
30-day maximum -50 medium of hydrologic alteration. A positive hydrologic
90-day maximum -25 low alteration value represents that the frequency of
Parameter Group 4
values in the category has increased from the pre-
impact to the post-impact period while a negative
Base flow 25 low
value represents that the frequency of values has
decreased.
water levels and discharge) and Chiang Khong
(only water levels data available) were selected
on the basis of their close location to the Chinese
4 Were the water levels really lower
Dam. in the dry season in recent years at
Chiang Sean and Chiang Khong?
The model of Indicator of Hydrological Alteration The reports on the water levels changes are
(IHA) was employed to examine both water levels contradictive (Appendix 1). For example, while
and discharge datasets. The IHA model was the media reported that the lower Mekong had
developed to evaluate the hydrologic alteration of experienced lower water levels (e.g. Asia Times,
stream flows caused by constructions like dams 2002), Quang & Nguyen (2003) concluded
(Richter et al., 1997; 1998). The IHA model is that the average monthly-high, monthly-low
powerful for the study of changes in hydrologic and monthly-average dry-season water levels
regime due to the construction and operation have increased by 0.68 m, 0.57 m and 0.62 m,
Lu et al. - Are the Chinese dams to be blamed for the lower water levels in the Lower Mekong? 43

Figure 3 Minimum and maximum water levels at Chiang Saen and Chiang Khong.

Figure 4 Comparison of minimum water levels between Chiang Saen and Chiang Khong.
44
respectively, at Chiang Saen from pre-impact
period to post-impact period, due to the Manwan
Dam. Apparently, there is a need to conduct a
systematical analysis of water levels to find out
whether it’s true in the first that the water levels
were lower.
We examined the daily water levels (or gauging
heights) at the study sites recorded in the MRC
Hydrological Archives, and found that the water
levels records require calibration due to the move
of the gauging station in 1992, same year as the
Manwan Dam started to store water (Appendix
2). The zero elevation of gauging was 0.2 m
difference, but we found that the discrepancy of
the old and new gauging sites is around 0.62 m
(Figure 2). The relation between the calibrated
water levels at the new site and the water levels at
the Sop Ruak station, upstream Chiang Saen is
closer (Figure 2).
After the calibration, the model of Indicators of
Hydrologic Alteration (IHA) developed by The
Nature Conservancy (Richter et al., 1996) has
been employed to examine the alteration of the
Figure 5 The daily water discharge from 1962-2003 in Chiang Saen showing environmental flow components.
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part I: Nature
water levels. Here we apply the model to the water
levels at both Chiang Saen and Chiang Khong
sites to find out a series of the magnitudes of the
water levels or minima/maxima in the dry/wet
seasons (Figure 3).
At Chiang Saen, the 1-day, 3-day and 7-day
minima water levels decreased significantly after
the Manwan Dam operation, while the decrease
in the 30-day and 90-day minimum water levels
was insignificant (Figure 3). The maximum
water levels (the 1-day, 3-day, 7-day, 30-day and
90-day maxima) had an increasing trend, but
the increasing was in insignificant after the dam
operation (Figure 3). At Chiang Saen, the 1-day
minimum water level in 1993 and 1995 was 0.20
m and 0.22 m lower, respectively, than that in 1963
(the lowest year at Chiang Saen from 1962 to 1991
before the dam-operation); the 3-day minimum
water levels in 1993 and 1995 are 0.20 m and 0.23
m lower than that in 1963 (Figure 3).
The consistency of the minimum water level
alteration between at Chiang Saen and Chiang
Khong can also clearly be seen from Figure 4.
Lu et al. - Are the Chinese dams to be blamed for the lower water levels in the Lower Mekong?
Similarly, at Chiang Khong, the 1-day minimum
water levels in 1993 and 1995 are 0.42 m and
0.28 m lower than that in 1989 (the lowest year
at Chiang Khong from 1972 to 1991 before the
dam-operation); the 3-day minimum water levels
in 1993 and 1995 are 0.4 m and 0.27 m lower than
that in1989 (Figure 4).
According to precipitation averaged over 16 sites
from across the Basin (MRC, 2004), the 1992
was the driest year since 1960, but the water flow
was not the lowest, suggesting the possible flow
regulation by the Manwan Dam.
Completely different from Quang & Nguyen
(2003), our results indeed show that the post-dam
period (1992-2003) had lower water levels than the
pre-dam period (1962-1991). It is also very obvious
that the post-dam period had higher water level
Figure 6 Daily minimum and maximum water flows at Chiang Saen.
45
fluctuations as we found in a previous paper (Lu
& Siew, 2006) or reported by others (e.g. Oxfam
Hong Kong, 2002). However, such alteration in
the low water level is significant only at a short
range of time, i.e. over 1-7 days. When the time
period got longer to 30 or 90 days, such change is
no longer significant.
5 To what degree did the Manwan
Dam modify the water discharge?
Though the water levels data show some alterations
due to the Manwan Dam, the water discharge
data are perhaps more appropriate for assessing
hydrological alteration due to the dam operation.
The daily water discharge at Chinag Saen
fluctuated with the highest flood in 1966, 1970
and 1971, and the drought years in 1992 and 2003
46 Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part I: Nature

Figure 7 Base flows at Chiang Saen.

Figure 8 Monthly mean water level and discharge averaged over the entire pre- (1962-1991) and post-dam periods
(1992-2003).
Lu et al. - Are the Chinese dams to be blamed for the lower water levels in the Lower Mekong?
(Figure 5). The extreme flows indeed occurred in
5 years within 12 years since 1992.
The analysis of the IHA shows that the degree
of hydrologic alteration is high for March and
April, medium for August, and low for other
months (Table 1). The impact on daily minimum
discharge is considerably significant. The degree
of hydrologic alteration is high for 1-day minimum
and 3-day minimum charge, and medium for 7-
day minimum, 30-day minimum and even 90-
day minimum discharge (Table 1; Figure 6).
On the contrary, the impact on daily maximum
discharge is much lower. For 1-day maximum and
3-day maximum, 7-day maximum, and 90-day
maximum discharge, the degree of hydrologic
alteration is low. Furthermore, except for August
discharge, among the parameters whose degree
of hydrologic alteration is high or medium, their
hydrologic alteration factors are all negative, which
means that the frequency of values in the middle
category has significantly decreased from the pre-
impact to the post-impact period. In addition, the
base flow (i.e. 7-day minimum flow/annual mean
flow) decreased after dam-operation (Figure 7).
Our results indicate that the post-dam period
(1992-2003) indeed had a lower water flow than
the pre-dam period (1962-1991). These changes,
together with the changes in the low water level, are
possible results of the Manwan Dam. If this is true,
the changing is different from the conventional
wisdom for a hydropower dam, i.e. the hydropower
dam releases water in the dry season and store
water in the wet season, which would increase
monthly flows in the dry season, and decrease
flows during the flooding season. Nevertheless,
the monthly mean values of the water levels and
discharge averaged across the entire pre- and post
dam remain almost same (Figure 8). The possible
reason may be attributed to the small scale of the
Manwan Dam (He & Chen, 2002).
6 What are the uncertainties related to
the hydrological alterations as a result
of the dam?
Some uncertainties remain with our results of
47
the hydrological alterations. First, the data series
of the post-dam operation is only 12 years from
1992-2003. The data series for an appropriate
analysis of the IHA is at least 20 years (The Nature
Conservancy, 2005). Apparently we need to wait
for more years to come to carry out similar sort of
analysis.
Second, the move of the gauging site in Chiang
Saen and its consequent change in the zero
elevation have caused some problems for our
analysis on the water levels changes. Though such
change is not uncommon, it may not be noticed by
later user. Any analysis without further calibration
of the data could be misleading. For example, this
may be the reason why Quang and Nguyen (2003)
concluded that the dry season flow increased
approximately 60% at Chiang Saen after operation
of Manwan. Though we have calibrated the water
levels data with certain confidence level, it is still
necessary to further double check in the site.
Third uncertainty lies in the rating curve. We
have found that the rating curve (stage and water
discharge relation) developed in 1975 had been
used till 1994. In other words there were no actual
water discharge measurements over the almost 20
years from 1976-1994. The worst is that the 1975
rating curve was developed on the basis of 6 water
discharge measurements with high water level
only to 1.9 m (far away from the normal higher
water levels around 10 m) (Appendix 2).
Fourth, the water flow is controlled by many other
factors, apart from dam constructions. This is
particularly true for large rivers and in the fast pace
of environmental changes (Lu et al., 2003). The
upper Mekong River, like other Chinese rivers, has
been experiencing dramatic changes over the past
decade in the shrinkage of glacial covers in the
Tibet-Qinghai Plateau, reforestation/afforestation,
dam construction in the tributaries, highway
constructions, sand mining, water diversion and
consumption etc. For example, it was reported
that climate in the valley of the upper Mekong has
been getting hotter and drier. Apparently those
factors and changes influencing water discharge
need to be considered.
48
7 Conclusion
The present study on water discharge and water
level alteration at Chiang Saen and Chiang
Khong demonstrates that some of the hydrological
regimes have been influenced by the operation
of the Manwan Dam. Such influences are higher
in the dry seasons than in the wet seasons. The
dam-operation caused significant reduction in
the low water levels and discharge, but the high
water level alterations are insignificant at the
two sites. The monthly mean values of the water
levels and discharge averaged over the entire pre-
and post dam remain almost same. The possible
reason may be attributed to the small scale of the
Manwan Dam (He & Chen, 2002). In addition, we
are the first who noted and calibrated the effect of
the move of the gauging site in Chiang Saen, such
calibration is critical to draw a right conclusion on
the impact of dam-operation.
If the reduction in the low water level and discharge
was highly possibly attributed to the Manwan
Dam, it is different from what was expected from
a hydropower dam, i.e. the hydropower releases
water in the dry season and store water in the
wet season, which would increase monthly flows
in the dry season, and decrease flows during
the flooding season. In fact, it is common that
Chinese rivers such as Yellow river and Yangtze
River have recently experienced water decline
(Lu, 2004). No doubt that this decline is partially
due to the numerous dams constructed in various
tributaries and main rivers, but other factors such
as water consumption, land cover/land use change
and climate variations play important role as well.
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part I: Nature
It can be expected that the low water flow in the
Lower Mekong River would be reduced further
with the increasing demand of water in China and
other riparian countries.
It is demonstrated that RVA and Hydrologic
Alteration factor are useful for evaluating the
hydrologic influences caused by dam-operation in
the present study. Considering that at least twenty
years of daily records be recommended to be used
for each pre-impact and post-impact period (The
Nature Conservancy, 2005), the twelve-year post-
impact period becomes a limitation of the present
study. In addition, the long-term series of climate
records (e.g. precipitation and temperature) within
the whole watershed upper the Chiang Saen
gauging station should be employed in the future
research in order to more precisely evaluate the
hydrologic impacts of the dam-operation.
Acknowledgements
This study was funded by the China 973 Program
(Project No. 2003CB415105-6), and the National
University of Singapore (NUS) research grant R-
109-000-044-112. This work has received funding
also from the Academy of Finland Project 211010.
The authors would like to extend their appreciation
and thanks to Matti Kummu and Olli Varis for their
invitation, tolerance of our delay, critical comments/
suggestions and editing of the paper. We also thank
Mr. Uffer Poulsen and Ms. Zhu Yunmei for their
kind assistance and support at various stage of the
project.
Lu et al. - Are the Chinese dams to be blamed for the lower water levels in the Lower Mekong?
Appendix 1
Mean flow
Kummu & Varis, 2007 Increase in mean flow in post-
dam period (1993-2000) at
Luang Prabang and Pakse,
compared to pre-dam period
(1962-1992).
Lu & Siew, 2006 No significant change in mean
discharge after construction
of Manwan, except a sharp
decrease in 1992 (when
Manwan Dam was closed for
infilling).
Osbourne, 2004
Quang & Nguyen, 2003 Impact of Manwan significant
at Chiang Saen, but decreases
downstream and becomes
negligible at stations near the
estuary, like Chau Doc & Tan
Chau.
He & Chen, 2002 Negligible impact from
Plinston &He,1999 Manwan & Dachaoshan. Sig-
Chapman&He, 1996 nificant effects expected only
after completion of Xiaowan.
Mean discharge to LMB
after completion of Xiaowan
& Nuozhadu expected to
increase 171%.
Oxfam Study on the
impacts of Lancang River
Manwan Power Plant,
2002
Roberts, 2001
Dry season flow
Flow regulation is expected
to increase dry season flows
Annual min discharge de-
creased at Chiang Saen and
Luang Prabang, after Man-
wan began operations. Dry
season fluctuations increased
considerably in post-dam
period; little change in wet
season fluctuations.
Increased approx. 60% at
Chiang Saen after operation
of Manwan (654 m3/s to
1055 m3/s).
Substantial increase in flow
expected after completion
of Xiaowan, particularly in
reaches down to Mukdahan.
Release of extra water from
Manwan in wet season of
Sep-Oct 2003 may have
exacerbated the flooding
downstream, though on a
smaller scale.
49
Wet season flow
Flow regulation is expected
to decrease wet season flows
Annual max discharge
increased after operation
of Manwan Dam but effect
not noted in stations further
downstream such as Khong
Chiam and Pakse.
The dams may contribute
to excessive flooding in the
wet season, e.g. at Jinghong
in 2003, from the sudden
water release from one or
both dams as their maxi-
mum holding capacity was
reached.
Increased approx. 28% at
Chiang Saen after operation
of Manwan. Probably due to
increase in rainfall.
Wet season discharge
from Lancang could be
reduced by as much as
25%. However, reduction in
flow further downstream is
expected to be insignificant
as flow discharges from Lao
tributaries are high.
Daily fluctuation at the
base of Manwan Dam was
3-4 m (ave), peaking at 6.5
m in 1998. Since 1993,
infilling and discharge of the
reservoir resulted in >100
cave-ins and slides in areas
below.
50 Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part I: Nature

Appendix 2

Year Measurements No. Ranges of water levels Rating curve Note

1962 83 0.3-8.50 Zero of gage elevation 357.31 m
above M.S.L. Ko Lake datum.
1963 73 0.2-7.40
1964 70 0.5-7.40
1965 88 0.3-9.00
1966 No Using 1965
1967 119 0.77-7.37
1968 113 0.48-7.37
1969 111 0.22-9.02
1970 90 0.48-9.78
1971 86 0.64-9.59
1972 87 0.66-6.55
1973 67 0.65-7.46
1974 55 0.57-8.60
1975 8 0.59-1.90
1976- No Using 1975
1991
1992 No Using 1975 The staff gage has been moved to
500 m downstream since 4 April
1992.
1993 No Using 1975 The staff gage has been moved to
500 m downstream from 4 April
1992 to 15 December 1993.
1994 Unknown Using 1994 rating Zero of gauging elevation 357.110 m
curve above M.S.L. Ko Lake Datum.
1995 Unknown Unknown
1996 33 1.55-6.33
1997 39 1.18-7.61
1998 26 1.21-7.55
Lu et al. - Are the Chinese dams to be blamed for the lower water levels in the Lower Mekong?
References
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Chapman, E.C. & He, D. Downstream implications of
China’s dams on the Lancang Jiang (Upper Mekong)
and their potential significance for greater regional
cooperation, Australian National Mekong Resource
Centre, Sydney, 1996.
Cocklin, C. & Hain, M, 2001. Evaluation of the EIA for
the Proposed Upper Mekong Navigation Improvement
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He, D.M. & Chen, L.H., 2002. The impact of hydropower
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Yunnan, Mekong Update & Dialogue, 5(3):2-4.
International Rivers Network (IRN): China’s Upper
Mekong Dams Endanger Millions Downstream, Briefing
Paper 3, http://www.irn.org, 2002 (accessed in May
2005).
Kummu, M. & Varis, O., 2007. Sediment-related impacts
due to upstream reservoir trapping, the Lower Mekong
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the Water Politics of China and Southeast Asia, Lowy
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the Study on the Social, Economic and Environmental
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English_site/Eng_publicat/eng_publicatmain.asp
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promoting ASEAN-Mekong River Basin Cooperation-
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Plinston, D., & He, D., 1999. Water resources and
hydropower, Policies and Strategies for Sustainable
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Quang, M. & Nguyen, P.E., 2003. Hydrologic
impacts of China’s Upper Mekong dams on the
Lower Mekong River June 28, 2003. Online: http://
w w w. m e k o n g i n f o . o r g / m r c _ e n / a c t i v i t y. n s f / 0 /
CF3B1A24510BA45085256DE4006D6C29/ $FILE/
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D.P., 1996. A Method for Assessing Hydrologic Alteration
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Braun, D.P., 1997. How Much Water Does a River Need?
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J., 1998. A Spatial Assessment of Hydrologic Alteration
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Alteration Version 7 User’s Manual.
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water.tkk.fi/global/publications
Phayao Xayabury
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Nong Khai
Loei Thakhek

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Nongbua Lumphoo Sakon Nakhon

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PART II: Making living out of nature

 Water & Development Publications - Helsinki University of Technology AB

HAVE FISH CATCHES BEEN DECLINING IN THE

MEKONG RIVER BASIN?
Eric Baran1 & Chris Myschowoda2
1 WorldFish Center, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
2 Consultant, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

The fish catch in the Mekong is said to have considerably declined over the past years.
This hypothesis was tested in the Tonle Sap Basin (Cambodia), which yields 16% of the Mekong fish.
In fact, the catch has approximately doubled between 1940 and 1995, but in the meanwhile the population
has tripled. Thus, the catch per fisher is less than before, even though the overall biomass harvested is
higher than in the past, which leads to the impression of a declining resource.

1 Trends in Mekong fish catches:

Claims and knowledge gaps
A commonplace among both fishers and
commentators is the claim that fisheries production
in the Mekong Basin has been declining
considerably over past years (e.g. Watershed,
2002; MRC, 2003a; Pearce, 2004; Wain, 2004).
The exact figures associated with current fisheries
production basinwide are an issue of contention.
Various statistics have been published, and many
of them are widely divergent. Therefore, an
Corresponding author:
Eric Baran
WorldFish Center
PO box 1135
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Email: e.baran@cgiar.org
initial challenge in questioning the reality of this
perceived decline is simply to arrive at a reasonable
current estimate of fisheries production in the
Mekong Basin.
In all Mekong Basin countries, official statistics
manifest a general disinterest in accuracy. This
is seen most clearly in the underestimation of the
importance of small-scale fishing activities and the
deficiency in recording levels of participation in
capture fisheries. Indeed, most published figures
regarding inland capture fisheries, according
to Coates (2002, 2003), do not even qualify as
“statistics” because they are not based on any
data. The different values inherent in approaches
toward fisheries taken by environmentalists,
biologists, economists, and social and political

© 2008 TKK & Baran & Myschowoda ISBN 978-951-22-9102-1

Kummu, M., Keskinen, M. & Varis, O. (eds.): Modern Myths of the Mekong, pp. 55-64
56 Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part II: Making living out of nature
commentators can be seen in other published
figures, while institutions, the private sector, and
non-governmental organisations often have their
own agendas (Hirsch, 2004).
Nevertheless, the application of more rigorous
scientific methods, improvements in data collection
and analysis, new studies and household surveys
have seen the figures for fisheries production in
the Mekong Basin evolving upward and becoming
more reliable and accurate. Reports from as early as
1991 estimate the total catch in the Mekong Basin
at 357,000 tonnes including aquaculture. In the
following years, this figure was boosted again and
again. At the Mekong River Commission (MRC),
the catch was estimated at 620,000 tonnes (Jensen
1996), at close to one million tonnes (Jensen
2000), then at 1.53 million tonnes (Sverdrup-
Jensen 2002). More recently, estimates for capture
fisheries in rivers in the Lower Mekong Basin have
increased to 2.64 million tonnes (MRC, 2004;
Van Zalinge et al., 2004) and in 2005 the catch
was even considered to exceed 3 million tonnes
(MRC, 2005).
This evolution in the figures does not reflect
actual changes in fish catch in the Mekong Basin.
Indeed, basinwide fisheries production has never
been monitored over a period of years. Rather,
the increase reflects growing recognition of the
incredible diversity and productivity of the Mekong
Basin fisheries. This is, however, an ironic aspect
of the claim that fisheries production has been
declining over the years. For, at the same time as
many people claim fisheries are in decline, they
also recognise the fact that fisheries production is
much greater than has ever been reported in the
past.
In this paper we aim at testing the hypothesis that
fisheries production has declined over the years
in the Mekong Basin. Such an analysis requires
a comparison of current figures with reliable data
from previous decades; unfortunately, the rarity
of data in the basin does not allow such global
comparison. What is possible is to analyse trends
of a representative region where more data is
available and generalize to the whole basin.
The only basinwide production figures until
recently were those of Lagler (1976). Including
reservoir fisheries, he calculated the total fisheries
production of the Lower Mekong River from Laos
to Vietnam at 500,000 tonnes in 1975. Without
more historical data, it is virtually impossible to
test the trend in Mekong fish catches over the
years. We propose below an alternative approach,
focussing on Cambodia and the Tonle Sap Lake
for which more data are available.
2 Fish catches in Cambodia:
Doom or boon?
With much of its landmass covered by mighty
rivers and the vast Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia has
long been regarded as a land of almost unbelievably
plentiful fish stocks and has historically derived
aspects of its national identity from its fisheries.
As Henri Mouhot noted in 1858, “the [Tonle
Sap] Great Lake is in itself a source of wealth
for a whole nation; it is so full of fish that at the
time of low waters they are crushed under boats;
and rowing is often hampered by their number”
(Mouhot, 1868).
Today, Cambodia’s freshwater capture fisheries
rank as the fourth most productive worldwide after
China, India, and Bangladesh, with an annual
production of between 300,000 and 400,000
tonnes. In 2001 and 2002 for instance, according
to FAO statistics the inland fish production
of Cambodia (a country of 182,000 km2) was
superior to that of North America (19.4 million
square kilometres). When this figure is divided
by population, Cambodia has the most intense
inland fishery in the world with 20 kilograms of
fish caught per inhabitant per year (Baran, 2005).
Like basinwide statistics, fish catch figures in
Cambodia have been evolving upward over
the years. This increase does not result from
comprehensive long-term scientific monitoring
of the catch, which still does not exist despite the
efforts of the MRC over the past decade, but reflects
the inclusion of such previously neglected sectors
as subsistence fisheries and rice field fisheries (Van
Zalinge et al., 2000; Coates, 2002).
Baran & Myschowoda - Have fish catches been declining in the Mekong River Basin? 57

The different figures cited in various publications
are all derived from three basic sources: official
national statistics, catch statistics from the
MRC project “Management of the Freshwater
Capture Fisheries in Cambodia” based partly
on field sampling, and consumption studies led
by the MRC from 1995 to 1996. These different
calculations have been reviewed in Baran et al.,
(2001a) and are stated in the table below.
Like the basin as a whole, many people claim
that fisheries production has been declining in
Cambodia. This is not only the case with fishers
themselves, but also with commentators (e.g. Mak
Sithirith 2000, FACT 2001, DoF 2001, Agrisystems
2004). The causes for this perceived decline
are believed to be widespread illegal fishing,
over-fishing caused by an increasing number of
fishermen, and ineffective fishing management by
the government. Fishermen themselves state illegal
fishing and over-exploitation are the main reasons
for the decline (e.g. Keskinen et al., 2002).
3 Investigating the history of fish
catches in the Tonle Sap Basin
In the absence of data allowing comparison
of basinwide trends, we propose to focus on a
representative sub-basin for which more data exist
and analyses are possible: the Tonle Sap Basin in
Cambodia.
According to current estimates, Cambodian
fisheries comprise 26% of the total catch for
the Mekong Basin. The Tonle Sap Lake is the
most productive fishing ground in the country,
contributing 60% of the annual catch, or 179,500
to 246,000 tonnes, over the 1995-2000 period
(Ahmed et al., 1998; Lieng & Van Zalinge, 2001).
This means that the Tonle Sap Lake yields around
16% of the total catch in the Mekong Basin.
The species that constitute this catch are highly
migratory and are found in Laos, Thailand and
Vietnam, (Bao et al., 2001; Poulsen et al., 2002),
the Tonle Sap being the heart of this ecological
system (van Zalinge et al., 2004). A sample
consisting of 16% of a population is large enough
to be considered valid and therefore permits
generalisations concerning basinwide trends.
Since the beginning of the 20th century, the Tonle
Sap Great Lake’s amazing fish production has
always attracted the attention of scientists (e.g.
Pellegrin, 1907), and several detailed studies now
allow a comparison of trends over time. The work
of Chevey & Le Poulain (1940) remains the most

Table 1 Fish catch statistics for Cambodia.

Figure (tonnes of inland fish per Source Note

year)
Catch varying between 50,500
and 75,700 tonnes between 1981
and 1998
255,000 - 380,000 tonnes
237,000
289,000 - 431,000 tonnes
Catch varying between 231,000
and 385,000 tonnes between 1999
and 2002
Department of Fisheries data
and DoF 2001
Van Zalinge et al., 1998
Baran et al., 2001a
Van Zalinge & Nao Tuok
1999, Van Zalinge et al.,
2000, Hortle et al., 2004
Department of Fisheries data
Statistics not based on any scientific monitoring
(Coates 2002, 2003)
First post-war assessment partly based on a
scientific monitoring
Compilation of scientific assessments dated 1994-
1996 (5 different fisheries)
Most commonly agreed figure, including results
from scientific studies about catches of the dai
fishery and rice field fisheries, and “guesstimates”
about middle-scale and lot fisheries
Upgraded national statistics (still not based
on extensive monitoring) integrating catches of
subsistence fisheries
58 Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part II: Making living out of nature

comprehensive study of the Cambodian fishery
sector to date; these authors amounted the annual
Tonle Sap fish production to 100,000 tonnes.
Thirty years later, Lagler (1976) also undertook a
extensive review of these fisheries, and amounted
the production to 85,000 tonnes.
Two major factors must be considered when
comparing historical and modern statistics: the
existence of fisheries previously neglected, and
evolution of the population density.
that the proportion of the total population living
and fishing around the lake remained unchanged,
and we used the 1995 figures to calculate the 1940
and 1975 figures by interpolation. Similarly, the
catches of the subsistence and rice field fisheries,
not accounted for in 1940 and 1975, have been
calculated backward by assuming a contribution to
total fisheries similar to that of 1995. The resulting
figures are slightly different from those previously
published (Baran et al., 2001b) but are also more
accurate, and the trend remains exactly the same.

Subsistence and rice-field fisheries are only taken
into account in recent statistics. In 1995, subsistence
capture fisheries were said to contribute 71,500
tonnes of fish per year, and rice field fisheries were
said to contribute another 12,900 tonnes of fish per
year.
In the past fifty years there has also been a rapid
population growth, which corresponds to a
dramatic increase in the fishing effort. In the
forties, the population amounted to 3.2 million
inhabitants (Blanc, 1959), and to 6.3 million in
1975 (MRCS, 1992). In 1995-1996 the Cambodian
population reached 10.7 million, fishing-
dependent communities around the Tonle Sap
Lake making up 1.2 million people (11.2% of the
total population; Ahmed et al., 1998). Following
Ahmed et al., (1998), these people are considered
as fishers in our analysis.
Data standardization before comparisons (Table 2):
in the absence of specific information, we assumed
Figure 1 illustrates the changes in fish catches
and catch per fisher for the Tonle Sap Lake area
between the 1940s and 1995. While overall catches
have almost doubled since the 1940s, the catch per
fisher has been reduced to almost half of what it
was just six decades ago. This result is consistent
with reports from fishers around the Tonle Sap
Lake (Ahmed et al., 1998) and from fishers along
the Mekong River (Roberts, 1993; Hill, 1995), and
it is a classic symptom of a fishery under heavy
exploitation (Welcomme, 1995).
The increase in fishing effort has clearly come
from the small and middle-scale fisheries (more
operators, motorization of boats, increased
dimension of gears, reduction of mesh size, etc).
The large-scale fisheries, on the other hand, have
declined by about two-thirds since 1919. This is
because many of the large-scale fishing lots were
gradually converted into public access fishing areas
(in particular since 1989; detailed chronology in
Baran, 2005).

Table 2 Catch per fisher over time in the Tonle Sap Great Lake.

Period Catch of Tonle Catch of Tonle Catch of Tonle Overall Total Number Catch per
Sap commer- Sap subsistence Sap rice field Tonle Sap population of Tonle fisher and
cial fisheries fisheries (49% fisheries (9% catches in Cambodia Sap fishers per year
(tonnes) of commercial of commercial (tonnes) (million) (11.2% of (kg)
catch in 1995; catch in 1995; total pop. in
tonnes) tonnes) 1995)
1940 100,000 49,000 9,000 158,000 3,2 0,36 441
1975 85,000 41,650 7,650 134,000 6,3 0,71 190
1995 152,200 71,500 12,900 237,000 10,7 1,2 198
Baran & Myschowoda - Have fish catches been declining in the Mekong River Basin?
How reliable are these conclusions and the data
they are based on?
The 1940 and 1995 figures can be considered
reasonably reliable as they are based on
extensive sampling and a scientific approach,
and are documented by a number of studies and
publications. The 1975 figure is probably more of a
“guesstimate” although it is qualitatively backed by
an extensive series of surveys basinwide. Despite
the annual production of national fisheries
statistics, scientific assessments of catch per type
of fishery are not available since 1995-1996, hence
the limitation to this period in the above analysis.
It should be noted that Van Zalinge et al. (2004),
based on a re-analysis of unpublished consumption
studies by Hortle & Bush (2003), have recently
upgraded the Cambodian fish harvest to 682,000
tonnes; this would correspond to about 400,000
tonnes of fish from the Tonle Sap Lake. However
in the past ten years the population fishing around
the lake has paradoxically remained constant,
demographic growth being offset by urban pull
(Haapala, 2003). In this context, the harvest
claimed by Van Zalinge et al. would correspond
to a catch of about 570 kg/fisher/year. This figure,
implying that fishers catch on average three times
more nowadays than 10 years ago, is not credible to
anybody familiar with Cambodian fisheries.
Figure 1 Production and productivity of the Tonle Sap area over time (standardised basis).
59
To sum up, the fisheries production in the Tonle
Sap Lake area has actually increased over the years,
rather than declined as many people assume, but
it seems that the amount of fish per fisher, or the
amount of fish per unit of effort, has declined as
competition for the resource has become more
intense.
4 Population growth, technology, and
fisheries production basinwide
Despite the myth of declining fisheries, fish
catches in the Tonle Sap area are greater now than
at any other time in the past (Baran et al., 2001b;
Van Zalinge et al., 2001). However, the increase in
population has outstripped the increase in fisheries
production resulting in a diminishing catch per
fisher. Overall, this trend is set to continue. With
an annual population growth rate of 1.6%, it is
estimated that the population of Cambodia will
reach 16.6 million by 2010 and over 20 million by
2020 (Degen et al., 2000). However, as highlighted
above, the fishing pressure around the lake is also
influenced by two other opposing factors: i) harsh
local conditions and emigration towards urban
centres tend to keep the lake’s fishing population
rather constant, and ii) the spread of increasingly
efficient if not radical fishing methods that have a
very high catch rate.
60
From a demography perspective, a possible bias
inherent to studies based on local population
statistics is that temporary migrant fishers are
overlooked, although their role is considered quite
significant in the Tonle Sap area (Keskinen, 2003;
Nettleton & Baran, 2004).
On the fishery side, the harvest might also be
increasingly captured by a small number of
unmonitored specialised fishers (using motorised
and electrified gears, small mesh-size dragnets
harvesting river stretches to exhaustion, mosquito
nets, etc), when the bulk of traditional fishers
actually catch less than ten years ago. This likely
heterogeneity is not reflected in analyses limited to
average catches per fisher.
Obviously, population growth rates outstripping
fisheries production is not just a cause for concern
in Cambodia. A similar trend is happening right
across the rest of the Lower Mekong Basin, as the
population living within the watershed amounts to
53 million people, and this figure is set to rise to
up to 90 million by 2025 (MRC, 2003b). While
Cambodia’s population growth rate is 1.6%, the
population growth rates in Laos and Vietnam
are 2.3% and 1.16% respectively. Only Thailand,
which participates least in Mekong fisheries, has a
relatively low population growth rate of 0.6%.
Another factor that should be mentioned in
conjunction with population growth rates is the
development of new fishing technologies. The
increased annual fish catch is not only a result
of a growing number of fishers but also of new,
inexpensive, and efficient fishing gears. Until
recently, most fishers used traditional gears that
were time-consuming to construct and could
only be used over relatively small areas. These
traditional gears have been supplanted to a great
extent by nylon monofilament gill-nets and fine-
mesh fences with traps made of modern materials
(Hortle et al., 2004).
In conclusion, it is reasonable to infer that
the perceived decline in fisheries production
basinwide is attributable to increased fishing
pressure driven by population growth as well as
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part II: Making living out of nature
new technologies. In this context the clarifications
about the difference between a decline of the
overall biomass harvested and a decline in catch
per fisher might qualify as a quibble, as the bottom
line is that there is less fish available per inhabitant
than in the past.
5 The decline in size and quality of fish
in Cambodia and basinwide
While the decline in fisheries production in the
Mekong Basin might be a myth, one should not
ignore the fact that the size and quality of the fish
caught are changing. In the production figures for
the Tonle Sap area, there is no distinction made
between the species, size, or quality of the catches.
What is evident from other sources, however, is that
large migratory species have declined compared to
small migratory and non-migratory species (Van
Zalinge et al., 2000), and the proportion of low-
value opportunists is thought to be increasing as a
result of over-exploitation (Baran et al., in press.)
The same trend has been noted basinwide (e.g.
Baird & Flaherty, 2002; Sverdrup-Jensen, 2002):
year after year, total catches seem to contain a
higher proportion of less valuable small fish and
a lower proportion of medium and big sized fish.
This trend is similar to that in other freshwater
fisheries (Welcomme, 1995). Regardless of the
causes of the change, the fact that the Mekong
fisheries are changing in terms of their makeup
may be construed as a decline. While the small,
opportunistic species that are now caught in such
great abundance have a high nutritional value,
the medium and large fish that are becoming less
prevalent have a much higher market value, and
the decrease in the number of large migratory
species represents a loss of biodiversity.
6 Threats to Mekong fisheries
production
Despite the lack of clear evidence of a decline in
the overall production of the Mekong fish catches
in the past, there are actual reasons why we should
fear such a decline in the future. The perception
of declining fisheries is often based on very real
Baran & Myschowoda - Have fish catches been declining in the Mekong River Basin?
threats, and it is perhaps only a matter of time
until those things blamed for the mythical decline
result in a real, measurable decline. These threats
are multiple, and they affect, not only Cambodia,
but, to varying degrees, the Mekong Basin as a
whole.
Among the threats that can be listed here are
industrial development; upstream damming;
disruptive fishing methods, such as explosives,
mosquito nets, electric fishing and poisoning;
and the use of highly hazardous chemicals
imported from neighbouring countries and used
indiscriminately, for instance to harvest fish or
to preserve dry fish (FACT, 2001; Touch Seang
Tana & Todd, 2003). Particularly in Cambodia,
the degradation of wetlands and floodplain habitat
61
caused by increased agricultural activities and the
modification of river-flows is yet another reason for
concern.
Furthermore, even if these threats do not
ultimately reduce the fisheries production in the
Mekong Basin, the problem will remain that the
fish availability does not match the demand of
a burgeoning population. In this context what
fishers experience individually is much the same
as a decline in fish stocks.
Acknowledgements
This work has received funding from the Academy of
Finland Project 211010.
62
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water.tkk.fi/global/publications
 Water & Development Publications - Helsinki University of Technology AB

MAINSTREAMING GENDER
IN COMMUNITY FISHERIES IN THE TONLE SAP:
THREE MYTHS
Bernadette P. Resurreccion
Gender & Development Studies, Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand

Gender mainstreaming is a policy-driven process of integrating gender concerns into development structures
and practices. Particular ways of thinking (‘myths’) underpin gender mainstreaming and this will be
demonstrated in community fisheries in Cambodia’s Tonle Sap region. Involving women may inadvertently
overlook women’s disproportionate share of caring responsibilities and the traditional male terrain of fi shery
management. In short, these myths in gender mainstreaming may mainstream women into community
fisheries to advance goals of fishery protection, but may fail to redress gender inequality and social
inequities in the first place, thus resulting in more counterproductive effects than positive ones.

1 Introduction: Community Fisheries

in the Tonle Sap
The community fisheries (CF) co-management
program has been established in Cambodia since
1994, although widespread implementation did
not commence until 2001.1 The establishment of
CFs responded to the escalating violence in the
Tonle Sap region and the need to manage areas
newly classified as community fisheries, a separate
and distinct category from commercial fishing
lots which has defined the system of fishing rights
Corresponding author:
Bernadette P Resurreccion
Gender & Development Studies
Asian Institute of Technology
Km 42 Klong Luang, Pathumthani
Thailand 12120
Email: babette@ait.ac.th
since French protectorate times. It was envisaged
to bring order to the growing chaos between local
community members and the operators of fishing
lots through mechanisms of conflict resolution
and to ensure more sustainable use of existing
freshwater, land and forest resources through local
community management.
With external support from the government and
NGOs,2 villagers began organising CF central
management committees, for which they elected
officers. The pace of CF organisation, however,
varied considerably among villages resulting in a
diversity of CF operations around the Tonle Sap
Lake. For its part, the CF under study, located in
the village of Kanleng Phe, Kok Bunteay commune,
Kampong Chhang province has been established

© 2008 TKK & Resurreccion ISBN 978-951-22-9102-1

Kummu, M., Keskinen, M. & Varis, O. (eds.): Modern Myths of the Mekong, pp. 65-77
66
in July 2001 with the support of NGOs, namely the
Cambodian Capture Fishery Component (CCF)/
Mekong River Commission (MRC) and the
Community Capacity for Development (CCD).
People were also chosen to be responsible for
protection of fisheries resources and others made
responsible for extension. The program has been
encouraging participation of women in these
central management committees as well as in the
village committees. The Department of Fisheries
(DoF) was tasked to be the leading institution and
the chief implementer of this program with the
assistance of various international and national
NGOs. The DoF is also the formal authority that
provides fishing rights to private fishing lot owners.
However, the long history of fishing lot operations
in the region has established its own set of rules
and sanctions3 that intersect with new institutional
arrangements such as the CF.
In CF, the supposed divide between state
(‘formal’) and ‘informal’ institutions, such as in
the collaborative ‘deals’ between military, village
politician, fishing lot owner and shareholders,
blurs in actual practice. In other instances, the
‘informal’ and ‘formal’ mesh when fishing lot
owners are actually elected in community councils,
demonstrating strong patron-client relations in
certain localities. Fisheries inspectors prior to the
reform in 2000 derived part of their incomes from
fining illegal fishers (Cheam Pe-A, 2003). Against
a recent history of war and where armed power has
often decided and protected the course of resource
access and allocation, the authority of CFs and
their elected officials continues to be tenuous.
Further, de facto practices of fisheries rights and
access are also dominated by networks of male
actors: fishermen, military, fishing lot owners,
sublease holders and local politicians. Fisheries
management is therefore largely understood as
male space and one where women are generally
absent. Women in this area are usually active in
small-scale aquaculture, fish marketing and fish
processing (Khim and Poeu, 2002).
A case in point is the actual process of organizing
a CF in the village under study, Kanleng Phe. In
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part II: Making living out of nature
2003, a DoF provincial officer and his staff were
assigned a designated area where they conducted
a participatory rapid appraisal (PRA) in order to
understand the livelihood needs and problems of
the local people. With the assistance of one local
village facilitator, the team fed back the results
of the PRA to local people and consequently
appointed a temporary group of core CF members
who drafted by-laws and a work plan that reflected
the results of the PRA. The draft was circulated
to villagers and after its approval, they nominated
candidates for the CF committee council. The
elected CF council officers assumed their tasks
as defined by the by-laws and work plan, chief
among which was to patrol surrounding lake
areas and rivers in search of fishers using illegal
fishing gear. Patrolling activities are usually done
at night and women are not usually part of patrol
teams. Additionally, most village women did not
participate in CF activities, and only one woman
was elected as CF committee officer in one out
of three surrounding villages where CFs were
created, despite an explicit gender quota system of
one-third of the total number of six (6) committee
positions. Women were reluctant to participate
in CFs since its activities – such as patrolling,
formulating rules and plans for fishing – are
directly linked to fisheries management. Fisheries
management, as said earlier, has historically been
male terrain, whereas women are involved in
other fishery activities such as fish marketing and
processing.
How then do the CCD and CCF/MRC and the
government framers of the community fisheries co-
management program in Kanleng Phe envisage the
role and involvement of women given the history
of dominant male-centered institutions in fishery
management and entitlements?4 The case of CF
in the Tonle Sap region therefore provides gender
scholars a laboratory with which to assess the
efficacy of gender mainstreaming as an effective
instrument in empowering poor, rural women.
The study therefore asks: What are the assumptions
– or myths – that define women’s involvement and
gender mainstreaming in CF? What are the actual
factors that enable and constrain women to involve
themselves in CF?
Resurreccion - Mainstreaming gender in community fisheries in the Tonle Sap
The study was done in November - December 2005
and was conducted in the village of Kanleng Phe,
Kork Banteay Commune in Kampong Chhang
Province where there is a total of 140 households.
Focus group discussions were organized among
25 male and female villagers of Kanleng Phe on
village history, major livelihoods, organization
of the CF, and involvement in CF activities.
A household survey was conducted through a
purposive sampling technique5 among 15 most
involved women and 17 least involved women in
CF in order to cull out the factors that may explain
the differences in women’s participation. In-depth
interviews with both types of women were also
done to learn of the nature of their involvement
in CF, their livelihoods and how they generally
perceive their participation in CF.
Rice farming is considered the main staple crop
in Kanleng Phe, but at the same time, villagers
raise pigs and poultry to generate incomes.
Apart from rice farming, they also grow corn,
chilli, watermelon, cucumber to augment
livelihoods. During the dry and non-flooded
season of December to July, villagers prepare land,
transplant rice seedlings, weed and harvest rice
crops. During the flooded season from August to
November, all economic activities focus on fishing
activities when the village comes under 1-2 meters
of floodwater. Incomes are largely generated
through the marketing of fish products and the
making of fish gear.
This paper is organized according to the different
‘myths’ on gender mainstreaming as articulated by
CF program managers and village leaders. These
myths often come from ideas that justify the need
for gender mainstreaming through the involvement
of women in community fisheries. For instance,
CCD, one of the NGOs involved with the DoF
in implementing the CF, has defined women’s
participation in the following terms:
The goal . . . is to enable community fisheries
associations to manage natural resources
effectively and sustainably and thereby improve
livelihoods with the full participation of women
(Community Capacities for Development
[CCD], 2003: 5)
67
Myths will be discussed in the next sections for the
purpose of (a) demonstrating how they are played
out in the context under study; (b) tracing their
origins; (c) elaborating on the disjuncture between
myths and actual reality based on empirical
findings; and (d) suggesting ways forward to close
the gap between myth and reality on the ground.
2 Myths in mainstreaming gender in
community fisheries
2.1 Myth 1: Women are closer to natural
resources, thus they should be involved
in protecting fisheries resources
The popular perception that women are closer
to natural resources is used to justify women’s
involvement in community fisheries in the Tonle
Sap. CF program leaders and village women most
involved in CF strongly share this perception. This
perception is often linked to a notion of the gender
division of labour in fisheries and people’s gender-
appropriate roles, yet not necessarily to actual
activities women and men do. These notions
and perceptions are expressed in the following
manner:
Women should be involved in the CF because
they have a very close relationship with resources
in the community since they are the ones who
collect them in the inundated forest as fishery
resources (Keo Kimly, 43 years old, villager).
Women are also often mobilized to counsel ‘erring’
villagers who use forbidden fish gear or encroach
on restricted fishing areas. Interviews reveal that
women are sometimes involved in patrol groups
and are specifically instructed to explain the
nature of violations by those who had committed
them. They are often associated with the feminine
trait to peacefully resolve conflicts in resource
use. One of them expressed the need for women’s
involvement in the following terms:
Women should be involved in CF especially since
women can solve problems through peaceful
means whereas men often prefer using physical
force. (Kong Chantha, 43 years old, villager).
68 Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part II: Making living out of nature

Table 1 Gender Divisions of Labour in Rice Production in Kanleng Phe.

Who does what in productive activities?

Rice farming activities Men Women Both
Clearing forest on farm land ••
Clearing grass & water-hyacinth on rice field •• •
Making rice nursery (rice seed bed) •• •
Soaking seeds ••
Spreading seeds ••
Plowing and harrowing •• •
Collecting tree roots and breaking clods • ••
Harvesting rice seedlings ••
Transplanting rice seedlings ••
Weeding • ••
Making or caring for dikes, ditches (managing irrigation) •• •
Destroying rats or insects destroying rice •• •
Harvesting rice ••
Transportation of rice to home •• •
Drying and winnowing rice • ••
Selling rice crop (if surplus is available) • ••

Source: Focus Group Discussions and Household Survey

Note: (••) denotes primary responsibility and (•) denotes supportive or secondary responsibility

Table 2 Gender Divisions of Labour in Fisheries in Kanleng Phe.

Who does what in productive activities?

Fisheries activities Male Female Both
Collecting fish bait ••
Cooking fish bait ••
Preparing fishing tools • ••
Making fishing gear •• •
Assembling gill net and hook long line ••
Repairing boat •• •
Making palm boat ••
Catching fish (fishing) •• •
Firewood collection ••
Collecting edible aquatic plants •• •
Collecting snail ••
Processing fish • ••
Selling fish • ••
Buying fishing gear or bait • ••
Buying boat •• •

Source: Focus Group Discussions and Household Survey

Note: (••) denotes primary responsibility and (•) denotes supportive or secondary responsibility
Resurreccion - Mainstreaming gender in community fisheries in the Tonle Sap
Furthermore, village women are tasked with the
job to disseminate ideas of fisheries resources
protection among co-villagers. This is thought to
be a suitable task for women who are involved in CF
because they can spread ideas for the improvement
of resources in the community (Kong Chantha,
interviews). Whereas it is generally perceived that
it is more appropriate for men to patrol the area and
look out for those who violate CF rules, especially
at night since it is not proper or safe for women to
be mobile at night. Very few women are involved
in patrol activities during daytime.
While women most involved in CF largely
propagate these tasks and ideas in the village,
women least involved in the CF express that it is
better that their husbands are most involved rather
than themselves. Koe Kim Leng, 41 years old, says
that her husband is only home 4-5 days in a month
since he travels on various CF missions. Although
formerly a fisherman, he works as a CF assistant
and receives some earnings from this.
Another woman from Kanleng Phe is Men Lei,
54 years old, whose husband is a cripple has a
household of nine members, thus is unable to
actively involve herself in CF activities. Instead,
she lets her three sons work for the CF by patrolling
the area in search for illegal fishers.
All women who were part of both the focused
group discussions and the in-depth interviews
agree that it is rightfully men who should patrol
the community fisheries area since they are strong
and more able-bodied than women. Out of the 32
households surveyed, all but one household had
the male household head involved in CF patrol
teams. This therefore underscores the idea that
protection for fishery resources has largely been
associated with men, despite the popular discourse
on women’s closeness to natural resources.
Additionally, fishing has traditionally been
understood as a male activity in Khmer society.
There are two major seasons in the Tonle Sap
region: the flooded and non-flooded seasons. The
flooded season starts from August to November
and the non-flooded season is from December
69
to July. Fishing is the main livelihood activity of
villagers during the flooded season as the village
is flooded by 1-2 meters of water. Farming, some
fishing and wage labour are the main livelihood
activities of villagers during the non-flooded
season. Throughout both seasons, some villagers
maintain a general supplies store, pharmacy,
small rice mill, hardware supply store and tailor.
Caring for livestock is a year round activity and
is regarded as an additional livelihood activity by
almost all village households. Wage employment
is an important source of additional income for
medium and poor class households in which both
men and women are involved following the gender-
specific arrangements in fishing and farming in
the village.
Contrary to the myth that women are closer
to natural resources through their caretaker
and nurturing roles, data from focused group
discussions demonstrate that men also use and
manage different types of resources almost equally
as women (Table 1).
Data also show that men more than women are
engaged in fishing as an activity, whereas women
are more involved in fish and fish implements
trade (Table 2).
Thus the myth that perceives women as closer
to natural resources generalizes women’s roles in
natural resource use and management. Women
may primarily use and manage some resources
but not others as the gender division of labour
in fishing and farming in this village has shown.
Fishing is something men do more than women.
However, programs such as the CF, assume that
women have a central role in the use and care
of natural resources. This is often derived from
‘women’s closeness to nature’ as an attribute by
their biological capacity for childbirth. The care
for natural resources as being women’s task stems
largely from the norm that caring for nature should
be part of women’s other caring responsibilities.
This, however, does not often reflect the actual use
and management activities of women and men in
fisheries and farming in this study.
70
The discourse on women’s close relationship with
resources by CF planners and village leaders in this
study drew its conceptual underpinnings from a
particular fashioning of ecofeminist theory, which
posited women’s essential role in regenerating
and protecting environments by virtue of their
role as mothers, carers and subsistence providers
(Shiva, 1988; Sontheimer, 1991; Dankelman and
Davidson, 1988; Rodda, 1991; Mies and Shiva,
1993). This particular mindset and approach is
referred to as the ‘Women, Environment and
Development’ (WED), often underpinning the
rationale for gender mainstreaming in subsidiary
and community-based environmental programs
since the 1990s. The WED approach basically
argues that women are more dependent on
environmental resources due to assumptions
of a pre-existing gender division of labor and
emphasizes women’s principal roles in subsistence
and food provision as a result of the gender division
of labor. These studies have demonstrated how
rural women are often caught in the interface of
the home and the natural resource base. They
convey the victim status of rural women from
the so-called Third World: how they have to walk
longer distances and expend more energy in the
daily collection of food, fuel and fodder for their
Table 3 Gender Divisions of Labour in Social Reproduction, Kanleng Phe.
Activities in Social Reproduction
Cooking
Washing dishes
Laundering clothes
Fetching water
Firewood collection
Cleaning houses
Caring of children
Caring of elderly household members
Caring of sick household members
Repairing houses
Watering home pots and herbal vegetable garden
Source: Focus Group Discussions and Household Survey
Note: (••) denotes primary responsibility and (•) denotes supportive or secondary responsibility
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part II: Making living out of nature
households as environments are increasingly
destroyed. These studies also show that women
possess extensive knowledge on the workings of
nature because of their daily experiences in the
use of natural resources by virtue of the gender
division of labour. From this mindset emerged
policy discourses such as ‘women’s important role
in community-based management’, ‘women’s
participation in decision-making in the use of
resources’, and ‘women’s special environmental
knowledge’ (among many examples, UNESCAP
Beijing+10 Review - Asia Pacific, 2004: 13; Asian
Development Bank, 2002; Huyen Thi Do, 2003).
What is problematic in the WED position is that
women’s roles are equated with the subsistence
and social reproductive sphere, while men’s roles
are associated with the public sphere of income-
generation and production6. It sidesteps women’s
income-generating activities since it attaches
women to their domestic, social reproductive roles
– adding protection of natural resources in their
long list of caring tasks. In Cambodia for example,
women are actively involved in fish marketing,
yet, the WED discourse may overlook this fact. It
also overlooks the fact that men are also centrally
involved in resource use and management. The
Who does what?
Male Female Boys Girls
•• •
•• •
• ••
•• • • •
•• • • •
•• •
•• •
••
••
•• •
•• • •
Resurreccion - Mainstreaming gender in community fisheries in the Tonle Sap
approach also does not analyze the interactions
among different aspects of women’s roles where
tensions may arise from women’s constraints on
time, physical effort and mobility. In the village
under study, the women respondents are clearly
involved in income-generation and production
in direct and indirect ways, yet the village leaders
(including women) conceptualize their role as that
of being fisheries resource protector.
2.2 Myth 2: Gender is being mainstreamed
within community fisheries
management
More recently, a focus on gender within natural
resource management frameworks has come
about through ‘gender mainstreaming’: ostensibly
a strategic process of systematically integrating
‘gender’ into all development systems, structures
and practices (Woodford-Berger, 2004). In its
original form, gender mainstreaming reflects a
feminist heritage, aiming to prompt changes in
institutional practice and to promote women’s
empowerment and gender equality. A core
value of gender mainstreaming within natural
resource management is to ensure women’s active
participation in environment and development
programs; thus complementing the agendas
of decentralization and participation in the
management of the resources on which people
depend for their livelihoods (Razavi, 2002; Mosse,
Table 4 Selected Descriptors on Differences Between Most Involved and Least Involved Women in Community Fisheries
(CF), Kanleng Phe.
Primary Household Range of Household
Livelihoods Size
Most Involved 8 out of 15 are 4 – 6 members
Women in CF engaged in fishing*
(N = 15)
Least Involved 15 out of 17 are 4 – 9 members
Women in CF engaged in rice
(N = 17) farming
Source: Household Survey
* the rest of households (6) were engaged in various types of farming: rice, lotus and orchard, while one household earned
incomes from the trade of farm products
71
2001; Schuurman, 2001; Gauld, 2000) such as in
the Tonle Sap’s community fisheries program.
The central intent of CF is community
management of fisheries resources that includes
protection through patrolling and conservation
activities in the inundated forest especially during
the dry season. It is within the purview of this
objective that women are being mobilized to help
in fisheries management and protection. However,
as the first myth above demonstrates, women are
not able to engage in such activities since these are
largely male-oriented and ascribed.
The DoF together with the Community
Capacities Development (CCD), an NGO, have
conducted various types of training for women
dealing with ‘conventional’ gender issues such as
domestic violence, HIV-AIDS and health care.
According to interviews, only women attended
these training sessions. Additionally, from CCD
literature, gender mainstreaming activities in
CFs will include: ‘leadership training and provide
small loans to (women) clients to be invested in
a small business or used to buy an asset’ (CCD,
2003: 5). As a result of the program, two groups
of women were organized. One group, organized
to involve poorer women, is the Self-Help Group
that operate a group savings scheme, whereas the
other was a Women’s Self-Improvement Group
that managed a group credit project. In the Self-
Household Income per Number of Livelihood
Year Sources
13 out of 15 have 11 out of 15 engage in
incomes between 3 – 4 livelihood sources
101,000 and
1,000,000 riels
15 out of 17 have 15 out of 17 engage in
incomes between 3 – 4 livelihood sources
1,001,000 and
7,000,000 riels
72
Help group, each woman member is required
to turn in 1,000 riels daily to the group leader.
Members of this group may withdraw or make a
loan out of the group savings anytime for multiple
purposes. In the Self-Improvement Group, CCD
provides a loan of 30,000 riels to each member to
be repaid without interest. Members are required
to use this money to purchase fishing gear or for
any other enterprise expense. Each member will
also have to repay 5,000 riels monthly to serve their
earlier loan and upon completion of payment in 6
months, CCD will provide a fresh round of 30,000
riels as loan. Currently, the Self-Improvement
Group has 15 members and the Self-Help groups
has 20 members out of a total of 385 women.
Over all therefore, the community fisheries
program under study envisages the women of
Kanleng Phe to be involved in fisheries co-
management, protection and poverty-alleviation
through group credit and savings schemes.
The least involved women in these programs point
out the constraints to their participation in the
CF:
No one in my family will take care of my three
sons and one daughter. My husband is anyway
busy working as an assistant in the CF. He is
only home for a few days each month. (Koe, Kim
Leng, 41 years old)
I bring my two small children with me during
the 3 or 4 times that I attended CF meetings.
There is no one to take care of them if I attended
these meetings on my own. Other women may be
involved in preventing illegal fishing or fishing lot
boundary protection, but it is really more difficult
for us since we are busy caring for our children
and doing housework. It is also dangerous for us
to be out of our homes during night time (Chourn
Chheng Han, 25 years old)
I have never been involved in CF activities
because I used to work in a nearby garment
factory. After I got pregnant, I stopped working
for the factory. During my pregnancy, I began
to farm since my mother-in-law provided us with
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part II: Making living out of nature
a small piece of land. My husband is a member
of the patrol team that guards our fishing areas
(Bun Channara, 24 years old).
Apart from the accounts from individual women
above on the constraints to their CF participation,
group discussions reveal that women mostly
perform social reproductive activities in their
households (Table 3).
The preceding information on social reproduction
obligations assigned disproportionately to
women seem to have been overlooked when
conceptualizing and planning for women’s
participation in CF and its activities. My argument
here is that gender mainstreaming as defined by the
framers of CF is relevant only in terms of women’s
participation in fisheries management and poverty
alleviation. It is virtually silent on the issue of
power and gender relations that continue to assign
women social reproductive responsibilities on top
of their often undervalued roles in production
and income-generation. This is where a good
number of gender mainstreaming projects actually
fail since they are unable to address the rather
complex problem of unequal power relations
in households and in communities. Planners
and program leaders are obliged to deliver clear
environmental and poverty reduction outcomes
leaving out the more political and ‘messy’ goals of
empowerment or gender equality on the sidelines.
The result achieved is that of mainstreaming
‘women’ into community fisheries co-management
programs, instead of mainstreaming ‘gender’
within such programs, which implies a far more
proactive political project that redresses long
established gender-unequal mindsets, practices
and institutions. Mainstreaming women may
indeed pose instrumentalist predilections: a case
of ‘environment first, gender later’ mindset under
the tricky banner of ‘gender mainstreaming.’
This approach may fall within the purview of
recent efficiency-oriented goals to ensure that
communities are involved in environmental
management in order to reduce the role of the
state, reduce costs and achieve more bottom-up
environmental governance (Mosse, 2001; Jackson,
2000; Cleaver, 2003).
Resurreccion - Mainstreaming gender in community fisheries in the Tonle Sap
2.3 Myth 3: The ‘community’ is involved
in community fisheries
The CF is an attempt towards a bottom-up approach
to fisheries management, a deliberate departure
from former top-down approaches involving the
central government and local groups.
According to Berkes et al., (2001), co-management
is a more dynamic partnership using the capacities
and interests of the local fishers and community
complemented by the state’s ability to provide
enabling legislation, enforcement and other
assistance. This approach to fisheries management
will require a shift away from centralized, top-down
form of management to a new strategy in which
fisheries managers and fishers jointly manage the
fisheries. Co-management includes a sharing of
governance structures between stakeholders in
the resource and institutions of local collective
governance of common property. Moreover
fisheries co-management can be defined as a
partnership in which government, the community
of local resource users (fishers), external agents
(non- governmental organizations, academic
and research institutions), and other fisheries
resource stakeholders (boat owners, fish traders,
money lenders, tourism establishments, etc.)
share responsibility for making decisions about
the management of a fishery. This, however, is the
ideal scenario. In actual situations, the sharing of
tasks and decision-making may favor one group
over others, indicating thus the dynamic and
unevenness in power relations in locally created
institutions that must not be overlooked (Elmhirst
& Resurreccion, 2006).
This formulation assumes that communities,
in themselves, are enclaves of egalitarianism,
uniformity and that people in communities are
all equally disposed to manage fishery resources.
In contrast to such an assumption, consider the
following summary table that shows differences
between two groups – the most and least active
women in CF (Table 4).
These descriptors were culled from the household
survey and demonstrate the most glaring
differences between the two groups of women. All
73
other variables such as age, education, farmland
size and how farmland was acquired were more or
less equal. The extrapolated descriptors indicate
that the least active women in CF have bigger
households, are engaged primarily in farming
than in fishing, and earn more income yearly than
the most involved women in community fisheries.
This therefore demonstrates that not all women
are disposed to participate in development and
environment programs for a number of possible
reasons. The findings also suggest that women
who are active in many livelihoods may have no
time for CF activities, especially if they have bigger
households and thus more mouths to feed7. It is also
noteworthy that fishing is the primary livelihood
in households of the most involved women in CF,
while those least active are primarily engaged in
farming. This denotes that the interest women
may have in community fisheries may be strongly
premised on their primary livelihood stakes and
interests.
Apart from factors of time, household sizes
and number and types of livelihoods, women’s
disposition to be active in CF may be also governed
by more political factors. From the in-depth
interviews, it was found out that some of the most
involved women had husbands who occupied some
position of leadership in the village. For example,
among the most involved women interviewed,
Som Tearn’s husband is the village chief and she
herself is head of the women’s Self-Help Group
initiated by CCD. Another is Sorm Reamm, whose
brother is chief of the Community Fisheries in the
village. Kong Chantha, meanwhile, is active in
the Self-Improvement Group and it helps that her
husband is the chairman of the rice distribution
unit of the Agricultural Bank that distributes seeds
to villagers for rice cultivation. On the other hand,
some of those in the least active women group have
husbands who are minor employees or members in
CF patrol groups as assistants of CF leaders such
as in the cases of Koe Kim Leng, Bun Channara
and Chourn Chheng Han. All three maintain that
the involvement of their husbands is sufficient to
represent the interest and participation of their
households. These accounts therefore suggest that
some women’s involvement in CF is mediated to a
74
large extent by the positions their husbands have
in the village or in the CF and therefore by their
households’ social standing.
These findings therefore demonstrate that
‘community’ is highly differentiated in terms of
gender and class as demonstrated by the women’s
social assets and disposition towards participation
in community fisheries. Gender and how it
intersects with class and social status is thus a
useful category to unmask the differences in a
community that is mobilised to manage common
fishery resources.
3 Conclusions
Myth 1 assumes that women are close to natural
resources and thus planners and village leaders
mobilize women as protectors and guardians
of fishery resources. In the village under study,
men also make use and manage fishery and land
resources and are active in patrolling the common
fishery areas. Fishing has also been traditionally
understood as a distinct male activity in Khmer
society. To mobilize women for protection of
resources may place undue pressure on their time
since they are largely engaged in both productive
and social reproductive activities. It could be more
instructive for programs such as the CF to build on
women’s current work, addressing issues directly
related to their interests that in effect, could define
the possible terms of their involvement.
Myth 2 assumes that gender is being mainstreamed
into community fisheries. It appears that it is
women, not gender, being mainstreamed into this
program. This means that women are being urged
to participate in CF activities without addressing
the fact that they shoulder a disproportionate
share of workloads, and are assigned the sole
undertaking of social reproductive tasks. This
assignment of social reproduction obligations to
women is governed in large part by notions created
by gender: or, the requirements of femininity and
masculinity in society. This also creates imbalances
of power and ultimately, workloads, status and
opportunities. Often, policy and programs do
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part II: Making living out of nature
not really problematise the political project of
gender equality, but serve only to mobilize women
for purposive ‘development’ agendas, such as
environmental protection and poverty alleviation.
Myth 3 assumes that ‘community’ in community
fisheries is an enclave of reliable local people living
uniformly and practicing egalitarian ways. The
findings in this study demonstrate that community
is highly differentiated in terms of social, economic
assets and disposition towards involvement in CF.
Types of primary livelihoods that influence their
interest and stakes, time, household size and
the degree of political connections with men all
mediate women’s status and disposition towards
public involvement.
The study therefore suggests that there may
often be a disjuncture between myths (usually
how people or planners think) and actual reality
– and which translate into real policy mismatches
leading to possible deleterious effects.
While subsidiarity and community-designed
programs address the problem of top-down policy
approaches, it overlooks embedded relations of
power that define roles and responsibilities of
women and men as part of the deep differentiations
that mark a community. Women’s relationship with
natural resources is more assumed than explored
and thus creates a mismatch between policy and
reality that might inadvertently add ‘environment’
to women’s already long list of caring tasks, thus
reproducing embedded power relations that
already exist.
The local – or the community – may indeed be a
site of unequal social relations. This, policy might
best serve to redress rather than reproduce.
Acknowledgements
The author is grateful to Ms Hor Sophea for her
assistance in data collection and to the Academy of
Finland for support for this village-based research.
This work has received funding from the Academy
of Finland Project 211010.
Resurreccion - Mainstreaming gender in community fisheries in the Tonle Sap 75

Endnotes
1 Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen announced the release of 8,000 hectares from the 84,000 hectares of fishing
lots for communities. The following year, upon reform of the Ministry of Fisheries, it was decided to release some
536,000 hectares of fishing grounds from the commercial fishing lot system as community fishing grounds. This
represented 56% of the total area formerly under commercial fishing lots. Some fishing lots were abolished while
others were reduced in size. Communities gained access to these released areas in 2001.

2 CFs range from the well-established to those that are essentially non-functioning and exist only on paper. According
to the Community Fisheries Development Office (CFDO) in the Department of Fisheries (DoF), at the beginning
of 2003 there were 264 CFs in Cambodia, of which 107 were located around Tonle Sap Lake. Of these, 13% had rules
and regulations, 6% had a map of their boundaries, and 5% were legitimately recognized at the Provincial level (FACT,
2005: 3).

3 In reality, informal and de facto processes of fisheries management exist beyond the purview of the DoF. In the
‘burden book’ (articles of rules) of fishing lot owners, areas outside lots are considered common or open access areas
for villagers. However, ‘open access’ has become an erroneous assumption since much of these areas have come under
some type of informal ownership. For example, the military collaborates with lot owners in selling ‘open access’ areas to
individuals or groups for a fee which includes general protection guaranteeing exclusive use rights of fishing grounds.
Supposedly common property areas have been frequently leased out by local political leaders or army commanders
involving the purchase of a seasonal ‘license’ from the local fisheries inspectors’ post. Rules such as the maximum
quota of fish hooks per household are not observed. Further, conflicts and alliances are not confined to just fishing
lot owners and local villagers as popularly assumed, but that mosaics of social and power relations have determined
fishing rules and rights for a fairly long time (Vuthy et al., 2000; Degen et al., 2000: 10; Samay, 2005). It is therefore
doubtful whether reforms initiated in 2000 will completely dismantle these networks easily. See also Resurreccion,
2005.

4 In the Strategic Plan of the Community Fisheries Development Office (CFDO) of the Department of Fisheries,
it is stated that the CFDO will “ensure that due consideration is given to gender issues (p. 2). Nothing more is
articulated.

5 Eight key informants in a focus group discussion identified the most involved and least involved village women in
community fisheries activities

6 This is similar to Boserup’s (1970) conclusions regarding the masculinization of commercial agriculture which was
heavily challenged in the early 1980s.

7 This may also explain why their incomes are bigger, since they would have to earn more to feed more household
members and thus have more expenses.
76 Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part II: Making living out of nature
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This publication is available electronically at

water.tkk.fi/global/publications
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PART III: Development

 Water & Development Publications - Helsinki University of Technology AB

DID TRADITIONAL CULTURES

LIVE IN HARMONY WITH NATURE?
LESSONS FROM ANGKOR, CAMBODIA
1 2 3 4 1
Terry Lustig , Roland Fletcher , Matti Kummu , Christophe Pottier & Dan Penny
1 School of Geosciences, University of Sydney, Australia
2 Department of Archaeology, University of Sydney, Australia
3 Water Resources Laboratory, Helsinki University of Technology, Finland
4 Ecole Française d’Extrême-Orient, Cambodia

Archaeology, ethnology and related fields have comprehensively debunked the myth
that so-called ‘traditional’ societies lived in harmony with the natural environment.
However, it is often assumed that pre-industrial societies impacted on the environment
in a way that was less invasive, or of a smaller scale, than modern developed or developing societies.
Recent archaeological and geomorphological research at the medieval Khmer capital of Angkor reveals that
the impact of this low-density pre-industrial city on the natural environment was profound.

1 Introduction
Angkor in Cambodia, previously seen as a
collection of great temples and separate town
enclosures, has now been shown to be a vast low-
density pre-industrial urban complex. The city
of Angkor covered over 1,000 km2 (Figure 1),
and may have been the most extensive city of its
kind in the world (Fletcher et al., 2002, Fletcher
et al., 2003; Evans, 2002; Pottier, 1999). Now a
World Heritage site, Angkor contains hundreds
Corresponding author:
Terry Lustig
School of Archeology
University of Sydney
NSW 2006 Australia
Email: terry@environmentalmanagement.com.au
of temple structures including the renowned
12th century Angkor Wat. The impact of this pre-
industrial city on the natural environment is both
immediately obvious and of great significance for
the past and the future. The impact is most clearly
demonstrated in the massive, convoluted and
delicately balanced system of canals, reservoirs
and embankments that were used to regulate and
distribute surface waters. In their efforts to control
water flow, the Angkorian ‘engineers’ diverted
water from existing river systems, sometimes
resulting in entirely new catchments. The adverse
environmental consequences of these profound
modifications to the natural environment may
have played a decisive role in destabilising Angkor,
leading to its eventual collapse.

© 2008 TKK & Lustig, Fletcher, Kummu, Pottier & Penny ISBN 978-951-22-9102-1
Kummu, M., Keskinen, M. & Varis, O. (eds.): Modern Myths of the Mekong, pp. 81-94
82
The Greater Angkor Project, a joint research
project coordinated by the University of Sydney
with the École Française d’Extrême Orient
and APSARA, the Cambodian Government’s
heritage authority for Angkor, is investigating the
history of the development and decline of Angkor.
This work encompasses a multi-disciplinary
investigation of the pattern of growth and decay
of the infrastructure, including its road and water
network. The implications of the creation and
modification of the Siem Reap ‘River’, which
passes through Central Angkor, is one of the foci
of this investigation.
This paper considers some of the adverse
environmental implications that may have arisen
from the creation and modification of the Siem
Reap River. In doing so, it seeks to illustrate the
extent to which so-called ‘traditional’ societies can
impact upon the natural environment.
The notion of harmony between ‘traditional’
societies, however that may be defined, and the
natural environment, has a strong tradition in
Figure 1 Water network of Central Angkor (Pottier, 1999; Evans, 2007).
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part III: Development
Western thought. While in some cases, extant
‘traditional’ perspectives on or approaches to
environmental management may be more effective
than many ‘modern’ alternatives, the notion that
these societies had no or little impact on the
environment, and that large-scale environmental
modification is only associated with the industrial
world has been thoroughly falsified by research
in archaeology, anthropology, ethnography and
related fields. This paper considers a specific case
of the impact of pre-industrial urbanism.
2 The Siem Reap River
The Siem Reap River, and Central Angkor itself,
lie on an alluvial fan fed by the Puok River, which
originally flowed southwest from the Kulen Hills
to Lake Tonle Sap (Figure 1). Today, the Siem
Reap River has captured virtually all the flow of
the Puok River, diverting it southwards through
Central Angkor, with the channel upstream of
the point of capture now considered as part of the
Siem Reap River as well. Groslier (1979, p.164) has
postulated that this wholesale diversion of the river
Lustig et al. - Did traditional cultures live in harmony with nature?
was deliberate, but as shall be discussed below, the
initial diversion may have been only partial.
There is little doubt that the Siem Reap River was
“dug by the hand of man”, as Groslier (1979, p.164)
has pointed out. Parts of this watercourse are still
straight today, unlike the other natural rivers
running down this same alluvial fan. Furthermore,
where the Siem Reap River leaves the Puok River,
it passes out of the Puok’s floodplain and through
higher ground. A natural watercourse on an
alluvial fan does not normally do this.
From the Puok River, the Siem Reap River runs
southwards to the north side of the north bank of
the Yasodharatataka, or East Baray, where it turns
right to run westward along straight channels
between the East Baray and the Jayatataka, a
smaller baray to the north. Then it turns to flow
due south, after passing either through or around
the end of a demolished wall and embankment.
On its course, it passes many temples, including
Angkor Wat, before turning to the south-southwest
to run through Siem Reap town. It then breaks
up into a number of distributary channels which
eventually reach the Tonle Sap Lake.
The investigations of the role of the Siem Reap
River have revealed indications of what appear to
have been adverse environmental impacts during
the history of Angkor.
3 Adverse environmental impacts
3.1 Impact 1 – Cutting down of the Siem
Reap channel
Where the Siem Reap takes water from the Puok,
it has cut down into the alluvium by about 6-8 m.
However, the natural behaviour of rivers on alluvial
fans is to accrete rather than erode. It is suggested
that since natural channels on this alluvial fan
meander, the main reason for this down-cutting
is that the Siem Reap was constructed in sections
of straight channel. Water travelling along
meandering pathways loses energy more quickly
than when going straight. With a straight channel,
the water will tend to run faster and erode its bed.
83
This will cause it either to cut down to make its
slope shallower, or erode its banks to widen its
channel. One or both of these processes could
reduce the velocity to such a level that material
carried down from upstream will deposit in the
bed and banks of the channel. Ultimately, the rate
of erosion of the bed and banks will be balanced
by the rate of deposition of material brought
down from upstream. This process follows what
is known as the Principle of Minimum Stream
Power, whereby a stream will adjust itself so that its
rate of energy loss approaches a minimum (Song
& Yang, 1980). In this case, the channel has cut
down rather than widened.
The environmental consequences of this down-
cutting may have been severe. A number of channels
which appear to have diverted water from the Siem
Reap (Figure 2) could no longer have functioned
as the channel lowered its level. It is interesting to
note that a recent study of sediments accumulated
in the West Mebon temple within the West Baray
reservoir indicate that flow from the canal network
decreased in the late 13th century (Penny, Pottier et
al., 2007). It is possible that this may be related to a
change in the level of the Siem Reap River relative
to its distributor canals as the river incised.
3.1.1 Modelling the sedimentation and erosion
processes
To check this hypothesis, the sedimentation
and erosion processes in the Siem Reap channel
have been modelled, using a model developed by
Tuomo Karvonen, Water Resources Laboratory of
Helsinki University of Technology. This model
solves the Saint Venant equations numerically
using the MacCormack Method (MacCormack,
1969). Inputs for the model are the cross-sections
and longitudinal profile of the channel, the upper
boundary inflow, the lower boundary, the bottom
slope, and other parameters such as sediment load
through the upper boundary.
Levels (heights) of the Siem Reap River bed were
recorded with the help of a Trimble Geoexplorer CE
GPS System and a Leica Total Station Positioning
System (TPS) 1100. Using this information, the
84
Figure 2 Possible off-takes from the original Siem Reap (Pottier, 1999, p.101, n.294; Evans, 2007).
model assumes that the channel of the Siem
Reap has had its greatest erosion just downstream
from its junction with the Puok River, some 8 m
below the original level. About 15 km downstream
from this junction, channel has eroded about 4
m below the original level, while there is no little
or no erosion at Siem Reap township, 25-30 km
downstream from the junction. The results of the
modelling correspond to these measured values
quite well (Figure 3).
Figure 3 suggests that the artificial channel has
eroded along its upper part and accreted in its lower
part downstream of Siem Reap town, so that its
stream power is similar to that of other watercourses
on the alluvial fan. If the stream power has now
dropped to that of the other watercourses, it would
follow that most of the down-cutting has ceased.
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part III: Development
3.1.2 Bam Penh Reach
The Siem Reap channel seems to have been
originally constructed to take water from the Puok
near the village of Bam Penh Reach, about 15
km north of central Angkor. Upstream of this off-
take, the channel passes along a floodplain incised
into the alluvial plain (Figure 4). The floodplain
appears much as floodplains of other rivers in the
area, and indeed the floodplain itself continues
down to the Tonle Sap lake in a south-westerly
direction, whereas the Siem Reap River itself turns
through several 90º bends before passing into the
left bank of the floodplain. From there, its incised
channel runs southwards to the East Baray.
It would seem that this series of 90º bends results
followed a deliberate design. It can be observed
that the sections of channel between each bend
Lustig et al. - Did traditional cultures live in harmony with nature?
Figure 3 The result of mathematical modelling of the down-cutting of the Siem reap Channel. The dotted line is the original
long section inferred for the bottom of the channel, while the solid one is the bottom of the channel after it stabilises. (Map
adapted from Figure 1)
appear straight, and parts of it seem to have been
lined with laterite blocks. Furthermore, it might
be noted that there is a similar – and wholly
artificial - hydraulic arrangement where the Siem
Reap River turns to run southwards between the
East Baray and Angkor Thom, again branching off
a westward-flowing watercourse.
When the Bam Penh Reach area began to be
investigated in 1999 to try to understand the reasons
for the down-cutting, the investigators were soon
directed to some in-situ laterite blocks that had
been uncovered by a Khmer Rouge working party
in the mid-1970s. The Greater Angkor Project
investigations since then have indicated that these
blocks appear to be part of a large platform sloping
down westwards at between 5º and 10º, at the base
of a large natural or artificial watercourse.
85
Topographic and sub-surface survey, excavation
and coring indicate that the platform could be at
least 48 m wide and is about 85 m long (Figure 5).
The eastern end of the structure has the form of an
offtake from what may have been a laterite-lined
channel, presumably the forerunner of the Siem
Reap River of today, now some 20m to the east.
Further investigations are needed to determine if
there is any association between the platform and
the outcropping blocks of laterite marked to the
southeast on Figure 5.
The western edge of this platform has the form
of a spillway about 1½ m high (Figure 6), and
was apparently designed to pass large volumes of
water, consistent with what may have been all or
part of the Puok River in flood. If the off-take to
the Siem Reap River was built at the same time
86
as this platform, this may mean that water was
flowing in three directions: to the west along its
original channel, along an offtake from the Puok
at the start of the Siem Reap channel, and over the
spillway, again to the west, to skim off excess flow
in the Siem Reap channel in times of peak floods.
To confirm this however, needs further study.
An interesting feature of the spillway is that its
laterite blocks are assembled with vertical and
horizontal keys, seemingly designed to resist the
forces of water flowing westwards (Figure 7).
This mode of keying is a common feature of the
temples of Yasovarman I (Boisselier, 1966, p. 112),
which supports Groslier’s (1979, p. 173) contention
that the Siem Reap’s off-take from the Puok
was to provide water for the East Baray, built by
Yasovarman or Rajendravarman (Groslier, 1958,
p.110, n.2; Groslier, 1979, p.176; Pottier, 1999,
p.101, n.294). This suggests that the Siem Reap
Figure 4 Siem Reap channel where it leaves the floodplain of the Puok River. Digital elevation model derived from AIRSAR-
TOPSAR radar interferometry dataset acquired over Tonle Sap Basin, Cambodia during PacRim AIRSAR mission, September
2000. (Fletcher, Evans et al., 2002)
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part III: Development
channel and the water structure at Bam Penh
Reach were constructed around the 10th century.
We note here that the discovery of this spillway
structure provides a negation of Van Liere’s (1980,
p. 274) assertion that the Khmer had limited
hydraulic technology and did not know how to
build permanent structures in monsoon rivers.
3.2 Impact 2 – Blocking the Bam Penh
Reach structure
There are several additional indications that the
construction at the junction of the Puok and Siem
Reap Rivers was not designed originally to divert
all of the flow from the Puok. The stratigraphy
above the laterite spillway at Bam Penh Reach,
which includes many disturbed laterite blocks
and rubble, indicate that part of the platform was
destroyed and the channel in which it sat was
completely and deliberately filled in, blocking the
Lustig et al. - Did traditional cultures live in harmony with nature?
westward flow of water. It appears that at the least
this filling may have caused the dry-season flow
of the Puok to divert to the Siem Reap. If it did so
then the change would have impinged upon the
communities of the downstream section of the
Puok River who relied on having a perennial flow
for their subsistence.
3.3 Impact 3 – Breaking out from the Siem
Reap channel
A third reason to think that the original diversion
by the Siem Reap channel from the Puok River
was only partial can be seen from those sections
of the Siem Reap’s original channel which did not
cut down and are still visible today. These sections
adjoin the current watercourse where it later broke
away from its original confines before cutting down
into the alluvium. These break-outs may have
resulted from the volume of flow being too great
for the capacity of the channel caused either by the
channel silting up or the volume of flow increasing.
Indeed, it is possible that both happened; that is,
the channel eroded at its upstream end and the
eroded material deposited further downstream.
It is likely that the channel would have been
originally designed to carry the flow that was
Figure 5 Possible extent of platform near presumed junction of the Siem Reap Channel and the Puok River. Outcropping
laterite blocks shown in black.
87
diverted in the first phase, that is, when the Bam
Penh Reach spillway was first built. It may even
have coped with the additional flow resulting
from filling in the spillway channel. However,
once enough of the Puok was directed southwards
along the Siem Reap during the peak of the rainy
season to start the erosion, this in turn could have
increased the proportion being diverted to such
an extent that it destroyed much of the Siem Reap
channel as a sustainable piece of infrastructure.
We do not yet know what purpose a full diversion
rather than a partial diversion might have
addressed. Further modelling is now desirable to
explore, among other things, whether the initial
partial flow would have been sufficient for the
Indratataka and the East Baray, and whether extra
flow could have been needed for the West Baray.
3.4 Impact 4 – Toeuk Thla Baray
Downstream of Bam Penh Reach, the Siem Reap
skirts a water tank about 300 m square, known as
Toeuk Thla Baray (Figure 8). This water tank is
very deeply excavated into the regional alluvium
and, given its base appears to be always below the
water table, it is presumed to have always held
water. Its bottom is about 10 m below the crest
88 Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part III: Development

Figure 6 Spillway and Bam Penh Reach channel. Excavation nearby indicates base of spillway is about 1½ m below
the crest.

Figure 7 Vertical and horizontal keys in spillway construction.

Lustig et al. - Did traditional cultures live in harmony with nature?
of the surrounding embankment, a depth rarely
encountered for Angkorian reservoirs. The only
known structure with such a high side wall is the
West Baray but this is built entirely above ground.
Such a large excavation would have involved
considerable effort for a local community. The
reason for such a large expenditure of effort is
unclear, as the area is remote from central Angkor,
Figure 8 Location of Toeuk Thla baray.
89
and there is only one small temple in the immediate
vicinity, suggesting there was no major centre of
habitation or other item of strategic or economic
importance nearby during the Angkorian period.
The implication is that there are at least two
phases of excavation in Toeuk Thla Baray, the
first when the water tank was excavated initially
and the water table was much closer to the surface.
The second could have been when the Siem Reap
90
channel began to cut down, immediately to the
east. This would have depressed the groundwater
level nearby, effectively reducing water levels
within the water tank, and local people may have
regularly removed more soil from the base of the
tank whenever it started to dry out (Figure 9).
Drill cores of sediment extracted from the baray
indicate that water levels fell markedly at some
point in its history (Figure 10). The stratigraphy
of the cores reveals a period of soil development
within the reservoir, indicating that it was partially
or entirely dry for a sustained period of time. A
charcoal fragment found below this ancient soil
has been radiocarbon dated to the mid- to late 14th
century, suggesting that the final drying phase
– which we hypothesise was related to the end of
the down-cutting of the Siem Reap, and hence the
final work of removing soil from the base of the
tank - began at this time.
3.5 Impact 5 – Spean Thmar Bridge
Where the Siem Reap River flows due south
between Angkor Thom and the East Baray, it passes
the Spean Thmar bridge (Figure 11), which is on
the alignment of the road leading eastwards from
the Victory Gate of Angkor Thom across the Siem
Figure 9 Possible sequence of progressive digging out of Toeuk Thla baray.
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part III: Development
Reap channel. This bridge has been constructed
with sandstone blocks which appear to have come
from disused Bayon style religious structures,
suggesting that it was built during or after the 13th
century. However, today the river does not pass
under the bridge. Instead, it now cuts into the left
bank and skirts the bridge on its eastern side, as
well as cutting down by about 3 m.
Some preliminary investigations of the area just
upstream of the bridge where the old channel is
visible indicate that the Spean Thmar spanned a
small artificial channel running due south. Again,
neither this artificial channel nor the openings in
the Spean Thmar Bridge itself would have been
large enough to cope with the full flow of the
Siem Reap during the peak of the rainy season.
This suggests that initially only part of the flow
of the Siem Reap (or some other source of water)
was directed along here. It is not clear along which
channel the rest of the flow of the Siem Reap was
directed.
If most of the flow of the Puok was directed down
the Siem Reap channel, some time later, it would
not have been able to get through the openings in
the Spean Thmar Bridge quickly enough, and it
Lustig et al. - Did traditional cultures live in harmony with nature?
would have banked up against the bridge. Either
the water would have then overtopped the bridge
and gouged into the bank, or the Angkorians would
have constructed the eastern diversion around the
bridge before sending the full flow of the Siem
Reap down this channel. The channel appears to
have then cut down further until it stabilised at a
new level below the bed of the original channel.
This new level would have been where the stream
power of the now increased flow would have been
at a minimum. If this was connected with the
behaviour of the Siem Reap channel near Baray
Toeuk Thla, this minimum stream power could
have been attained at around the mid- to late 14th
century.
4 Discussion
The evidence collected so far indicates that there
was an original, partial diversion of water from the
Puok River into the Siem Reap channel in the 10th
century which could have been sustainable in the
sense that the diversion may not have led to water
flows large enough to initiate downcutting. It may
be that the next stage of blocking the Bam Penh
Reach spillway and diverting more dry-season
flow down the Siem Reap still did not overload the
Figure 10 Rise in magnetic susceptibility of soil at base of Baray Toeuk Thla indicating development of strong pedal
structure of soil and hence a possible drying out between about 20mm and 40mm.
91
channel. However, it would presumably have had
an adverse impact on the communities of the lower
Puok River. At some time after the 13th century,
flow may have been directed south between
Angkor Thom and the East Baray, at the time
when the Spean Thmar bridge was constructed.
As the Siem Reap diverted more and more water
away from the Puok, ultimately, the flow running
through the Spean Thmar Bridge was greater than
its capacity, and the river diverted or was diverted
around it (Figure 12).
If these latter effects were a consequence of the
same final diversion of the river out of the Puok
River floodplain, they must have happened some
time after the building of the Spean Thmar
bridge, that is, from the 13th century onwards, and
some time before the down-cutting stopped in the
second half of the 14th century. The open question
is whether the increased flow that ultimately by-
passed the bridge was a result of a planned increase
in the water flow down the Siem Reap, or was a
result of an inescapable cumulative increase in
water flow as the Siem Reap progressively captured
more of the flow of the Puok.
92 Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part III: Development

Figure 11 Siem Reap channel skirting around Spean Thmar Bridge (adapted from Pottier (1999) and Evans (2007).

Figure 12 Water flowed between the pillars of the bridge. Undisturbed floor of original channel is just upstream of skirt of
bridge. (Pottier, 1993, Pl.49)
Lustig et al. - Did traditional cultures live in harmony with nature?
5 Conclusions
As a pre-industrial settlement, Angkor is unique
in terms of its scale and impact on the natural
environment. Recent mapping of the extent of
urban environment at Angkor has revealed that
its water management infrastructure covered an
area in excess of 1,000 km2. In order to ‘feed’ this
enormous and convoluted water management
system, the Puok River was truncated and its
seasonal flow captured, probably only partially
in the first instance, but ultimately creating an
entirely new catchment. Massive engineering
structures such as that discovered recently at Bam
Penh Reach were required to control this system.
The subsequent capture of the majority of Puok
River flow by the newly created Siem Reap channel
- intentional or not – led to dramatic incision in
the upper to middle reaches of what became
the Siem Reap River. This would have had a
significant effect in central and southern Angkor,
as higher discharge and larger sediment loads
moved through the system, and on communities
93
of the downstream Puok River, whose access to
seasonal flow in the Puok River would have been
greatly reduced. Clearly, Angkor represents an
excellent illustration of the profound impact that
a pre-industrial, agrarian, ‘traditional’ society can
have upon the natural environment. The extent
to which these environmental impacts brought
about conditions inimical to viable social life at
Angkor, as first proposed by Groslier, remains to
be demonstrated in detail.
Acknowledgements
This research is part of the Greater Angkor Project,
a collaborative research project by the University
of Sydney, Ecole Française d’Extrême-Orient
and APSARA, the Cambodian government body
responsible for the management of the Angkor
World Heritage site. Funding was provided by the
Australian Research Council (Discovery Projects
Grant # 0558130). This work has received funding
from the Academy of Finland Project 211010.
94
References
Boisselier, J., 1966. Le Cambodge: Asie du Sud-Est. Paris,
A & J Picard.
Evans, D. O., 2007. Putting Angkor on the Map: A
New Survey of a Khmer ‘Hydraulic City’ in Historical
and Theoretical Context. Department of Archaeology.
Sydney, University of Sydney. PhD.
Fletcher, R., Evans, D. H., et al., 2002. AIRSAR’s
contribution to understanding the Angkor World Heritage
Site, Cambodia - Objectives and preliminary findings
from an examination of PACRIM2 datasets. Proceedings
of the 2002 AIRSAR Earth Science and Application
Workshop, NASA/JPL, Pasadena, California, National
Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Groslier, B.-P., 1958. Angkor et le Cambodge au XVI
siècle d’apres les sources portugaises et espangnoles. Paris,
PUF.
Groslier, B.-P., 1979. “Le cité hydraulique angkorienne:
exploitation ou surexploitation du sol?” Bulletin de
l’École Française d’Extrême Orient 66: 161-202.
MacCormack, R. W., 1969. “The effect of viscosity in
hypervelocity impact cratering.” American Institute of
Aeronautics and Astronautics(354).
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part III: Development
Penny, D., Pottier, C., Kummu, M., Fletcher, R., Zoppi,
U. & Tous, S. 2007 [2005]. Hydrological history of the
West Baray, Angkor, revealed through palynological
analysis of sediments from the West Mebon. Bulletin de
l’École Française d’Extrême-Orient, 92: 497-521.
Pottier, C., 1999. Carte Archéologique de la Région
d’Angkor. Zone Sud. UFR Orient et Monde Arabe. Paris,
Université Paris III - Sorbonne Nouvelle: 3 vols.
Pottier, C. e., 1993. Documents topographiques de la
Conservation d’Angkor. Paris, École Française d’Extrême
Orient.
Song, C. C. S. & Yang, C. T., 1980. “Minimum Stream
Power: Theory.” Journal of the Hydraulics Division,
American Society of Civil Engineers 106(HY9): 1477-
1478.
Van Liere, W. J., 1980. “Traditional Water Management
in the Lower Mekong Basin.” World Archaeology 11(11):
265-280.
This publication is available electronically at
water.tkk.fi/global/publications
 Water & Development Publications - Helsinki University of Technology AB

MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS

AND PHNOM PENH:
IS THE CITY ON TRACK TO MEET THE GOALS?
Ulla Heinonen
Water Resources Laboratory, Helsinki University of Technology, Finland

The member states of the United Nations have pledged to meet the Millennium Development Goals by
2015. The MDGs have encouraged development also in South-East Asia and the region seems to be on
track to meet most of the goals. However, the target 10, which addresses safe drinking water and sanitation,
is not on track. Improving living standards of slum dwellers and ensuring access to safe drinking water
and sanitation have also been targets in one of the region’s poorest countries, Cambodia. In spite of the
work, poor housing, lack of a safe water supply and insufficient sanitation are still among the main factors
diminishing the life quality of the poor in Phnom Penh. But there also exist many positive signs in the city’s
development. The water supply sector, for instance, has seen noteworthy growth in the last years.

1 Introduction
The Millennium Declaration was adopted by the
member states of the United Nations in September
2000. The declaration contains eight Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs), which range from
eradicating extreme poverty to developing global
partnerships for development (Figure 1). The goals
include eighteen specific development targets.
Each of them has a time frame and indicators to
monitor the achievements (UN, 2005). Goal 7
addressing environmental sustainability, and in
Corresponding author:
Ulla Heinonen
Water Resources Laboratory
Helsinki University of Technology - TKK
P.O. Box 5200, FIN-02015 TKK, Finland
Email: ulla.heinonen@tkk.fi
particular, two of its three targets - Targets 10 and
11 - are of special interest in this article.
The Target 10 aims to halve the proportion of
people without access to safe drinking water and
basic sanitation by 2015. The baseline for the
target is set to 1990. Meeting this target implies
fewer burdens on people, reduces water-related
diseases, and improves the quality of life of almost
one billion people (UN-HABITAT, 2003b). Safe
drinking water, which is an absolute necessity for
life and health, is unfortunately often inaccessible
for people in developing countries. Presently,
almost 2 billion people lack adequate and safe
drinking water or can only obtain it at very high
prices. In many Third World cities the problems
are the most severe. Especially, the cities’ informal

© 2008 TKK & Heinonen ISBN 978-951-22-9102-1

Kummu, M., Keskinen, M. & Varis, O. (eds.): Modern Myths of the Mekong, pp. 95-105
96 Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part III: Development

settlements do not have improved water supplies
such as piped water, public standpipes, bore wells,
protected springs, or rainwater collections. As
a consequence, numerous city dwellers do not
have access to water supplies that are sufficient
in quantity and quality, affordable, and available
without excessive physical effort and time as is
highlighted in the Target 10.
The Target 10 addresses also the problems of
low sanitation level. Adequate sanitation, such as
private or shared toilets, pour-flush latrines, or VIP
latrines, is often inaccessible for the poor citizens.
Non-existent or inadequate sanitation is part of
everyday life in many cities. The cities’ packed
slum communities are the most problematic
environments due to high population density,
open wastewater canals, inadequate water supplies,
and poor hygiene. In such circumstances over 2
million people die annually as a result of water-
related diseases (UN-HABITAT, 2003b).
Through its impacts on health, the quality of life
and the environment, sanitation has considerable
implications for the living conditions of poor
people. Therefore, sanitation also has a particularly
great influence in achieving the Target 11, which
aims to improve the lives of at least 100 million
slum dwellers by 2020. Access to sanitation is
one of the five components of the target, along
with secure tenure, safe drinking water supply,
housing durability, and sufficient living space.
Slum dwellers generally have little or no access
to the previously mentioned services. In addition,
the poor often lack legal ownership or any other
form of secure tenure, which diminishes their
abilities and motivation to develop their housing
conditions.
Even if the Target 11 concentrates on the living
conditions of 100 million people, it is globally only
a scratch on the problems surface. Slumming is
a big issue of today. Currently around one third
of the world’s urban population, almost 1 billion
people, lives in slum settlements. The urban areas
of South-East Asia alone populate over 200 million
citizens, of whom almost 30 percent live in slum
settlements. And, the population in the region’s
shantytowns is projected to reach 90 million
people in the next fifteen years (UN-HABITAT,
2005a; 2005b).

Goal 1. Eradicate extreme poverty
and hunger
Goal 2. Achieve universal primary
education
Goal 3. Promote gender equality and
empower women
Goal 4. Reduce child mortality
Goal 5. Improve maternal health
Goal 6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria,
and other diseases
Goal 7. Ensure environmental
sustainability
Goal 8. Develop a global partnership
for development
Target 1. Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than $1 a day
Target 2. Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger
Target 3. Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete
a full course of primary schooling
Target 4. Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005,
and in all levels of education no later than 2015.
Target 5. Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate
Target 6. Reduce by three-quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio
Target 7. Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS
Target 8. Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases
Target 9. Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes
and reverse the loss of environmental resources
Target 10. Halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe
drinking water and basic sanitation
Target 11. Have achieved by 2020 a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million
slum dwellers
Target 12. Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory trading and financial system
Target 13. Address the special needs of the least developed countries
Target 14. Address the special needs of landlocked developing countries and small island
developing states
Target 15. Deal comprehensively with the debt problems of developing countries through national
and international measures in order to make debt sustainable in the long run
Target 16. In cooperation with developing countries, develop and implement strategies for decent
and productive work for youth
Target 17. In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential
drugs in developing countries
Target 18. In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies,
especially information and communications technologies

Figure 1 Millennium Development Goals (UN, 2005).

Heinonen - Millennium Development Goals and Phnom Penh
The world’s mushrooming slum population in
many countries has put the efficiency of the
Millennium Development Goals in question.
Target 11 in particular has been criticised for
being too moderate and giving a limited picture
of the size of the problem. Hence, the United
Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-
HABITAT) has opened a debate on opening and
reformulating the target. The organisation has
proposed that the goal should intend to halve
slum population instead of targeting only on 100
million. The modification would make the goal
easier for countries to adopt and match the target
to the increasing slum population. The discussion
about this reformulation was, however, quite soon
rejected. Target 11, reformulated or not, makes only
a moderate change to the world’s slum population.
In South-East Asia, for instance, the total slum
population will almost double in the next fifteen
years and therefore the goal will very soon be
outdated (UN-HABITAT, 2005b). However, the
international goals raise discussion about the
issues and hence put also slum settlements on the
agendas of the cities’ development plans, like in
Phnom Penh.
2 Target 11 - Improving the lives of
slum dwellers in Cambodia
2.1 Target in the country level
Meeting the Target 11 in Cambodia means
improving the living standard of 280,000 people
Slum population in Cambodia and Target 11
Thousands
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
1990
Figure 2 The Target 11 is not reachable when considering the high population growth in the Cambodian slums
(UN-HABITAT, 2005).
97
by 2020 (Figure 2). Presently, Cambodia inhabits
around two million slum dwellers. Yet, there cannot
be seen any progress regarding the goals. Instead
the development has been reverse. Since 1990s the
number of country’s slum dwellers has increased
annually by 86,000 and, in the time frame of the
target, it is estimated that the population will swell
annually by 214,000 people and reach 5 million
(Figure 2) (UN, 2004a; UN-Habitat, 2005a).
2.2 Increasing slum population in
Phnom Penh
The Cambodian capital city, Phnom Penh, has
nowadays a population of 1.3 million people. The
city is growing annually by 4 percent compared
to the country’s overall 2.5 percent growth level.
In the last five years the city’s population has
increased by 300 000 people, indicating real
population pressures (Crosbie, 2004). The capital
city is the political and economic centre of the
country and has attracted numbers of people
from rural areas (De Ville & Westfall, 2001). The
rural-urban migration, together with the tenuous
economy and weak infrastructure, has rendered
the city unable to provide adequate housing and
services for the growing population. Thus, over 30
percent of the city’s population is living without
adequate housing and basic services (Municipality
of Phnom Penh, 2005).
The city’s slum population has increased at a
very high rate in the recent years (Figure 3).
Estimation
Target 11
Target 11 - under debate
1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020
98
The Solidarity for Urban Poor Federation (2003)
recorded that the number of dwellers in the city’s
shantytowns increased by over 200,000 people
in the three years 2000 to 2003. The broader
perspective of the study, compared to the previous
surveys, can explain some of the increase. The
results demonstrated, however, evident growth in
the slum population.
The city’s poor settlements are located both on
private and public land in Phnom Penh’s semi-
urban periphery and in the city centre (Heinonen,
2004). Due to the increasing land demand for
population growth, investments and development
purposes the pressures to evict slum communities
from the city centre of Phnom Penh are high.
The municipality does not have a resettlement
policy or a land banking system for development
purposes and until recently the policy to deal
with these conflicting interests was to move poor
communities from the centre to the outskirts of
the city (Sophy, 2002; Khemro & Payne 2004). As
a result, the city centre has far fewer poor than the
newly created slum settlements in the outskirts (e.g.
the Dangkao and Russei Kaev districts). In 2003,
over 60 percent of the low-income households in
the city were located in the semi-rural outskirts
(Crosbie, 2004). The relocations are continuing
and around one third of the city’s poor are still
uncertain about future relocations (URC, 2002;
ACHR, 2006). The city planner of Phnom Penh,
Eric Huybrechts, estimates that in 2020, only
100,000 out of the total of 1 million poor living in
the city will be living in the four central districts
of the city, and the rest on the outskirts of Phnom
Penh (Crosbie, 2004).
Slum population in Phnom Penh
Thousands
500
400
300
200
100
0
2000
Figure 3 The slum population in Phnom Penh has doubled since 2000 (SUPF, 2003; Municipality of Phnom Penh, 2005).
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part III: Development
The relocations have taken place so as to make
possible public infrastructure improvements
(URC, 2002). Even though these activities have
improved the city’s infrastructure, they have, on
the other hand, left some residents with poorer
services. The lack of a national resettlement
policy, proper planning, and co-operation of
different stakeholders has led to many negative
social impacts. The evictions have often been both
economically and socially disastrous (Khemro &
Payne 2004). The studies of the Urban Resource
Centre (2002) identified many negative aspects
of the resettlements. In many cases the livelihood
opportunities, income, and access to services
declined, the need to travel increased, and many
citizens had to change their jobs or were left
unemployed. Consequently, the relocations have
merely created new poor settlements and decreased
the living standards of the poor. In addition, the
empowerment of local people and analysis of their
needs and abilities to up-grade their premises have
not been included into these activities (ACHR,
2005).
2.3 Reaching the Target 11 in Phnom Penh?
Phnom Penh populates over one million people,
almost half of the Cambodian urban population
and more than one-fifth of the slum dwellers
(SUPF, 2003; NIS, 2004a; UN-HABITAT, 2005).
Thus, reaching the Target 11 in Phnom Penh
implies improving the living standards of 50,000
people by 2020. Since the MDGs were launched,
the progress has nevertheless been reverse. Even
though the progress has not been as hoped, the
MDGs and the high-level discussion about the
Target 11
2005 2010 2015 2020
Heinonen - Millennium Development Goals and Phnom Penh
urban problems have drawn attention to the city’s
slum settlements.
Since 1990s along the Phnom Penh’s development
boom many NGOs such as the Asian Coalition
for Housing Rights (ACHR) were working with
city’s urban poor communities to find options
for relocations. In the end of the decade these
activities were noted, and in 1998 ACHR was
able to make a co-operation agreement with the
Municipality of Phnom Penh to set up an Urban
Poor Development Fund (UPDF), collaboration
between the federation, the municipality and
NGOs. UPDF supports poor communities by
loans and gives institutional help for house
constructions.
In 2002 the pressure became too high and the
municipality of Phnom Penh noted that the
evictions cannot be only approach for city’s
development. In 2002 ACHR and UPDF together
with the City Development Strategy (CDS), a
joint programme of the Municipality of Phnom
Penh, UN-HABITAT, Asian Coalition for Housing
Rights, People’s Organisation, Solidarity for Urban
Poor Federation, and the Urban Resource Centre,
worked to find out new ways to solve the problems
of the city’s slum settlements. The programme
found alternatives for relocation such as in situ
upgrading, nearby relocation, and land sharing,
and conducted some successful pilot studies
(ACHR, 2001; 2004).
The programme, the pilot studies, and the
groundwork, including savings, surveys, and
networking, led to further action and an important
turnaround in the development of poor people’s
housing was seen in the spring of 2003, when the
Prime Minister of Cambodia agreed to provide
secure tenure and support the upgrading process of
100 urban communities each year (Boonyabancha,
2003; UPDF, 2003). Finally, the decision-makers
of the country recognised that the informal
settlements of the city form a very important
housing stock, especially for migrants and informal
workers, and one which at the moment nobody can
afford to replace. And, upgrading these settlements
calls also other approaches than evictions.
99
On a policy level the previously mentioned
process was important since upgrading became
a formalised method for city’s development.
And, the government has suggested promising
initiatives for the poor dwellers such as a national
housing policy and housing finance mechanisms
to release low-interest loans for the poor (Crosbie,
2004; Khemro & Payne 2004). According to
the Asian Coalition for Housing Rights (ACHR,
2005), this turnaround was important for three
reasons. First, the government has finally approved
slum upgrading and does not only aim to relocate
communities; second, it allows people themselves
to up-grade their housing and thus sees people as
a resource rather than a problem, and; third, the
approach has changed from one of solving housing
problems on a commune or project level to a
more comprehensive and large-scale approach. In
addition, the previously mentioned steps have
opened discussion channels between ACHR, the
city and the national level, and have given new
food for thoughts, such as bottom-up perspective
and people’s participation, on the Phnom Penh’s
planning work.
3 Target 10 - Increasing access to water
supply and sanitation
3.1 Progress in Phnom Penh
The Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority
(PPWSA) is the official water operator in the
city and is financed by tariffs and international
development loans. The authority has a daily
production capacity of 235 000 m3/day and
domestic water use accounts for the majority of
this production (McIntosh, 2003). In 1993 only
around 25 percent of Phnom Penh’s population
has an access to piped water supplies of PPWSA.
Eight years later the coverage has increased to 83
percent in the inner city and 50 percent of the
whole city (McIntosh, 2003). Presently, the water
service in Phnom Penh covers 100 percent of the
inner city and 90 percent of the greater Phnom
Penh’s population (ADB, 2006).
Even though the heart of the city is served rather
well, there are still many inhabitants, particularly
100
on the outskirts of the city, who do not have a
piped water connection (Heinonen, 2004; 2005a).
At present, only around 30 percent of the people
living in the poor settlements of Phnom Penh
have a central piped water connection. Around 60
percent of them who do not have the connection
buy water from private vendors. The rest obtain
water from wells and ponds. The slums located
on public land have higher percent of access to
water services than those locating on private land
(Khemro & Payne, 2004).
Private water suppliers provide water for most of
the city’s households that do not have piped water
services. The private water sector in the city has
different characteristics and the services vary from
individuals who collect water and transport it for
sale to small companies that provide piped water
to individual households (Salter, 2003). Most
of these services are nonetheless informal. The
private water vendors pump water directly from
the river or collect water from community pumps
or open wells and supply untreated water to their
clients (McIntosh, 2003). The water is delivered to
the customers by means of pipelines or transported
by motorcycles or trucks and sold door-to-door. In
addition, many families resell piped water from
the PPWSA from household taps to neighbours
who do not have a connection (Heinonen, 2005).
It is common for households in Cambodia to use
many sources of water. Even though households
may have access to treated piped water, they often
additionally purchase untreated water from door-
to-door sellers, or collect rainwater for drinking
and cooking. The informal water sellers do not
purify their water and thus they provide untreated
water, which is not adequate as suggested in the
Target 10 (Salter, 2003; Heinonen, 2005).
In 2004 around 76 percent of the city’s population
had an access to sanitation (Municipality of
Phnom Penh, 2004). In the poor settlements the
situation was notably worse. Only 30 percent of
the poor households had access to basic sanitation
(SUPF, 1999). The problems with sanitation are
severe, particularly in the slum communes where
residents use public toilets, open pits that are
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part III: Development
shared by many families, or defecate into water,
open fields, or plastic bags. In many cases the
latrines were located too close to the water sources
and thus decreased water quality (URC, 2002-
2004; Heinonen, 2005).
As a result of the non-existence of sanitation and
wastewater treatment, the water supplies are often
polluted with high levels of bacteria or chemical
contamination (De Ville & Westfall, 2001). The
groundwater quality is often characterised by
arsenic, chloride, and fluoride content; in high
quantities these substances pose significant health
risks. Water bought from the private sector is in
addition, very costly and decreases the amount of
water that can be afforded in many poor households
(Heinonen, 2005).
Problems exist also in the city’s sewerage sector.
Majority of households in the city centre of Phnom
Penh are connected to sewerage or septic tanks
(World Bank, 2005). Most of the poor settlements,
however, do not have drainage systems (URC,
2002; Fallavier, 2003). As a result of the inadequate
drainage, two thirds of the households in the poor
settlements experience annual flooding (SUPF,
2003). The stagnant water in the streets and dikes
has an impact on the overall water quality and is
also the main source of mosquitoes and worms.
Diarrhoea, vomiting, skin problems, and dengue
fever are common diseases in the poor communes
(Heinonen, 2005).
3.2 Reaching the Target 10 in Phnom Penh?
Today, seven years after launching the Millennium
Development Goals, the water supply sector
of Phnom Penh has extensively developed.
The Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority has
increased its piped water services from 25 percent
in 1993 to 90 percent in 2006 (ADB, 2006). In
other words the percent of population without
access to adequate water services has more than
halved from 75 percent to 10 percent (Figure 4). In
addition, in the four years from 1999 to 2003, the
number of slum dwellers with access to safe water
supply has also increased by over ten percent.
Heinonen - Millennium Development Goals and Phnom Penh
The progress in the city’s water supply sector is
mainly attributable to active organisations,
governmental support and international
financiers. The studies of ACHR revealed that in
the ten years (1994 to 2004) there have been 203
development projects in the city where from one
quarter concerned water supply. The most visible
development in the city’s water sector is seen in
the work of Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority.
The Asian Development Bank supported PPWSA
to develop it’s services by streamlining the
organization’s workforce, improving collection
levels, rehabilitating the whole distribution
network and treatment plants, minimizing illegal
connections and unaccounted for water, and
increasing water tariffs to cover maintenance
and operating costs (ADB, 2006). With these
improvements PPWSA achieved an annual
eleven percent growth in water connections and
decreased the share of non-revenue water from
72 to 6 percent (1993 to 2006). Organisation’s
financial situation has also changed from heavy
subsidy to full cost recovery. The authority has
a plan to expand its services to the surrounding
districts of the city centre with a priority given to
urban poor communities (ADB, 2006). PPWSA
has reached poor settlements by providing mains
connections when communities have been able to
organise their own distribution and fee collection
and by giving extra privileges to the poor such as
subsidized tariffs or connection fees (ADB, 1996;
2006).
Population without piped water and Target 10
(%)
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1990 1995 2000
Figure 4 Target 10 is already partially reached in Phnom Penh (McIntosh, 2003; ADB, 2006).
101
The active NGOs such as URC (Urban Resource
Centre) have helped this process by supporting
the local communities and preparing various
programmes for community development. Many
of them have started as environmental projects
such as connections to water supply, construction
of drainage canals or building toilets (URC, 2003;
2004).
The United Nations Human Settlements
Programme (UN-HABITAT) has been improving
water supplies, sanitation, and drainage, among
other services in Phnom Penh. In addition United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP),
and the British Government’s Department of
International Development have already been
assisting Phnom Penh for many years with water
pipes, drainage, and community toilets (UN-
HABITAT, 2004).
Activities can also be seen in the city’s
problematic outskirts. For instance, Japan’s
Official Development Assistance (JODA) started
to improve the water supplies of Phnom Penh’s
semi-rural communities in 2003. The project aims
to supply safe drinking water to 29,200 residents
by means of 165 deep wells equipped with hand-
pumps in sixty villages in the Dangkao, Ruessey
Kaev, and Meanchey districts (ODA, 2003).
The city’s sanitation coverage, conversely, has
seen very little progress, and there still exist severe
Population without piped
water (%)
Target 10 (water supply)
2005 2010 2015
102
problems particularly in the outskirts of the city, and
in the poor communities located on private land
(Khemro & Payne, 2004).The main reason for this
is that the sanitation coverage is not a responsibility
of PPWSA but on the shoulders of the Cambodian
Public Works and Transport Ministry. And, when
the low sanitation coverage has been in the poor
communities more emphasis on sanitation is not
seen strategic for city’s development (World Bank,
2005). In 2003 there was, nevertheless, a new policy
on water supply and sanitation approved. The
National Policy on Water Supply and Sanitation
reemphasized the importance of sustained access
to safe water supply and sanitation services in
improving the living standards and general welfare
of the people (ADB, 2005). This is a positive sign
also for the development of the city’s sanitation
sector and especially the activities directed to poor
communities.
4 Discussion
Since 2000 the pool of slum dwellers in Phnom
Penh has doubled. Most of the rural migrants
who move to the city for economic reasons end up
living in slum settlements without proper housing
and services (Marshall, 2006). Improving the lives
of Phnom Penh’s slum dwellers consequently calls
for broader perspective than focusing only on the
city’s existing settlements. The Target 11 in Phnom
Penh can only be attained if proper attention is
paid to the entire situation. Integrated approaches
- including rural-urban aspects and linkages - form
a vital foundation when aiming to reach the target.
It is primary to understand why the urban slum
population is increasing and how to support rural
areas in generating improved incomes.
Improving the lives of the city’s poor also needs
other options than relocations. The city’s
development plans have not yet effectively
addressed the problems of the city’s poor dwellers
and evictions are still continuing, despite the poor
results. The relocations have increased poverty and
social exclusion amongst the relocated communes
and, additionally, worsened the housing conditions
and tenure security of many households (URC,
2002). In other words, these activities have led
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part III: Development
Phnom Penh farther away from the development
targets (Boonyabancha, 2003). The dilemma in
the resettlement process has been that the slum
settlements are not seen as a part of the city
planning strategy but as separate problem pockets
and thus approaches such as slum upgrading are
not taken advantage of. In addition, the relocation
areas have not received proper infrastructure and
in other words the settlements have just been
moved, without any real upgrading.
Relocations can be a method for city’s
development. But only after the key concerns of
the poor communities have been addressed and
they are taken in the planning process. The new
settlements need to be integrated into the city
through good infrastructure. The slum-upgrading
process should be seen as an opportunity for the
city to improve its infrastructure and the living
conditions it provides. In addition, it is critical
that the workforce of poor settlements is seen as
an important part of the local economy, which the
city cannot afford to lose.
Luckily the activities of the local NGOs and
international organisations have opened the eyes
of the Cambodian decision-makers. The City
Development Strategy supported by international
agencies broadened the options for relocations.
The concepts that came out were not new but
never used in Phnom Penh (ACHR, 2004). The
evictions are still on going but lately diminished.
This is a good sign, which hopefully changes
permanently the city’s development strategies.
At the same time as the city’s population has
increased and slum population doubled, the
proportion of the population in Phnom Penh
with access to safe water supplies has increased
significantly. PPWSA and NGOs have been key
players in this development to reach the Target
10 regarding the safe water supply. To maintain
progress in the city’s water supply services it is
crucial to continue to involve different stakeholders
in the process. The increasing slum population
may still become a deciding factor in the long run
if migration to the slum settlements is continuing.
In spite of the positive progress in the water supply
Heinonen - Millennium Development Goals and Phnom Penh
sector, there are still many challenges, which need
to be addressed.
The outskirts of the city are generally served by
informal, private water services (URC, 2004).
In addition, the slum communities on private
land are those which have the lowest percent of
water supply and sanitation. The public water
authority does not have plans to expand services
into these areas and thus the private sector seems
to be the only option for these sparsely populated
regions (Andrews, 2003). To achieve sustainable
service of water and regulate its quality and price,
the government needs to establish rules for the
informal water sector and enforce monitoring
of these services. Hence, effective regulatory
bodies are needed. The new National Policy on
Water Supply and Sanitation, which addresses
the need to expand water supply and sanitation
services through enhancing regulatory capacity
and encouraging private sector participation,
will hopefully also improve the Phnom Penh’s
regulation and monitoring capacities (ADB,
2005).
Integrated approach, underpinning a more holistic
approach including activities that go beyond the
infrastructure and commune boundaries, needs
to be addressed once more. The role of sanitation
and drainage also needs to be understood as a
crucial part of the development process of the
poor settlements and water supply system. Without
improvements in these sectors, Targets 10 and 11
cannot be sustainable achieved. Focusing only
on the development targets, which fall short of
actual realities, is not the way to gain sustainable
achievements. Nevertheless, setting international
goals is essential and represents a way to draw
attention to the particular challenges and issues
posed by inadequate services and rising population
numbers in cities, as in the case of Phnom Penh.
103
5 Conclusion
Phnom Penh is not on track to meet the Target 11 of
the Millennium Development Goals. The Target
10, however, is already partially reached since the
city’s water supply sector has been able to increase
access to safe water supplies significantly, even
though the city’s increasing urban population and
the pressure in the city’s slums has made the work
challenging. City’s sanitation has not nevertheless
seen such a development.
Even though the Target 11 is not reached, there exist
positive signs in the city’s development strategy’s
regarding slum settlements. The government
has approved slum upgrading by allowing
people themselves to upgrade their housing and
recognized that city’s development needs new
comprehensive and large-scale approaches. The
next few years will nonetheless show whether the
governmental changes are sufficient to change the
direction of development and to meet the MDGs.
More effort on the sanitation and drainage sector
is nevertheless needed and the requirements for
more comprehensive and large-scale city planning
are still evident.
Acknowledgements
This study is funded by the Academy of Finland
(project 211010), Helsinki University of Technology,
and the National Technology Agency of Finland.
I wish to thank the Urban Resource Centre for
providing essential information on the current
situation in Phnom Penh’s poor settlements. I would
also like to thank Prof. Pertti Vakkilainen and Dr.
Olli Varis for constructive discussions and comments.
Special thanks go to Dr. Mickey Sampson for giving
me comments on the water quality in Phnom Penh.
104
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city’s development and the settlements of the urban poor.
Solidarity for the Urban Poor Federation, Phnom Penh.
UN (United Nations), 2004a. World Population Prospects:
The 2004 Revision. United Nations, New York.
UN, 2004b. Millennium Development Goals: Status
2004. United Nations Department of Public Information,
United Nations, New York.
UN, 2005. The Millennium Development Goals Report.
United Nations, New York.
UN-DESA, 2004. Millennium Development Goals:
Progress Report. United Nations’ Department of
Economic and Social Affairs, New York.
Heinonen - Millennium Development Goals and Phnom Penh
UN-HABITAT (United Nations Human Settlements
Programme), 2003a. Water and Sanitation in the World’s
Cities: Local Action for Global Goals. Earthscan,
London.
UN-HABITAT, 2003b. Guide to Monitoring Target 11:
Improving the lives of 100 million slum dwellers; Progress
towards the Millennium Development Goals. United
Nation’s Human Settlements Programme, Nairobi.
UN-HABITAT, 2004. UN Trust Fund gives US $1 million
for slum upgrading in Phnom Penh. United Nations
Human Settlements Programme, Nairobi. www.unchs.
org/phnom_penh.asp
UN-HABITAT, 2005a. Slum Population Trends by
Country 1990-2020 under different upgrading and
preventive scenarios. Preliminary Slum Estimations.
Draft. United Nations Human Settlements Programme,
Nairobi.
UN-HABITAT, 2005b. A home in the city: improving
the lives of slum dwellers. United Nations Human
Settlements Programme, Nairobi.
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UPDF (Urban Poor Development Fund), 2003.
Community News. No.2. June 2003. Urban Poor
Development Fund UPDF, Phnom Penh.
URC (Urban Resource Centre), 2002. Study on the
Relocation of Urban Poor Communities in Phnom Penh.
Urban Resources Centre URC and UN-HABITAT,
Phnom Penh.
URC, 2003. Environmental projects for community
development in Phnom Penh. Urban Resource Centre
URC and Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade, Phnom
Penh.
URC, 2004. Secure Tenure and Poor Communities in
Phnom Penh: Pilot Project 2004. Urban Resource Centre
URC, Phnom Penh.
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Sanitation in Cambodia, World Bank, Washington.
This publication is available electronically at
water.tkk.fi/global/publications
 Water & Development Publications - Helsinki University of Technology AB

POPULATION, NATURAL RESOURCES &

DEVELOPMENT IN THE MEKONG:
DOES HIGH POPULATION
DENSITY HINDER DEVELOPMENT?
Marko Keskinen
Water Resources Laboratory, Helsinki University of Technology, Finland

High population density is often considered to be among the biggest hindrances for development,
particularly in areas where people depend on natural resources for their livelihoods. The reality is, however,
more complicated. The cases presented from the Tonle Sap area and the Mekong Delta show that the
drivers for areas’ development can be very different from population density, and in some cases higher
population density can be seen to be beneficial for development. This finding highlights the need for more
thorough understanding of the wider socio-political and historical context
where development and resource use takes place.

1 Introduction
Population growth and resulting higher population
density is often argued to lead to increased stress
on water and natural resources, decreased food
security, slower development and, consequently,
to poverty. This is also the view in many Mekong
countries, as highlighted by their population
policies and strategies (see e.g. The Socialist
Republic of Vietnam, 2003; MRC, 2003a; RGC,
2002). It is indeed obvious that more people
relying on same natural resource base put these
resources under increasing pressure. As a result
Corresponding author:
Marko Keskinen
Water Resources Laboratory
Helsinki University of Technology - TKK
P.O. Box 5200, FIN-02015 TKK, Finland
Email: keskinen@iki.fi
there are fewer resources available per person,
which is likely to impact negatively both food
insecurity and social and economic development
of the area.
The relationship between population, natural
resources and development is, however, more
complex, and it seems that many population
strategies partly ignore the importance of other
environmental, social, economic and political
issues impacting development. The more positive
aspects related to population density are also easily
forgotten: higher population density means higher
human capital and therefore a possibility for
greater ingenuity and adaptation.
This Chapter looks at the interconnections
between population, natural resources and

© 2008 TKK & Keskinen ISBN 978-951-22-9102-1

Kummu, M., Keskinen, M. & Varis, O. (eds.): Modern Myths of the Mekong, pp. 107-121
108
development through case studies from the Tonle
Sap area of Cambodia and the Mekong Delta of
Vietnam. The case studies are presented with the
help of population theories, historical reviews and
analyses of population indicators and livelihood
structures. To keep its focus, the Chapter does
not tackle some other important issues related to
population and development, such as the multi-
dimensional aspects of poverty (for more on this
see e.g. Laderchi et al., 2003). The focus is on
rural areas, since the extremely important issue
of urbanisation and migration has already been
well addressed in several other studies (see e.g.
Deshingkar, 2006; Jack, 2006; Heinonen, 2006;
Guest, 1998; Drakakis-Smith and Dixon, 1997).
1.1 Three theories on population and
development
The relationship between population and
development has puzzled policy makers,
economists and demographers for centuries.
Perhaps the most challenging is that the impacts
between the two go both ways: demographic
structures have far-reaching environmental, social
and economic implications, while environmental,
social and economic processes and changes have
extensive demographic consequences (Kuznets,
1998). Different studies during different periods
of time have suggested that population growth
–and resulting higher population density– either
restricts, promotes, or is independent of economic
growth. Following from these, Bloom et al. (2003)
define three main theories: 1) Pessimistic Theory,
2) Optimistic Theory, and 3) Neutralist Theory.
The underlining principle behind Pessimistic
Theory is that higher population density puts
natural resources under increasing stress and
thus restricts economic and social growth. This
principle can be traced back to Thomas Malthus
who theorized already in 18th Century that in
a (agrarian) world with fixed resources and slow
technical progress, higher population densities
would lead to insufficient food production.
This will have a negative impact on overall
development as a remarkable part of investments
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part III: Development
and resources must be used to supply the needs of
larger population, and not for enabling an increase
in the level of provision per capita (Bloom et al.,
2003).
During the past few decades, the Pessimistic
Theory have largely given way to so-called
Optimistic Theory that believes that population
growth and resulting higher population density
actually fuels economic growth and development.
Higher population density should therefore be
seen as an economic asset rather than a threat. The
fundamental change in opinion is largely based
on empirical analysis: during the last 30 years the
world’s population has doubled and population
densities increased dramatically and yet also the
average per capita incomes have increased by
about two-thirds (Bloom et al., 2003).
The Optimistic Theory gives more importance
on to technological progress and accumulation
of human resource base (“human capital”) than
to physical and natural capital. Optimists believe
that as population increases, so does the stock of
human ingenuity to solve practical technical,
social, economic and environmental problems
(Homer-Dixon, 1999). Larger societies that have
a capacity to take an advantage of economies of
scales are therefore better positioned to develop
and utilise the increased level of knowledge
they receive (Kuznets, 1967 in Bloom et al.,
2003). Optimistic Theory thus turns Malthusian
worldview around: population growth indeed
creates pressure on limited resources, but people
are resourceful and are stimulated to innovate
particularly in adversity.
The last one of three theories, so-called Neutralist
Theory, sees that higher population density has
no significant, direct effect on development. This
view is based on the statistical analyses of the
correlation between population and economic
growth in different countries. There are usually
relatively clear indicators that countries with
rapidly growing population tend to have more
slowly growing economies. However, this negative
correlation often disappears when other critical
factors such as size of the country, trade policies,
Keskinen - Population, natural resources & development in the Mekong
educational level and governance system are taken
into account as well (Bloom et al., 2003).
Neutralist and Optimistic Theories thus
concentrate more on long-term impacts of higher
population density to development1. Both theories
thus take a broader and more multifaceted view
on the relationship between population, natural
resources and development, arguing that there is
a multiplicity of population-related factors that
can have positive but also negative impacts on
development (Bloom et al., 2003).
1.2 Demographic changes
Demography is not static in any country or area;
the relative proportions of different age cohorts
change as birth and mortality rates vary over the
years. One of the most dominant demographic
changes globally is so-called demographic
transition that results from decrease in number of
young people and increase in number of old. This
demographic transition has over the past decades
been dramatic in many countries of the world,
including Asia (Hussain et al., 2006).
While demographic transition has profound
implications for planning of the social services,
it can also give a positive boost for countries’
Table 1 Comparison of key population indicators between Vietnam and Cambodia.
Population, total (mid-2004)
Annual population growth (2004)
Av. population density [people/km2] (2004)
2
Av. population density [people/km ] (1965)
Proportion of 0-14 years
Proportion of 15-64 years
Proportion of 65+ years
Annual growth rate of 0-14 years
Annual growth rate of 15-64 years
Annual growth rate of 65+ years
Source: The Far East and Australasia (2004), United Nations (1968)
109
development as relatively more people will be in
the adult age groups who comprise the productive
labour force (Ross, 2004). Unfortunately this
situation does not last forever; few decades later
the age distribution changes again as large adult
population moves into the older age groups and is
followed by the smaller cohorts of younger people.
When this occurs, so-called dependency ratio rises
again: only this time it is due to the need to care for
the elderly than for the young (Ross, 2004). The
demographic transition can thus see to open only
a limited window of opportunity for countries’
development.
When looking at the current demographic
situation in the Mekong countries, it can be noted
that in most South-East Asian countries –including
Vietnam– the growth rates of the proportion of
young people (0-14 years) from total population
are currently zero or even negative, indicating
reducing fertility rates (Hussain et al., 2006). In
the case of Cambodia, however, the growth rate
of youngest cohort is still strongly positive, despite
the fact that the proportion of young people is at
43% already now extraordinarily high (Table 1).
Population projections thus indicate that Vietnam
is, together with several other Asian countries,
already going through a dramatic demographic
Cambodia Vietnam
14 482 000 82 481 000
2,4 % 1,3 %
80,0 248,7
34,3 93,3
43% 32%
54% 63%
3% 5%
1,4 % -1,4 %
3,2 % 2,6 %
2,5 % 1,4 %
110 Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part III: Development

transition. This transition links to sharp decline

in population growth rate in 1990s, when growth
rate drop from almost 2% in 1990 to 1,4% in 2000
(National Committee for Population and Family
Planning, 2002). Cambodia’s population structure,
on the other hand, continues to be dominated by
youngest age cohorts. High positive growth rates
particularly in the dependent age groups i.e. young
and elderly can be seen to form a burden for a
country as poor as Cambodia. On the other hand
the increase of economically active population
(as younger age cohorts enter the work force) can
provide a window of opportunity for country’s
development – assuming that there exist broader
social and economic context that supports it.
2 Two unique case studies from the
Mekong Basin
This Chapter looks at two closely situated but very
differently developed areas in the Mekong Basin:
the Tonle Sap Lake of Cambodia and the Mekong
Delta of Vietnam (Figure 1). Both areas are
unusual in terms of hydrology: while Tonle Sap
has its extraordinary flood regime, the Mekong
Delta possesses the diverse characteristics of deltas
including floods, saline water intrusion and strong
tides.
In both areas people have developed different
methods for adapting–and making use of–the
hydrological regime. While in the Tonle Sap the

Lao PDR
Thailand

Cambodia

Siem Reap
Mekong

Battambang
Tonle Sap
Lake

Kampong Thom

Kratie

Kampong Chhnang
Ton er

Kampong Cham
Riv
le S
ap

PHNOM PENH
Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City

Chau Doc
Ba

My Tho
s

Legend
sa
c

Country Boundary
Can Tho
Water (dry season)

Population density (people/km2)

High : 8526

Ca Mau
Low : 0 South
China Sea
100
km

Figure 1 The Tonle Sap Lake and the Mekong Delta together with the population densities in the areas (population data
shown only for the Mekong Basin). (Map by Matti Kummu)
Keskinen - Population, natural resources & development in the Mekong 111

people are still adapted to natural water regime,
in the Delta this decades-long “adaptation” has
actually meant ambitious engineering projects
that have resulted in a move from adaptation to
control of delta’s water regime (Käkönen, 2008;
Biggs, 2003; Miller, 2003).
The most important livelihoods in these two
areas are similar and closely linked with water: in
both areas rice cultivation and other agricultural
activities combined with fishing and/or
aquaculture form the most important livelihood
sources. In spite of these similarities, there are
stunning differences in the population density
and level of development between the two areas
(Table 2). While the total population of the six
provinces surrounding Tonle Sap Lake is around
four million with average population density of
mere 56 persons/km2, the average population
density in the Mekong Delta is 416 persons/km2
(The Far East and Australasia, 2004).
Yet, despite its high population density, the
Mekong Delta of Vietnam has been able to
develop into extremely productive rice cultivation
and aquaculture area, and its economy–together
with the entire country-has been growing rapidly
during the past decade. People living in the delta
are currently considered to have higher income
than anywhere else in the Lower Mekong Basin,
although the relative poverty rates2 in the delta’s
provinces are around the same level than the ones
e.g. in Cambodia and Thailand (Chaudhry &
Juntopas, 2005; MRC, 2003a).
At the same time much less densely populated
Tonle Sap area remains as one of the poorest areas
in the entire Mekong Basin. Similarly to the delta,
people living in the villages of Tonle Sap are deeply
dependent on rice and fish. But in the Tonle Sap
the average rice yield is considerably less (around
2 t/ha) than in the delta (3-5 t/ha), and in most
areas people cultivate just one rice crop per year
compared to two and three crops cultivated in
the delta (MRC, 2003b). In addition, due to so-
called fishing lot system based on private fishing
concessions, villagers can utilise lake’s immense
aquatic resources only to limited extent. While in

Table 2 Comparison of key poverty and population indicators between Vietnam and Cambodia.

Cambodia Vietnam East Asia & Pacific /

South-East Asia
World Bank Surface area (km2) 181 000 331 700
Datasheets Population, total (2004) 13 600 000 82 200 000 1 870 000 000
2
Av. population density (people/km ) 75,1 247,8
Urban population (% of total population) 19,0 % 26,0 % 41,0 %
Annual population growth (2004) 1,7 % 1,0 % -
Av. population growth (98-04) 1,9 % 1,2 % 0,9 %
Av. labour force growth (98-04) 2,4 % 2,4 % 1,1 %
UNFPA Av. population growth rate (2005-10) 2,0 % 1,3 % 1,2 %
Urban growth rate (2005-10) 4,9 % 3,0 % 3,0 %
Population / ha of arable land 2,5 6,0 -
World Bank GNI per capita (Atlas method, US$) $350 $540 $1 280
Datasheets Annual GDP growth (2004) 6,0 % 7,5 % -
Poverty (% below poverty line) 36,0 % 29,0 % -
Literacy (% of population age 15+) 74,0 % 90,0 % 90,0 %
Life expectancy at birth (years) 54 70 70
Fertility rate / births per woman (2003) 3,9 1,9 -

Source: World Bank Datasheets for 2004, UNFPA (2006); East Asia & Pacific = World Bank, South-East Asia = UNFPA
112
Vietnam the GDP doubled during the 1990s and
the proportion of the poor population dropped
from just under 60 percent to around 30 percent,
in Cambodia the proportion of population living
under national poverty rate has stayed rather stabile,
reducing during 1990s just three percentage points
from 39 percent to 36 percent (MRC, 2003a).
The question thus raises; why is the Mekong Delta
-despite its much higher population density and
similarly challenging environmental conditions-
so much more prosperous than the Tonle Sap? And
what have been the main reasons for different paces
of development in these two reasons? Following
chapters try to shed light on these questions.
3 Tonle Sap Lake – Low population
density with persistent poverty
Cambodia is together with Laos the poorest of the
Lower Mekong countries. The country’s Gross
National Income (GNI) per capita in 2006 was
mere 480US$3. When compared to its neighbours,
this means 70% of Vietnam’s GNI, 16% of
Thailand’s GNI and 96% of Laos’ GNI (World
Bank, 2007). Most of the population, including
the population living in the Tonle Sap area, is still
heavily dependent on natural resources for their
livelihood, and more than 70% of the labour force
works in the agricultural sector (NIS, 2004).
Table 3 Population densities in the provinces of Tonle Sap.
TONLE SAP Area
(km2)
Banteay Meanchey 6 679
Battambang 11 702
Kampong Chhnang 5 521
Kampong Thom 13 814
Pursat 12 692
Siem Reap 10 299
Tonle Sap provinces total 60 707
Tonle Sap Area 14 876
(between National Roads 5 & 6)
Sources: The Far East and Australasia (2004), Keskinen (2003)
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part III: Development
Although the country’s economy has been growing
relatively fast during past decade, the development
has not been equal. Particularly disparities
between urban and rural areas are growing rapidly
(Ministry of Planning, 2002). Several decades of
internal turmoil, poor management of natural
resources, and weak and corrupted governance
are considered to be the main reasons for the
underdevelopment of the country (World Bank,
2004).
3.1 Historical background – From a
prosperous country to a battlefield
The prospects for economic and social development
for Cambodia were after the independence i.e.
in the 1950s very promising, and in many ways
better than for neighbouring Vietnam. Cambodia
possessed stable food supplies, and its trade
balance was good as the country was able to export
its agricultural surpluses such as rice and fish.
Also exports of rubber and timber contributed for
economic growth (The Far East and Australasia,
2004; United Nations, 1968).
The immense natural resources of the Tonle Sap
Lake were recognised also that time, and they
formed an important source of income and food4.
During the 1960s the Cambodian government
invested–with foreign support–in economic
development and particularly in industrialization
Population Population density (persons/km2)
in 2001
703 356 105,3
949 614 81,1
476 556 86,3
642 932 46,5
418 303 33,0
798 546 77,5
3 989 307 65,7
1 186 192 79,7
(in 1998)
Keskinen - Population, natural resources & development in the Mekong
aiming to increase country’s self-sufficiency (The
Far East and Australasia, 2004). The promising
economic development got, however, halted
already in the late 1960s with the political problems
and following economic stagnation of the country.
These were partly influenced by Vietnam War that
destabilised also Cambodia’s economy (Chandler,
1998).
The 1970s was dominated by internal turmoil
that was culminated with the launch of civil war
by Cambodian communists, the Khmer Rouge,
against the government. The civil war ended
with the takeover of the Khmer Rouge in April
1975. This plunged the country into the chaos
and misrule that no one was able to predict.
The Khmer Rouge regime, lead by infamous
Pol Pot, adapted a policy of self-reliance, cutting
practically all connections to the outside world
and international organisations (Browder &
Ortolano, 2000). Cambodia’s economic and
social development was fully halted as the Khmer
Rouge regime implemented its peculiar way of
communism – and as a result destroyed large parts
of the country’s physical and human resources.
Khmer Rouge repressed particularly the educated
and urban class that were either killed or fled
abroad (Chandler, 1998).
Although the Khmer Rouge regime was ousted
in 1979 with political and military support from
Vietnam, the situation in the country remained
unstable till the early 1990s. Fighting and unrest
continued particularly close to border areas with
Thailand, including the areas around the Tonle
Sap Lake. Consequently, it has been only past
decade or so that the country, and the Tonle Sap
area, has been able to develop in a relative peace.
Even today, Cambodia remains as one of the most
aid-dependent countries in the world. Although
country’s education system is slowly recovering,
the challenges with human resources continue to
be immense.
3.2 Population indicators
The total population of the six provinces
surrounding Tonle Sap Lake was in 2001 around
113
four million, with average population density
of 66 persons/km2. The population density of
the Tonle Sap area i.e. Tonle Sap Lake and its
floodplains is at 80 persons/km2 somewhat higher
(Table 3). Both figures are clearly lower than the
average population density for the Mekong Delta.
At the same time, however, Cambodia’s annual
population growth is among the highest in Asia,
with estimations for current growth rates varying
from 2,0% (World Bank, 2007) up to 2,4% (The
Far East and Australasia, 2004). The population
in the Tonle Sap area is estimated to grow even
faster than national average with an annual growth
rate of nearly 2,4% (NIS, 2000). Like in almost
everywhere else in the world, urban population is
growing faster than the rural population: the urban
growth is further accelerated by the remarkable
migration from rural to urban areas (Heinonen,
2006).
It must be noted that the figures based on
average population density rarely present the
actual population density on the ground. This is
particularly true in the Tonle Sap area, where huge
variation of lake’s water level has pushed most of
the people to live along the rivers and National
Roads. The actual population density is thus much
higher than the average figures indicate. Same
applies to the floating villages of Tonle Sap that are
concentrated to relatively small areas around the
lakes and its tributaries. The situation is, however,
somewhat similar in the Mekong Delta where the
population is also concentrated mainly along the
rivers and canals.
3.3 Tonle Sap’s livelihood structure
The livelihoods of the people living around
the Tonle Sap are closely linked with lake’s
extraordinary hydrological regime and area’s
diverse natural resources. The Tonle Sap Lake is
among the most productive freshwater ecosystems
in the world, and it is approximated that as much as
half of the country’s population benefits directly or
indirectly from lake’s resources (Bonheur 2001).
Yet, despite the immense natural resources of the
lake and its floodplains, most of the people living
114 Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part III: Development

in the Tonle Sap area are poorer than the national
average. Altogether around 1.2 million people live
around the lake and its floodplain. This area can
be divided into three livelihood zones: fishing
zone, agricultural zone and urban zone (Keskinen,
2003). People in the fishing zone are directly
dependent on fish and other aquatic resources and
they live closest to the lake, either in the floating
houses or houses built on stilts. People in this zone
are in many ways worse off than people living in
the higher areas, as they are on average the poorest,
least educated and have poorest access to services
and markets.
People living further away from the lake rely largely
on rice cultivation for their livelihood. However,
the importance of the lake and its floods is still
significant particularly for cultivation of floating
and recession rice as well as for seasonal fishing
activities. In urban zone the dependence on natural
resources is much lower and the occupational
structure totally different: the main source of
livelihood is more varied, while the involvement
in secondary occupations is significantly less than
in the rural areas (Keskinen, 2003).
The reasons for the lack of development in the
Tonle Sap area are naturally manifold, but among
the most important ones can be seen to be the
difficult history of the entire country, weak and
corrupted governance system, unequal access to
land and natural resources as well as misuse of the
area’s natural resources (Keskinen, 2006).
4 Mekong delta - High population
density with prosperity
The Mekong Delta is the most southern region
in Vietnam, and due to its huge rice production
capacity it is often dubbed as the rice basket of
Vietnam. The delta covers in Vietnamese side
an area of around 39 700 km2 and extends over
13 Vietnamese provinces (SIWRP and VNMC,
2003). The hydrological characteristics differ
greatly in different parts of the delta: while the
upper part is characterised by flooding, lower parts
are dominated by close interaction with the sea,
including strong tides and saline water intrusion.
The Mekong Delta is one of Vietnam’s most
populated region and the largest agricultural area
in term of agricultural production. In this way the
Delta symbolises the Vietnam success story in
agricultural growth. At the same time, however,
the delta also highlights the limits of agricultural
development: despite economic growth and

Table 4. Population densities in the provinces of Mekong Delta.

MEKONG DELTA Area (km2) Population Population density

in 2001 (persons/km2)
Long An 4 492 1 348 000 300,1
Dong Thap 3 238 1 593 000 492,0
An Giang 3 406 2 099 000 616,3
Tien Giang 2 367 1 636 000 691,2
Ben Tre 2 316 1 308 000 564,8
Vinh Long 1 475 1 023 000 693,6
Tra Vinh 2 215 989 000 446,5
Can Tho 2 986 1 852 000 620,2
Soc Trang 3 223 1 213 000 376,4
Kien Giang 6 269 1 543 000 246,1
Bac Lieu 2 524 757 000 299,9
Ca Mau 5 195 1 158 000 222,9
Mekong Delta provinces total 39 706 16 519 000 416,0

Sources: The Far East and Australasia (2004)

Keskinen - Population, natural resources & development in the Mekong
development, the Delta remains among the
poorest regions of the country, ranking third
in national poverty statistics (French Embassy
in Socialist Republic of Vietnam, 2004). The
economic growth has thus not lead to successful
poverty reduction, and disparities in the area have
been growing.
4.1 Historical background - From
adaptation to control
Due to its intensive canal and embankment
network, the Mekong Delta is hydrologically
perhaps the most controlled area in the Mekong
Basin. Typical to all deltas, its flat landscape is
strongly influenced and shaped by water, both
through natural water cycle and by human efforts
to modify and control water regime for its own
needs (Miller, 2003).
The efforts to adapt to, and gain control of, the
delta’s water regime started through different kinds
of land reclamation project already centuries ago
(Le Coq et al., 2001). These efforts were intensified
during the French colonial period. Between
the late 19th Century and mid-20th Century, the
French developed and modified the infrastructure
and particularly hydraulic structures in the delta
through various public works programs, having a
profound impact on delta’s hydrology, ecology and
society (Biggs, 2003; Miller, 2003).
The period from the end of French colonial rule
in 1954 till the end of the Second Indochina War
in 1975 was politically and socially tumultuous in
the entire country. In the delta the period meant
re-organisation of old social structure, and further
intensification in rice cultivation. This was done
particularly through land reforms and introduction
of high-yielding rice varieties. While the Second
Indochina War left the entire country devastated
and country’s agricultural production stagnated,
the agricultural production of the Mekong Delta
was more efficient than in the other parts of the
country (Le Coq et al., 2001).
Despite the success of delta’s agricultural
production, the strategy for country’s recovery was
115
to impose the central planning and collectivisation
applied in the North Vietnam also to the South.
The centrally applied five-year plans in late 1970s
and early 1980s failed in the Delta as a result of
inefficiency of centralised planning and reluctance
to take measures to collectivise the Delta’s
agricultural production (Le Coq et al., 2001).
The severe decline in agriculture productivity,
particularly in the Mekong Delta, was one of
the main reasons for government to undertake
remarkable changes in its policy. As a result, in
1986 Vietnam adapted so-called renovation policy
(doi moi) that was based on more market-oriented
development strategy, and introduced an array of
institutional and economic reforms. More free-
market enterprises were permitted, and the push
to collectivise the industrial and agricultural
operations was abandoned.
Although doi moi had rather strong focus on urban
areas, the Mekong Delta led in many aspects the
way in this economic transformation (Drakakis-
Smith & Dixon, 1997; Taylor, 2004). In the
Delta doi moi meant that farmers could sell their
agricultural products at higher prices than before.
As a result farmers intensified their rice cultivation
methods and started to use more fertilizers and
pesticides, and the average rice yield increased
from 3t/ha to 4 t/ha between 1985 and 1995 (Le
Coq et al., 2001). During the past decade Vietnam,
and consequently the delta, has taken further steps
away from centrally planned economy which has
resulted in further increase, and more recently also
in more diversified agricultural production.
The delta’s high population density has therefore
in no serious way been a limiting factor for the
development of the area. In fact, it seems that
the situation has actually been partly vice versa.
Le Coq et al. (2001), for example, argue that the
reasons for the success of the delta’s development
are two-fold; good agricultural infrastructure
and the sound social structure that made farmers
willing to invest capital and labour for agricultural
development. Le Coq et al. (2001) also point
out that the availability of labour was a critical
factor for the agricultural development in the
delta. It could therefore be argued that the delta’s
116
high population density -meaning higher social
capital and good availability of labour- was one
contributing factor for innovations in cultivation
methods and, overall, for rapid development in the
delta. It also seems that the dense population has
contributed for mutual learning and information
exchange between farmers based on customary
knowledge and local forms of communication
(Taylor 2005).
Today, the delta and entire Vietnam face new
kinds of problems. The negative side of the entire
country’s progress has been widening gap between
the rich and the poor. Increased corruption is also
a problem, although the government has taken
measures to counter corruption and increase
local democracy (Fritzen, 2002; Jorgensen, 2005).
In terms of the Mekong Delta, the aggressive
infrastructure development has resulted in
environmental and social problems that remain to
be solved (Käkönen, 2008; Miller 2003).
4.2 Population indicators
The total population of the 12 provinces5 of the
Mekong Delta was in 2001 around 16.5 million,
meaning an average population density of 416
persons/km2 (Table 4). Out of this population,
about three million people i.e. bit less than 20% live
in urban areas. The average number of people per
household in the delta is 5.4, while the population
growth rate is around 2,4% per year (SIWRP and
VNMC, 2003). The population density is highest
in the areas along the Mekong River and the
Bassac River, indicating the importance of access
to water (both for agriculture and transportation)
for the delta’s inhabitants.
Although Vietnam’s population growth rates are
overall lower than in Cambodia, it is estimated
that country’s population continues to increase
for next 40-50 years and will probably stabilize
at the level of 120 million (UNFPA, 2005). As a
result, high population and labour growth is still
considered to be among the main challenges for
Vietnam’s development (The Socialist Republic of
Vietnam, 2003).
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part III: Development
4.3 Delta’s livelihood structure
Despite the fact that the Mekong Delta comprises
only around 10% of the total area of Vietnam, it
plays a central role in country’s development.
The delta is also determined as a key area for the
national food security strategy. Rice cultivation
and aquaculture are dominant livelihood
activities, although in recent years agricultural
production has diversified significantly and also
the importance of non-agricultural sector has
increased (van de Walle & Cratty, 2004).
The Delta contributes currently about half of the
national food volume of the entire country, 55%
of the national fishery and fruit production, and
around 60% of the national export value (SIWRP
and VNMC, 2003). Despite the high agricultural
production and economic growth, the Delta still
remains as one of the poorest areas in Vietnam.
The challenges with poverty reduction have been
linked, among other things, to the delta’s low
educational level, and resulting lack of human
capital (Taylor, 2004). When compared to the
other parts of Vietnam, the education level in the
delta is remarkably low with 33% of the population
having not finished their primary school6.
Thus, despite clear economic successes of
long-term commitment in the infrastructure
development in the delta, there are also drawbacks
and challenges. While the problems related to
water quantity have largely been solved, water
quality problems have increased (Käkönen, 2008,
MRCS/WUP-FIN, 2007). With the construction
of defensive water resources infrastructure the
Delta has become more physically interconnected
and complex, and is now increasingly subject to
human regulation, and therefore also political
tensions (Miller, 2003).
5 Conclusions
This Chapter has discussed the relationship
between population, natural resources and
development in two unique areas in the Mekong
Basin, the Tonle Sap area of Cambodia and the
Mekong Delta of Vietnam. While the areas share
similarities e.g. in terms of their overall livelihood
Keskinen - Population, natural resources & development in the Mekong
structures, there are also remarkable differences
between the two areas. Most relevant difference
in this context is the fact that the delta is -despite
its much higher population density- in terms of its
development in entirely different level than the
Tonle Sap area. The case studies indicate that the
linkages between population, resource use and
development are far from being straightforward.
The case studies thus indicate that the linkages
between population, resource use and development
are far from being straightforward, and highlight
the importance of broader context when looking
at these linkages and, overall, the possibilities for
sustainable development in different areas.
The context matters (at least) in two different ways.
Firstly, the areas’ development depends always
from several different factors. Population density
is definitely one important factor, but also other
social, economic, geographical, infrastructural,
environmental, and –in particular– political factors
have a great influence for the way the area develops
– or does not develop. The success of the Mekong
Delta, for example, results from a combination of
several different factors, many of which actually
challenge the commonly held beliefs about the way
the areas’ should be developed (Taylor 2004)7.
The analysis of relationships between population,
natural resource use and development should
therefore never be separated from the other critical
factors impacting development and resource
use. Similarly important is the understanding of
historical development in the area; the analysis of
the past helps usually to understand the current
circumstances and possibly to guide way towards
more sustainable future. Finally, it is crucially
important to take into account the local ways and
patterns of economic, social and cultural activities
as these are often the factors that ultimately enable
successful development (Taylor, 2004).
Secondly, the actual impact of population density
to development –and vice versa– depends very
much from the context. Higher population
density usually puts natural resources under
increasing pressure, and can therefore impact both
environment and overall development negatively.
117
But as was shown in the case from the Mekong
Delta, also positive impacts are possible; higher
population density creates larger human resource
base that provides sufficient labour and can also
foster social and economic development through
new ideas and innovations. Achieving this kind of
positive correlation depends, however, very much
from the broader context: to flourish, the existing
human resource base needs to be supported by
sound education and governance systems, and
well-functioning infrastructure.
The findings of this Chapter therefore support
so-called Optimistic and Neutralist Theories
on the relationship between population and
development. This does not mean, however, that
high population density and development are not
related, or that higher population densities are
not problematic for developing countries. Quite
the opposite: in most of the areas in the world
–including the Tonle Sap and the Mekong Delta–
higher population densities bring remarkable
challenges, including increased possibilities for
environmental degradation, resource conflicts,
food insecurity, and increasing disparity.
What this Chapter seeks to illustrate is that the
relationship between population and development
is much more complex and multifaceted that
seems to be commonly portrayed. By sticking
to different kinds of simplified arguments and
explanations–indeed, Modern Myths–it is easy to
forget that there are also several other factors that
contribute for development and lack of it. At the
same time there is a threat that the possibilities
related to changes in population and its structure
are overlooked. When looking at the population,
the emphasis should therefore not be only on
population policies, but also on other sectors.
Realising the opportunities for development
brought by increasing population is particularly
important for the Tonle Sap area, where a majority
of the people lives in poverty. By sharing the
lessons learned–both positive and negative–from
the areas such as the Mekong Delta, the area may
be able to develop in environmentally and socially
sustainable way. But in order this to happen, the
118 Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part III: Development

overall context need to be improved: the Tonle Sap

area needs a more comprehensive management
plan with strong participatory character, equal and
non-corrupt governance system and functioning
market mechanisms. Without these the Modern
Myth depicted in the title of the Chapter may turn
out to be true for the Tonle Sap area.

Acknowledgements
The chapter has benefited from author’s cooperation
with several individuals working in the Mekong
Region: thank you for all of you. Special thanks to
Dr Olli Varis, Professor Pertti Vakkilainen, Dr Juha
Sarkkula, Matti Kummu, Mira Käkönen and the
entire WUP-FIN staff for your valuable comments.
Thank you also for my wonderful Cambodian and
Vietnamese counterparts without whom the two
case studies would not have been possible. The work
on the chapter was enabled by the scholarships from
SNIL ry. and the graduate school of the Helsinki
University of Technology.
Keskinen - Population, natural resources & development in the Mekong 119

Endnotes
1 The two theories also highlight the importance of governance and democracy in development and food security: as
Amartya Sen has noted, there has never been a severe famine in a functioning democracy (Sen, 1999).

2 Relative poverty rates are measured separately for each country based on the national consumption levels for food
and basic necessities (MRC, 2003a)

3 This GNI value for Cambodia was gained by using Atlas method; when using Purchasing power parity (PPP)
method the GNI of Cambodia is 2920$ (World Bank 2007).

4 As stated in 1968 in the Atlas of Physical, Economic and Social Resources of the Lower Mekong Basin (United
Nations, 1968): “The four riparian countries have an abundance of natural resources. The combination of climate,
soils, topography and human endeavour have long enabled Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam to produce significant
rice production surplus. … Cambodia’s Great Lake [Tonle Sap], linked to the Mekong by the Tonle Sap River, and
into which the Mekong flows in the flood season is an outstanding fish reservoir”.

5 Can Tho Province was in November 2003 divided into Can Tho City and Hau Giang Province, increasing the total
number of provinces in the Mekong Delta to thirteen. The population data presented here is based on information
collected before this division.

6 As pointed out by Taylor (2004), however, school-based education is a statist definition that leaves out host of other,
more ‘informal’ ways of circulating and reproducing knowledge. When discussing the paradox between low school
enrolment and high economic growth in the delta, Taylor also argues that the current formal education system may
simply not meet the needs of local economy in the delta.

7 Taylor (2004) discusses four such paradoxes in the delta: the paradox between land liberalization policies and
increasing number of farmers losing the land ownership; between the poor overland transport network and significant
amount of agricultural exports; between high income levels and low educational level; and between the assistance to
the Khmer Krom ethnic minority and their increasing isolation.
120
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 Water & Development Publications - Helsinki University of Technology AB

THE HIDDEN ROLE OF INFORMAL ECONOMY:

IS INFORMAL ECONOMY INSIGNIFICANT FOR
PHNOM PENH’S DEVELOPMENT?
Ulla Heinonen
Water Resources Laboratory, Helsinki University of Technology, Finland

Informal economy is often stated as a temporary phenomenon which diminishes along economic growth.
The sector is regularly taken as granted and its role for development is not properly seen. Around 80 percent
of the GDP in Cambodia is produced by the informal sector. Informal economy is also important for the
country’s urban areas and particularly for the country’s capital city. The economic development of Phnom
Penh, the capital, is combined with a growth in its non-agricultural informal sector. At the same time the
city’s slum settlements are mushrooming, creating more pressures on the informal sector. As a result, many
of the city’s informal workers have become working poors. Without proper protection and legalization
of the informal sector, these poor citizens cannot be lifted up from the poverty trap and the sustainable
development of the city cannot be achieved.

1 Introduction to informal economy

In the 1970s informal sector became a common
topic in international development discussions.
Informality was identified as a continued existence
of traditional activities and production methods
that would disappear along with industrialization
and modernization (Straub, 2005). The sector
was seen marginal for growth and separate from
the formal sector. However, later on the informal
economy has increased, particularly in the
Corresponding author:
Ulla Heinonen
Water Resources Laboratory
Helsinki University of Technology - TKK
P.O. Box 5200, FIN-02015 TKK, Finland
Email: ulla.heinonen@tkk.fi
countries where income is not equally distributed,
and has become an integrated part of the economy
in many countries (Becker, 2004). Thus, the
informal economy - the refined definition of the
International Labour Organisation (ILO) - could
no longer be seen as a temporary phenomenon, or
as a phenomenon that straightforwardly decreases
with economic growth.
In the recent decades the sector has grown around
the world and it is currently the largest “economy”
in many countries (ILO, 2002). It seems to be
that if economic growth is not accompanied
by improvements in employment and income
distribution, the informal economy does not shrink.
Instead, it seems to expand, both in urban and in

© 2008 TKK & Heinonen ISBN 978-951-22-9102-1

Kummu, M., Keskinen, M. & Varis, O. (eds.): Modern Myths of the Mekong, pp. 123-132
124
rural areas. Besides, there exist evident linkages
between the informal and formal economies.
The informal sector provides services for formal
actors, offers a flexible labour market to absorb
the surplus labour and has a significant income
and job generation potential (Becker, 2004). The
studies of the World Bank (2004) showed that the
majority of informal services are sold to individual
customers, commonly to poor and middle-income
urban dwellers (Bhowmik, 2005). The informal
sector supplies products and services, which are
not provided by the formal sector, or are otherwise
unreachable for the poor citizens (Ishengoma &
Kappel 2006).
The informal economy is very heterogeneous in
terms of actors, activities, and scales (Sethuraman,
1997). The sector varies between countries,
economies, and cultures (Thomas, 1995). In some
countries the term ‘informal economy’ refers
to the private sector, in some to grey economy
(Trebilcock, 2005). It is a controversial topic
and as a result there exist disagreements about
its definition, estimation procedures, and their
use in economic analysis (Schneider, 2002).
The current definition of the informal economy
includes a large amount of heterogeneity instead
of conceptualising the term narrowly (Ishengoma
& Kappel, 2006).
Schneider (2002) defines informal activities as
unregistered economic activities that contribute
to the officially calculated (or observed) Gross
National Product. Thomas (1995) and Trebilcock
(2005), on the other hand, characterise the
informal economy as economic activities that,
for various reasons, are not fully reported in the
National Income Accounts or are insufficiently
covered by formal arrangements. In other words,
the informal economy contributes to the country’s
economy but the activities are informal in terms
of registration, tax payments, operating licences,
conditions of employment, or regulations (Becker,
2004).
A modest progress in measuring the informal
economy is achieved and presently there exist
numerous ways of measurement: working hours,
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part III: Development
share of the labour force, percent of GDP,
consumption of electricity and currency demand
(Schneider, 2002). Theoretical understanding of
the causes and consequences is, nevertheless, still
lagging in many parts of the world (Straub, 2005).
Informal activities take place in many forms. The
work varies from part-time jobs after working
hours, to work of immigrants who are not allowed
to work in the formal sector (Schneider, 2002). In
general, informal activities can be categorised into
two sections: self-employed and non-permanent
labour. In all developing countries the self-
employed labour comprises a greater share of
informal employment. This sector includes persons
working as street vendors, taxi drivers, or in home-
based enterprises. In Asia self-employment covers
around 60 percent of the total informal sector
(Becker, 2004).
2 Economy, employment, and
informality in Cambodia
2.1 Definition of the informal economy in
Cambodia
The lack of consistent empirical measurements
is evident in Cambodia, where the impact and
volume of the informal economy has not been
properly analyzed and its role in the country’s
economy is poorly recognized. In Cambodia, the
informal economy is defined as actions without
official or solid legal status, regulation or protection
by state institutions, or as actions that are identified
with some of the following characteristics (Amin,
2002; Becker, 2004):
1. No firm or postal address
2. Employees are self-employed
or road-side vendors
3. No data through census survey are available
or the activities are not recognised
4. Labour-intensive nature of
operations and quick turnover
5. Use of energy input from
human or animal sources
6. Non-structured premises without
regulations, licences, insurance, or taxes
Heinonen - The hidden role of informal economy
2.2 Employment and informality
A recent civil war, deficient infrastructure, political
instability, and extensive corruption have hindered
the Cambodian economic development (World
Bank, 2003; 2004). In 2004 around 35 percent of
the 14 million Cambodians lived under the poverty
line (~1,800 riels/person/day) (World Bank, 2006).
Lately the country’s economy has, however, shown
signs of recovery, and the economic growth has
been around 6 percent. Nevertheless, the growth
has not been stable and inequality remains high.
Agriculture is a very important sector in Cambodia
covering 40 percent of the country’s GDP and
employing 70 percent of the population. Service
and industrial sectors are less important. Service
sector employees around 20 percent and industrial
sector 10 percent of the population (Ministry
of Planning, 2001). As a poor agrarian country,
Cambodia is very vulnerable to changes in natural
resources. Drought and floods in the recent years,
for example, have seriously affected the country’s
economy. Diminishing agricultural activities and
unemployment in rural areas have pushed people
out of their villages in search of employment in
towns and cities (Heinonen, 2006). Rural migrants
do not often have the necessary skills or education to
allow them to find better paid, secure employment
in the formal sector and hence they often end up
working informally (Bhowmik, 2005).
GDP and Labour Force by Subsectors ( 2001)
Million US$/
Thousands
4500 Total GDP by Subsectors
4000
Labour Force
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
Garment Tourism
Formal
Figure 1 The GDP from the informal sector is four times higher than from the formal sector (USG, 2003).
125
The informal economy provides around 90 percent
of all employment in Cambodia (Monyrath, 2005).
The sector employs the majority of the 200,000 to
250,000 new workers entering the job market each
year, while the country’s formal sector absorbs only
15,000 new labourers annually (USG, 2003; World
Bank, 2004). Agriculture and agro-industry cover
majority of the employment in the informal sector
(Figure 1). However, the non-agricultural informal
sector is twice the size of the formal in terms of
GDP and labour force. It is also a largest employer
in the urban areas. The informal sector provides
around 60 to 80 percent of the Gross Domestic
Product of the country (Monyrath, 2005; USG,
2003). Non-agricultural informal activities mostly
in urban areas cover the greatest share, around
1,653 million dollars (Figure 1).
The garment and tourism industries and public
administration dominate the small formal sector
(Monyrath, 2005; Bajpai, 2004). Formal jobs
provided by the government are few and they are
not well paid (Bhowmik, 2005). Majority of the
formal employment in Cambodia is very poorly
paid, which pushes people to do extra work in
the informal sector. Most of the part-time moto-
taxi drivers in Phnom Penh, for instance, are
government employees (USG, 2003). The formal
private sector in Cambodia is also relatively small
and limited, facing innumerable transaction costs
Agriculture Others
Informal
126
and barriers to operate (USG, 2003). To start a
business in Cambodia is very time-consuming and
costly, compared to the neighbouring countries.
The taxes and bribes are lower in the informal
sector and this is often the main reason why people
do not register their activities (World Bank, 2004;
Straub, 2005; Ishengoma & Kappel, 2006).
3 Informal economy in Phnom Penh
There are three dominant sectors offering
formal employment in Phnom Penh: public
administration, garment industry and tourism
(Monyrath, 2005). It is evident that these sectors
are not able to offer employment for all of the city’s
new dwellers that the city is gaining by its 4 percent
annual growth. In addition, in many cases the
formal sector is unable to provide enough income
for its employees. Based on this mismatch majority
of the Phnom Penh’s citizens work informally,
at least on a part-time basis (Agnello & Moller,
2003).
Even though Cambodian formal sectors are
primarily located in the towns and cities,
particularly in Phnom Penh, informality runs the
city’s economy. The informal economic activities
– micro- and small enterprises, market sellers,
non-permanent labour workers, moto-taxi drivers,
and domestic helpers - have a major role in the
economic performance of the capital city.
The informal economy tends also to absorb most
of the growing labour force related to rural-urban
migration when the manufacturing industry
and off-farm activities do not grow with the
same rapidity. The sector also answers the needs
of the seasonal migrants coming to the city to
earn supplementary income particularly in the
dry season. And it also attracts rural migrants
to Phnom Penh to provide low-cost goods and
services for those employed in the formal and
informal economies (Becker, 2004). The growth
in the city’s garment industry couple of years
ago, for instance, led to an increase in informal
activities such as transportation, food, beverages,
and accommodation to serve the people working
in the formal sector. This also encouraged rural
dwellers to migrate to the city (Monyrath, 2005).
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part III: Development
3.1 Informality and poverty
Urban poverty and informal employment are
closely connected. Poor people in developing
countries are often forced to work in the informal
economy because of lack of capital and skills,
gender, or ethnicity, which make them insignificant
for the main labour force (Etherington & Simon,
1996). The studies of the International Labour
Organisation show that informal status often
means a greater likelihood of income variability,
decline, and insecurity (Trebilcock, 2005).
Informal economy attracts workforce from diverse
backgrounds and, as a consequence, the labour
force is very heterogeneous. Initial capital, gender,
domicile, education, and contacts all influence
the capabilities of informal employees to survive
in their jobs. Often the rural migrants tend to fall
into the lowest category of the informal economy
(Trebilcock, 2005).
This is also common in Phnom Penh, where rural
migrants and poor people dominate the labour
force of the informal economy. The surveys of
Etherington& Simon (1996) showed that in Phnom
Penh the rural migrants often end up working as
cyclo-drivers or temporary labourers. For example,
over 70 percent of waste pickers in the city are poor
rural migrants (Amin, 2002), whereas poor urban
dwellers more often work as service sector workers
or street vendors. This kind of division indicates
that the rural migrants have low social status in the
city and thus they have problems in exploiting of
the informal credit systems.
The informal economy is the most important
employer for the poor inhabitants of Phnom Penh.
At present, 80 percent of the city’s 400,000 slum
dwellers are employed in the informal economy
(SUPF, 2003; URC, 2004). In addition, many
children are involved in informal activities,
working as shoe cleaners, rag pickers, sellers
or beggars. The customary informal works in
Phnom Penh are: mototaxi- and cyclo-drivers,
food, gasoline and vegetable sellers, construction
workers, electricity and water sellers, motorcycle
repairers, rubbish collectors, brick workers and
house servants (USG, 2003). There is an evident
linkage between the work types in the informal
Heinonen - The hidden role of informal economy
sector, and the work types of the slum dwellers.
Hence, relation between poverty and the informal
economy, as a result of poor working conditions,
and low income levels, is obvious (Sethuraman,
1997; Ishengoma & Kappel, 2006).
Figure 2 presents the obstacles that a poor private
sector worker faces when trying to reach Phnom
Penh’s formal sector. Most of the poor workers live
in slums. They do not have secure tenure, proper
housing or public services. They need informal
products and services because they cannot reach
the formal ones. As rural migrants, the workers
often have a low social capital and do not have an
interest in other activities than earning income
(particularly seasonal migrants). These people
mostly work in the informal sector because the
formal jobs are limited and they do not have skills
for these jobs. In addition, they do not have initial
capital to start a proper business, the access to
formal credit services is limited, and they do not
have know-how about the registration activities
and the forms that the formal sector could support
them.
Informal activities are often targets of extortion and
harassment by the public authorities. The work of
Formal Employment
Lack of:
Skills
Capital
Credit
Know-how
Informal Sector
Worker
Lack of:
Secure Tenure
Proper Housing
Social Capital
Informal Services
Figure 2 The informal worker faces many obstacles. Broken lines illustrate the barriers along the way.
127
the informal workers is disturbed by fines, different
payments (e.g. hygiene), and violations, and due to
all this emotional stress (Figure 2). Phnom Penh’s
informal activities are not regulated. However,
there are many regulations in the places where
informal workers operate, and not following these
guidelines (e.g. selling restrictions) leads to fining
(USG, 2003). Bribes for the public authorities are
also common, particularly for street vendors and
micro-enterprises. All these stresses have an impact
on the workers ability to survive in the city. As most
of the informal workers are rarely organised, this
hinders their ability to negotiate with the public
authorities (Monyrath, 2005).
The regulation jungle drives the informal activities
out from the authorized structures and, as a result,
people work in the informal sector. The studies
of the Urban Sector Group (USG, 2003) among
Phnom Penh’s informal workers revealed that
there are: a lack of information about registration
methods, regulations and costs; not enough
benefits compared to the amount of money that
is needed for registration; wide opinion that
small companies cannot be registered; and lack
of information about where, when and how to
register.
Formal Sector
Formal Services
Regulations
Fines
Payments
Violations
Emotional Stress
Informal Employment
128
3.2 Other side of the coin
There is also another side in the Phnom Penh’s
informal economy. And therefore it is too one-
dimensional to associate informality directly with
poverty. The studies of Chantly (1999) showed that
the informal economy also provides employment
for educated workers with entrepreneurial
potential and skills (Figure 3). This indicates that
the formal economy is unable to provide adequate
employment for educated persons and thus they
choose the opportunities that the informal sector
has to offer (Amin, 2002).
The figure below is a clear evidence of inadequate
governance and regulations, and the fact that the
Phnom Penh’s formal sector is unable to provide
enough income for its workers. One of the country’s
challenges is thus to create productive jobs in the
formal economy. Otherwise there is little hope for
city’s sustainable economic growth. Phnom Penh
cannot afford to lose the capabilities of educated
citizens with potential skills (Chantly, 1999).
Phnom Penh’s informal sector also offers a
playground for private companies that do not
want to register because of the costs. The city’s
informal private water services, for example, offer
employment for thousands of informal workers.
The private vendors buy water from city water
officials or obtain water from ground or surface
Education of the Informal Sector Workers
in Phnom Penh
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Figure 3 The informal economy of Phnom Penh also attracts educated people (Chantly, 1999; Amin, 2002).
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part III: Development
water sources and resell it to poor and middle-
income inhabitants (USG, 2003). The survey
of the Urban Sector Group (2003) reveals that
an informal water seller earns roughly 346,000
riels monthly (87 US$), which is twice the salary
that the government can offer. However, these
activities are not regulated, which creates great
challenges in terms of providing safe water supply
particularly for the Phnom Penh’s poor citizens
(Heinonen, 2008).
4 Discussion – How to legalise
informal sector?
The municipality of Phnom Penh seeks for poverty
reduction and aims for economic development.
When aiming to urban poverty reduction the
problems of the city’s poor informal workers are
those to be addressed (Monyrath, 2005). Every
day around 300 000 slum dwellers work in Phnom
Penh’s informal sector (SUPF, 2003). In addition,
the slums absorbs majority of the city’s increasing
population. Addressing this group would thus have
an influence on almost half of the city’s informal
workers.
The poor informal workers face many barriers in
their daily existence and they carry a high risk of
becoming working poor with earnings insufficient
to raise themselves and their families above the
Heinonen - The hidden role of informal economy
poverty line (ILO, 2004). Even though the work
in the informal sector is the way to earn some
food on the table, the jobs are poorly paid, have
poor working conditions, no social protection
and excludes workers form social dialogue and
decision-making, trapping its workers deeper into
poverty (Ishengoma & Kappel, 2006).
To push informal workers from this trap, however,
is easier said than done. Already, in the Urban
Poverty Reduction Strategy of Phnom Penh in 1999,
many good ways to improve the situation of urban
poor were stated (Municipality of Phnom Penh,
1999). Nevertheless, the results have been weak.
The city’s poor informal workers have worked very
hard, often in unhealthy conditions and facing
many obstacles. Still they remain poor either
poorer than before. These workforces have made
significant contributions to the city’s development.
The sector has kept down the urbanisation cost
of the city by promoting flexible labour market,
absorbing extra labour from the formal sector and
promoted the city by services such as water, energy
and solid waste collection (Amin, 2002; Monyrath,
2005). But still, the significance of the sector is not
adequately recognized by the municipality.
To be able to guide the poor informal workers
for better achievements and have a real impact
in their level of livelihood, there is a great need
for appropriate regulations, laws and policies.
Regulating the activities of the informal sector,
however, is an immense challenge. There is no one
policy intervention that could address such a diverse
entity. Additionally very often the increasing fiscal
and regulatory burden leads to the enlargement
of the informal sector or puts more troubles on
informal workers activities (Palmade, 2002). To
be able to legalize and regulate the sector, more
information and dialogue with the informal sector
is needed. The regulations need to be sensitive
so as to be able to increase the productivity,
quality, and working conditions of the informal
sector (Becker, 2004). Only by understanding
the needs and identifying the obstacles, that the
informal sector is facing, proper and sustainable
regulations can be established. Just putting extra
pressure on the informal sector turns development
129
in an unwanted direction (Palmade, 2002). The
regulations cannot be the same for poor informal
workers and the informal companies that just want
to avoid the extra burdens of registration.
The first requirement in integrating Phnom
Penh’s informal sector into the formal is providing
land (Amin, 2002). Land and housing are not only
the place to accommodate, they are often also the
places to generate income. Hence, including poor
people in the urban planning both in terms of
their housing as well as of their income generation
is vital for legalizing and regulating informal
activities. The city’s slum settlements as well as
the informal workers have been excluded from
Phnom Penh’s development strategies and there
have not been clear processes of city zoning and
land use planning, which would also address the
needs of the urban poor. In addition, the city does
not have land-banking system for development
purposes and when the demand for land is high
due to the growing population and increasing
investments, the poor have had a little room in
the development discussions (Sophy, 2002). The
study on Land Availability for City Development
(2002) identified, that there is a great need for
reserving and allocating land for poor as well as set
up a land development bank for reserving land for
future community projects and investments.
The living conditions of the poor do not improve
without decent work and income (Amin, 2002).
This is also a reason why many slum upgrading
processes have not led to long-term development.
As a consequence, the upgrading processes of poor
settlements that are taking place in the Phnom
Penh needs to include also other aspects than just
upgrading the housing and services (Heinonen,
2008).The city-wide and bottom-up participation
approach of Asian Coalition for Housing Rights,
for instance, could be one efficient approach to
also address the Phnom Penh’s informal workers
(Heinonen, 2008).
To make the development sustainable in the long
run, education, training schemes and support to
workers’ organisations are essential for the capacity
building of the informal workers. Via workers’
130
organisations the informal sectors’ workers will get
information about the regulations as well as the
ways of registration. To avoid extra burdens, the
means of registration need to be clear, transparent
and simple. Micro-credits and saving groups are
also essential part of the improvement process,
which also builds believe and strength among the
poor citizens.
The Municipality of Phnom Penh stated in the
Poverty Reduction Strategy (1999) that they do not
have enough financial opportunities to support the
urban poor. Supporting saving groups or micro-
credit schemes do not, however, need enormous
funds because already the small seed money can
have a great impact. In addition, the possibilities of
the formal private sector need to be search for.
5 Conclusions
The informal economy acts as a crucial part of
the economy in Phnom Penh and it is extremely
important for the city and its development,
providing employment, income, and services for
the majority of the citizens. Around 80 percent of
the city’s 400,000 slum dwellers earn their income
from informal sources. The informal economy has
also attracted educated people when the formal
sector has been unable to offer proper employment
and income. This has distorted the balance
between the informal and formal economies
and thus informality cannot be straightforwardly
associated with poverty.
When trying to identify, legalize and regulate
the city’s informal economy, there are two
sides to address. On the other side there is the
educated pool of workers that are working in the
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part III: Development
informal sector since the formal sector (e.g public
administration) is unable to pay enough income.
And, then those who feel that registration of the
company mean just extra burdens and cost, and
gives only little in return. Another side of the coin
is the city’s poor informal workers mostly living in
slum settlements. These people do not have skills,
capacities or capital to register their activities. And,
as a matter of fact these people are disturbed by the
formal arrangements such as regulations, fines and
emotional stress that hinder their activities and
possibilities to earn decent income.
The informal economy is not regulated, which has
created many obstacles for the city’s development.
To achieve sustainable development of the city’s
economy and services, the municipality needs
to co-operate with the informal sector, develop
services to support, monitor and regulate informal
activities, and lighten the registration process. To
be able to create an effective legal framework for
informal activities, more information about the
sector and its needs, obstacles, and behaviours is
needed.
The informal sector of the city has a lot of potential
capabilities, good ideas, entrepreneurial skills, and
education, which need to be exploited for Phnom
Penh’s development.
Acknowledgements
This study is funded by the Academy of Finland
(project 211010) and the Helsinki University of
Technology. I would like to thank Prof. Pertti
Vakkilainen and Dr. Olli Varis for their good
comments and fruitful discussions.
Heinonen - The hidden role of informal economy
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This publication is available electronically at

water.tkk.fi/global/publications
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PART IV: Politics and policies

 Water & Development Publications - Helsinki University of Technology AB

MODERN UPSTREAM MYTH:

IS A SHARING AND CARING MEKONG REGION
POSSIBLE?
1 2
Pech Sokhem & Kengo Sunada
1 Japan Science and Technology Agency, University of Yamanashi, Japan
2 Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Medicine and Engineering, University of Yamanashi, Japan

The study systematically codes a very large number of joint or several international interactions and then
uses that information to test general hypotheses about China’s foreign policy behaviour change vis-à-vis its
Mekong downstream nations, using statistical techniques. The analytical framework is used to vigorously
assess the prevailing problem structure and institutional capacity. The finding shows that there is a serious
institutional handicap both within China and the Mekong Region that makes
“common prosperity in the Mekong Region” remain a myth.

1 Introduction
The Mekong River Basin (MRB) incorporates
land and people within 6 riparian countries
namely China, Myanmar, Lao PDR, Thailand,
Cambodia and Vietnam. The Basin possesses
the region’s largest water resources potential. All
six countries in the MRB have contributed to and
benefited differently from its rich resources. Series
of large scale development projects in the MRB
are at various stages of planning and development
in all MRB countries. However, the schemes that
Corresponding author:
Pech Sokhem
Japan Science and Technology Agency
Sustainable Water Policy Scenarios Project
University of Yamanashi
Takeda 4-3-11, Kofu, Yamanashi 400-8511, Japan
Email: pechsokhem@yahoo.co.uk
are presently perceived by the downstream Basin
community to have major future impacts on the
MRB management resources are located mainly
on the upper Mekong mainstream in Yunnan.
As far as China’s behaviour vis-à-vis the MRB is
concerned, in the past two decades, the following
two sets of behavioural patterns have been
observed:
1. Non-cooperative:
• In 1997, China was one of the three countries
(all happen to be upstream countries) voted
against the adoption of the draft Convention
on the Laws of the Non-navigational uses
of International Watercourses (1997 UN
Convention). It claimed its absolute territorial
sovereignty – “indisputable sovereignty over a

© 2008 TKK & Sokhem & Sunada ISBN 978-951-22-9102-1

Kummu, M., Keskinen, M. & Varis, O. (eds.): Modern Myths of the Mekong, pp. 135-148
136
watercourse which flowed through its territory”
[see for example, UN Secretariat, 1997, for
the summary of the statement by Mr. GAO
FENG]. Practically at the same time, the
China’s government proceeded unilaterally
with its extensive dam development plan on
the Mekong River in Yunnan Province.
• From 1992 to present, the attempt by the four
governments of the Lower Mekong countries
– Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam
to get China’s participation in setting up and
operation of the present-day Mekong River
Commission (MRC), has succeeded merely
in getting China committed itself to a rather
limited technical cooperation.
2. “Active engagement”:
• China has played leading part in the Upper
Mekong River ‘channel improvement’ project
with other the governments of the upstream
countries, namely Myanmar, Lao PDR and
Thailand, by providing technical and financial
assistance to make sure that project go ahead
as scheduled. Two downstream countries
– Cambodia and Vietnam – were not formally
involved.
• Most Recently, China has become more
engaged in a wide-ranging economic
cooperation with all Mekong countries within
the Organization of the South-East Asian
Nations (ASEAN) + China framework, and
the Greater Mekong Sub-Region (GMS). In
2002 and 2003, China signed the declaration
on the code of conduct in the South China
Sea, and acceded to the Treaty on amity
and Cooperation in the Southeast-Asia
[Montaperto, 2005]. At the 2nd summit of
the GMS in 2005, Chinese Premier laid out
China’s plan to promote “common prosperity”
in the Mekong Region.
The first set of behaviour patterns spurred a
belief that as the most upstream country and
one of the world super powers, China had no
interest in committing itself to any legally binding
arrangement that would harm its large-scale dam
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part IV: Politics and Policies
and navigation projects on the Lancang/Mekong
River. But, the second set of behaviour patterns,
especially, Chinese leader’s most recent statement
at the 2nd Greater Mekong Sub-region Summit in
July 2005, led to a belief that China leadership is
for turning the Mekong Region into a caring and
sharing region of “common prosperity”.
This paper examines the myth “is a caring and
sharing Mekong Region possible?” by using
the scientific analytical methodology (For
methodology, see Box 1). It systematically codes a
very large number of joint or several international
interactions and then uses that information to
test general hypotheses about China’s foreign
policy behaviour change vis-à-vis its Mekong
downstream nations and to vigorously assess the
prevailing problem structure and institutional
capacity. The paper focuses on both the Mekong
River Basin and the Mekong Region (MR). The
MR covers the entire of Yunnan province and
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region for China,
Myanmar, Lao PDR, Thailand, Cambodia and
Vietnam, with over 2.6 million km2 and with a
combined population of over 300 millions (Asian
Development Bank, 2005).
2 China’s policy choice
It is generally assumed that China’s goals and
interests in Southeast Asia and in the Mekong
Region in particular, have been to seek to expand its
regional role and influence at least to prevent other
superpowers from consolidating their positions
near its borders (The Stanley Foundation, 2003).
It is also interesting to observe that from mid
1990s, China becomes increasingly embracing the
international institutions as a means through which
to promote and pursue its national interests, rather
than criticizing and complaining about them (see
and compare Kolkar, 1970, Frost, 2005).
Economically, China is to deliberately create the
opportunities for the economic development in
its least-developed Southwest region, including
those lying in the Mekong Region, by opening it
up for direct foreign investment and cross border
trade. It is evident that the forward linkage
Sokhem & Sunada - Modern upstream myth: Is a sharing and caring Mekong region possible? 137

Box 1 Methodology Applied in this myth study

Andresen and Wettestad suggested a policy analysis model to the study of regime consequences (Andresen
& Wettestad, 2001). They argued that the overall assessment of the success of the international regime
should be based on the emphasis on behaviour change and outcomes, not ideas or general political
statements. A “narrow one-regime – one-problem approach” that would overlook the interrelation of
policies adopted in one regime context affect policymaking in other regime contexts, should be avoided.
Schrodt suggested ‘event data” approach as a methodological approach for measuring actual political
behaviour using systematically measures variables (Schrodt, 1993).

As shown in Figure 1, this study applies policy analysis and political science’s behavioural study approaches
including both i) the traditional approach primarily using narrative sources such as offi cial documents and
memoirs, and ii) innovative approach using systematically measured variables, and statistical techniques
(event-data approach and hypothetic-deductive method).

Hypothetic-deductive scientific method

Political Science’s Behavior: Success measured by behavior

changes /outcomes, not simple statement or ideas . Move from” one
regime - one problem” to interrelation (eclectic ).

Data collection and analysis

Traditional approach Measured variables ,

(narrative sources ) Managerial tools statistical techniques

Process Issues/Problems

Institution/regime
Policy choice
effectives

Problem solving
Problem structure
capacity

Figure 1 Schematization of methodology and analytical process.

The myth is tested through a strictly logical and rigorous process of collecting and analyzing simple,
unbiased, unprejudiced observation (facts and events) as part of a simplifi ed version of the eclectic and
comprehensive analytical approach (Figure 1). Both second-hand data sources - primarily books and
articles -, and first-hand data from the offi cial meetings, are extensively analysed. Data of the key Mekong
related events are generated by scanning through numerous issues of the Pacifi c Forum CSIS Quarterly
E-Journal on East Asian Bilateral Relations (1997-2005), Asian Development Bank’s GMS website
(Calendar and events) and the Mekong River Commission (MRC) website (events and press release). The
levels and day-to-day interactions between China and other Mekong Region countries are recorded. Each
reported interaction and contents are assigned a numerical score to provide measures of level and depth,
and perspective and direction of cooperation that would allow us to vigorously test the myth.

As shown in the bottom part of Figure 1, to quantitatively assess the myth and capacity to affect
behaviour change, three basic parameters - policy choice, regional power balance, and institutions/regime
effectiveness (problem of fi t between problem structure and problem solving capacity) - are deciphered
from the collated data and information.
138
effects of generating benefits from the economic
cooperation and development in Mekong Region,
for example in food and energy production, multi-
mode transports and trade, are a matter of great
strategic importance for China and other Mekong
Region countries (Sadoff & Grey 2002, Guanghui,
2002)).
In the 1970s, the Chinese planners began planning
for a cascade scheme on the mainstream of Upper
Mekong in Yunnan involving 7 - 8 dams with a
combined generated capacity of 15,550 MW or
17% of China’s projected power demands (Dore
& Xiaogang, 2004). In parallel with hydropower
development, transport development including
improvement in water-borne transport is also of
crucial importance in providing China an avenue
for both raw materials from lower riparian nations
and access to new markets for Chinese products.
The Mekong River has been dubbed by China
as “Eastern Danube”, “golden passageway” and
“economic corridor” linking Yunnan and China
to the other Mekong countries (Wu, 2003). The
Mekong River Basin is also the focus of the on
going negotiation for establishing China-ASEAN
free trade area.
China has apparently decided that its interests are
better served by presenting itself as a responsible
neighbour. The Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao, at
the 2nd GMS Summit laying out Chinese’s plans
for “common prosperity’ sought to calm down the
downstream neighbours, by promising to “foster
mutual trust, treat each other with sincerity, seek
common ground while shelving differences and
cooperate in a mutually beneficial way, enabling
different voices to be heard, various requests to be
addressed and common interests to be protected”
(Jiabao, 2005).
Chinese willingness to provide aid and
assistance has recently become more visible and
concretely demonstrated by Chinese leaders
to its neighbouring countries. For instance, in
2005 China’s announcement to contribute US$
20 Million to set up a technical assistance fund
administered by the Asian Development Bank
(ADB). It was the first contribution to such a fund
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part IV: Politics and Policies
by China at any International Institutions (Bank
Information Centre, 2005). In November 2001, the
then Chinese Premier Zhu Rong Ji pledged US$ 5
million for carrying out the dredging and blasting
of major shoals, rapids and reefs along the 331 km
Mekong river stretch from China-Myanmar border
to Luang Prabang (Wu, 2003).
Internally, whether the Chinese will be able to
continue to move in this direction remains an open
question. In the coming years, the myth of turning
the Mekong Region into a region of “common
prosperity” is confronted with and influenced by
crucial internal changes. The Chinese central
government, through its industrial reform in late
2002, delegates more authority to sub-national
governments and semi state owned corporation
to deal with its hydropower development [Magee,
2005]. The change from the direct government
control into the ownership by public corporation
means a big realignment of the priority of the
hydropower operation for profit and market
exclusively.
3 Regional political power balance
The concerns by the downstream countries oblige
China to affirm its close ties with its downstream
neighbours and to establish a framework for
managing the frictions likely produced by China’s
dam and navigation related activities on the
Mekong River (Montaperto, 2005). Numerous
high level visits by Chinese leaders (legislative,
executive, and military) to all Mekong countries
have been intensified.
To address the growing concerns by the
downstream community, China decided to scale
down its original plan for improving the upper
Mekong navigation channel. Originally, it was
envisaged that after the 3rd stage of channel
improvement, the navigability conditions would
be improved from the current limits of 50
tonnages to the condition where a vessel up to 500
dead weight tons (DWT) would be able to sail all
year round. The revised plan would improve dry
season navigability for vessels of 150 DWT only
(Wu, 2003). However, little is expected that China
Sokhem & Sunada - Modern upstream myth: Is a sharing and caring Mekong region possible? 139

would down scale its current hydropower schemes countries are involved actively in the hydropower
of 7 dams, as long as there are financing sources, development agenda. Hence, none of them is in
market for electricity and growing energy demand a position to publicly complain about the dam
(Dore & Xiaogang, 2004). negative impact.

There seems to be an emerging willingness to The “acceptance” de facto of China’s behaviour in

accept China’s behaviours by other Mekong
countries. First of all, because the Chinese and
other Mekong Region governments tend to treat
development needs higher than the environmental
imperative (Storey, 2005). Secondly, China has
become active in promoting regional energy trade
and exporting the state-of-the-art hydropower
development and investment to Laos and
Cambodia (Rith, 2005; International Rivers
Network, 2003; Storey, 2005), so that all Mekong
the Mekong Region is also because of the power
differentials. Downstream states do not feel that
they are in a position to challenge China directly,
partly because of China’s relative power, and
also because of growing Chinese economic and
political influence in the region (Frost, 2005). For
example, increasing Chinese aid and investment
in Cambodia in recent years for the development
of roads and railroads, bridges, and hydropower
projects, for renovation and construction of key

Table 1 Key water related problems identified by the Mekong Basin countries (Adapted from MRC, 2003).

Key Problems Forms of emergence

1. Severe Flow level fluctuation
2. River Bank /bed Erosion and
sedimentation
3. Obstruction to Navigation
4. Water Quality Deterioration
5. Fisheries Productivity &
Ecosystem Functioning
6. Deforestation
7. Poverty and income
distribution issues
Impact of dam storage/release operations, or inter-basin water transfers on:
- dry season’s water availability for irrigation, domestic/industrial water supply;
- reduced flooding in important habitats, including the Cambodian Great Lake, floodplain
forests and freshwater and estuarine wetlands.
- Shifting of political boundaries and loss of valuable urban/industrial and agricultural
land and infrastructure by accelerated river bank/bed erosion;
- Sediment trapping in reservoirs and downstream erosion.
- Structural obstruction of river navigation by dams, weirs and bridges, and by channel
bed siltation.
- Reduced navigation opportunities due to reduced dry season flows or rapidly fluctuating
river levels.
- Increased incidence of eutrophic conditions in the dry season and early wet season
(nutrient levels, organic pollution), and elevated levels of microbial pollution from urban
waste water discharges (sewage and storm-water runoff) at selected hotspots.
- Pesticide pollution of surface and ground water.
- Elevated salinity levels in the Korat Plateau, and saline irrigation tail-water and sea
water intrusion in Mekong Delta.
- Impacts of reduced, delayed or otherwise altered, wet season flood flows and flooded
area on fisheries productivity, aquatic bio-diversity and wetland condition.
- Impact of increased fishing pressure on fisheries.
- Obstruction of fish migration/dispersal (upstream, laterally and downstream).
- commercial logging and clearing of land for agriculture and land speculation;
- forest fire, lost of coastal mangrove;
- Shifting cultivation and degradation of forest ecosystem in watershed area.
- Inequitable distribution of incomes;
- Lack of access to land, water;
- Lack of access to market, health facility……;
- Lack of access to decision-making
140 Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part IV: Politics and Policies

State’s office buildings, obliges Cambodia to
think very carefully before complaining about the
impacts from China (see e.g. Prasidth, 2002).
Vietnam as the most downstream country
still harbours a growing concern over China’s
hydropower and navigation projects (Quang, 2003,
Khai, 2005). However, the prospect of expanding
bilateral trade between China and Vietnam (10
billion USD by 2007-2008 and 15 billion USD by
2010) may also make it imperative for Vietnam to
maintain friendly relation with China (Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, 2005). Vietnamese Prime Minister
Phan Van Khai, in his statement at the 2nd GMS
Summit in Kunming in July 2005, carefully
claimed that the overall exploitation of the
Mekong river basin needs to take into account the
legitimate interests of the downstream countries,
especially Vietnam’s interests for irrigated farming
and preventing the intrusion of sea water in its
Mekong Delta (Khai, 2005).
4 Institutions and regime effectiveness
In this paper, the variable “regime effectiveness”
has been selected and simplified through a key
concept of “problem of fit” between “problem
structure” and “problem solving capacity”. The
present study argues that the problem structure
is the most important analytical starting point.
It contains many sub-dimensions that require
considerable analytical attention. Then, the
analysis focuses on the problem-solving capacity
and institutional designs.
4.1 Problem structure in Mekong region
In the Mekong Region, water resources problems
are mainly associated with too much or too little
water through space and time such as flood and
water shortage, fisheries and wetlands degradation,
and competing demands for resources between
countries or communities. Recently, transboundary
problems have emerged in a higher frequency and
severer magnitude, as the riparian countries try to
grab the newly revived and emerging development
opportunities in the MRB. The issues include: i)
blasting and dredging of river bed in the upper
Lancang Mekong for improving the commercial
navigation; ii) large scale dam cascades in Yunnan
China, and ambitious dam development plans

China's synthesized Sectoral Preference and Cambodia's synthesized sector preference &
Impact (A) Impact (B)
Hydropower Hydropower
10 10
Deforestation impact Irrigation Deforestation impact Irrigation
8 8
Infrastructure impact 6 Navigation Infrastructure impact Navigation
6
4
4
Fishery impact 2 Flood &Drought Fishery impact Flood &Drought
2
0
0
W. Quality impact Fishery W. Quality impact Fishery

Impact on Navigation Infrastructure

Impact on Navigation Infrastructure
Bank Erosion issue Trade & Invst
Bank Erosion issue Trade & Invst
Flow impact
Flow impact

Vietnam's synthesized sector preference & Laos' synthesized sector preference & impact (D)
Impact (C) Hydropower
Hydropower 10
Deforestation impact Irrigation
10 8
Deforestation impact Irrigation
8 Infrastructure impact 6 Navigation
Infrastructure impact 6 Navigation
4
4 Fishery impact Flood &Drought
2
Fishery impact 2 Flood &Drought
0
0
W. Quality impact Fishery
W. Quality impact Fishery

Impact on Navigation Infrastructure

Impact on Navigation Infrastructure
Bank Erosion issue Trade & Invst
Bank Erosion issue Trade & Invst
Flow impact
Flow impact

Figure 2 China and its key downstream neighbours’ Sector Preference and Perceived Transboundary Impact.
Sokhem & Sunada - Modern upstream myth: Is a sharing and caring Mekong region possible?
Central Highland of Vietnam and Laos; iv) bank
erosion of the boundary river between Thailand
and Laos; v) Cambodia’s concern over “flood-water
back-up” from the flood control measures along
Vietnam-Cambodia border; and vi) Vietnam’s
grave concern over flooding and dry season low
flow in the Mekong Delta due to the upstream
development, and so on. Table 1 summarizes the
key problems identified by the Lower Mekong
countries.
The spider graphs (Figure 2) present the sectoral
preference (policy choice) and national perception
on transboundary problems which are synthesized
based on the expert’s “best” educated guest
and thorough scrutiny of national and regional
development strategies and literature. The centre
point of the pentagon, where the lines meet,
represents zero preference for particular economic
activities or zero concern over the problems while
the outer perimeter represents maximum level
(Figure 2).
The different shaped pentagons show different
levels and forms of economic activities preference
and concern by countries. Figure 2 shows that each
country has placed strong emphasis on similar
development agendas, namely poverty elevation
and economic growth, but each of them has also
selected different sectors as engine of growth to
achieve the said goals. Moreover, it shows that each
country depending on its geopolitical situation
(upstream, downstream, or development and
environmental policy) perceive the transboundary
impacts differently.
Table 2 Analytical results of the problems structures and level of certainty and risk of conflict.
Knowledge/ Information
Strong knowledge, good flow of
information & consultation
Weak knowledge, poor
information exchange, & poor or
no consultation
Note: 1 for water quantity; 2 - Bank/bed erosion; 3 - Navigation Problem; 4 - Water Quality; 5 - Fish/ecosystem degradation;
6 - Deforestation; 7 - Poverty/Equity.
141
For example, Cambodia - a downstream nation -
due to its heavy reliance on capture fishery, and
the ecological sensitivity of its Tonle Sap Great
Lake, is concerned about the negative impacts
by upstream and downstream development that
would substantially impair the natural flow –
flood and low flow, and change in water quality
and sediment (Figure 2, Graph B). Another
downstream country – Vietnam – has intensively
exploited the rich Mekong hydropower and
agricultural potentials in its Central Highlands
and Mekong Delta. But it feels threatened by the
change in river flow and water quality due to the
upstream development that would substantially
affect its major agricultural area in the Mekong
Delta (Figure 2, Graph C).
The problems listed in Table 1 were then applied
to an analytical framework adopted from Nilson
& Segnestam (2001). The framework analyses
the problem structure and regional institutional
effectiveness by looking at issues such as knowledge
and information, and risk of conflict in an
integrated manner. The framework enquires into
two underlying analyses, namely the state of the
knowledge base in terms of what we know about
the linkages between the natural resource base
and development impacts, and a characterization
of the socio-political context, in terms of the risk or
potential for social conflict or cohesion.
The analytical result shown in Table 2 points
out that many problems are of high risk for social
conflict. The lack of usable knowledge regarding
Social-political context
Consensus – low risk of Difference – high risk of
conflict conflict
7
4, 5,6 1, 2, 3,
142 Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part IV: Politics and Policies

the ecosystems and for quantifying threats
and impacts compounds further the level of
uncertainty in the regional cooperation to address
the problems facing the basin community. For
instances, Problem 1 related to severe Flow level
fluctuation is found to be of high risk of conflicts
due to the differing interests of the involved players
with different perspectives and scales. A weak
knowledge base results in high uncertainty about
the analyzed issue and individual perception on
the impacts. Hence it further complicated the
problem solving or preventing efforts.
In the most complicated situation of high
uncertainty and with high risk of conflict, it
would need to involve various stakeholders in the
deliberation and the development of knowledge
and its acceptance where researchers, scientists,
and academia are involved together with the
policy-makers and basin management as well as
other key stakeholders.
Due the low level of industrial development in
the Basin, the problem 4 associated with water
quality issues listed in Table 2, is presently found
to be of relatively low risk of the regional conflict.
Nonetheless, weak knowledge base results in high
uncertainty about the analyzed issue. Problem 5
related to fishery and habitat degradation shares
similar poor state of knowledge. Particularly
Cambodia, whose poor people rely very heavily on
wild fish as source of protein and incomes, is not in
a position to take any strong action against its more
powerful upstream countries.
4.2 Problem solving capacity of the existing
regional institutions
There are numerous international agreements
and organizations designed to deal with the
development of the rich resources of the Mekong
Region with different levels of China’s participation.
Each of them has its own set of membership,
focus, principles or norms that determine how
it operates and defines its strategic direction
and priority. The coordination and integration
among these organizations have been regrettably
minimal. The major Mekong related regional
institutions where China has engaged in are the
Mekong River Commission (MRC), the Greater
Mekong Sub-region (GMS), the Association of the
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the inter-
governmental body set-up under the Agreement
on Commercial Navigation on Lancang-Mekong
River, 1999.

Table 3 Institutional Arrangements and Level of Participation.

Score Level of Access ASEAN-China GMS MRC-China Navigation

6 Summit Annually Every 3 years -6 -6
5 Ministerial Annually Frequently -5 -5
4 Executive Senior officers Senior officers Annual dialogue Joint Committee
meetings Meeting
3 Technical Numerous Numerous Very Few Joint Expert
Groups
3 Permanent bodies ASEAN ADB Mekong MRCS-China; -3
Secretariat ESCAP
2 Public-Private, Science- Track 1-2 High level -2 -2
policy interface meetings Public-Private
consultation
5 Public participation -5 -5 -5 -5
3 Compliance & verification -3 -3 -3 -3
Total 12 12 -11 -17
Sokhem & Sunada - Modern upstream myth: Is a sharing and caring Mekong region possible? 143

To assess the institutional effectiveness of the four and China’s permanent representatives to
regional entities in tackling the complex problem UNESCAP in Bangkok is another positive side.
structure listed in Table 1, the study selected five But it extremely misses the interaction at the higher
simplified institutional variables, including: i) the and broader level, and lacks public participation
level of access to the decision-making (starting from and verification mechanism.
head of states to the grass-root level); ii) availability
of permanent technical and administrative
body; iii) structuring of the agenda and conflict 4.2.1 Greater Mekong sub-region
management system; iv) the organisation of the As shown in Figure 3 (Graph A), the level of
science-policy-management interface; and v) inter-governmental interaction is high in the
verification and compliance mechanisms. GMS. In line with both the ADB and GMS to
promote private sector participation, there has
Table 3 shows the result of the analysis of the also been high frequency of interaction between
institutional effectiveness of the four selected governments and public-private sectors. A number
regional organizations. The overall grade of of milestone agreements have been reached
effectiveness was written as a numerical value. during the last few years. They cover mainly nine
The first column of Table 3 presents the assigned priority sectors: transport, telecommunication,
score. Different levels of interaction are scored energy, environment, tourism, trade facilitation
differently depending on their importance. Points and investment, human resource development,
are added when such interaction is present, and and agriculture.
deducted if not available. For example, ASEAN-
China, and GMS get most of the scores from As shown in Figure 3, Graph B, the meetings
their active engagements at summit, ministerial, at policy level – ministerial and senior official
and senior official level, for the presence of a meetings – have taken place regularly to discuss
permanent body, private and public dialogue, priority areas of the regional cooperation including
and science-policy interface. But their scores are trade and investment, transport and energy.
deducted respectively for lack of a broader public Gradually, attention is paid to other areas such
participation and lack of effective compliance and as natural resources and environment, human
verification. resources and other social problems (ADB, 2005).
But still there is a poor match between the GMS
The analysis of MRC-China interaction shows institutional focus and problem structures listed in
very negative scores (- 11) due to its activities Table 1. As observed by a GMS insider from China,
are extremely limited at the technical and the regional economic cooperation under GMS is
dialogue meetings. The availability of permanent operated with national benefit and national self-
administrative body through the MRC Secretariat interests as a link with poorly institutionalized

14
GMS Key Events by Level of Participations (A) 13 GMS: Events by Sectors (B)
30 12
Number of events

11
Number of events

25 10
9
20 8
7
15 6
5
10 4
3
5 2
1
0 0
1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 199219931994 199519961997 19981999 200020012002 200320042005
NGO Key Agreements Summit Policy Trade & investment Telecom
Ministerial Senior level Specialized Meetings Natutal resources Transport Energy
Public-Private Tourism HRD/social issues

Figure 3 (A) GMS key events by level of participation; (B) GMS key meetings classified by Sectoral focus.
144 Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part IV: Politics and Policies

way (Guanghui, 2002). The GMS is still in a setting strict institutions to serve a broader goal
state of low level or preliminary cooperation, not of international cooperation for the sustainable
a regional economic cooperation in its real sense development of the Mekong Basin (Badenoch,
(Guanghui, 2002). 2002).

The heads of Governments of the GMS countries,
in the Kunming Declaration, 2005 admitted
that the past over-emphasis on the economic
development has not paid enough or no attention
to the development of social and environmental
infrastructure and monitoring capabilities (see
Box 2: Kunming Declaration, 2005). They further
admitted that there is an even stronger demand for
greater dynamism in the GMS Program, not only
to ensure its sustained momentum but also for the
equitable distribution of its benefits derived from
the rich resources of the Mekong River Basin.
4.2.2 ASEAN-China
In 2002 China and ASEAN agreed to create the
world’s biggest free trade zone by 2010 (Framework
Agreement, 2002). Investment and the development
in the MRB are identified by both parties as
priorities for co-operation (ASEAN Secretariat,
2004). China’s high level of engagement with
GMS and ASEAN is explained by huge financial
incentives and concrete development initiatives
(Frost, 2005). As of September 15, 2005, the trade
volume between China and ASEAN has grown 25
percent in the first half of 2006 to $59.76 billion,
making ASEAN the 4th largest trade partner of
China [Montaperto, 2005]. The focus of GMS and
ASEAN-China cooperation is seen to be limited
to the socio-economic development rather than
The high level meetings discussing broad range
policy issues including free-trade, investment,
tourism, and the common security issues have
been the major focus in ASEAN-China dialogue
(Figure 4, Graph A). The high level meetings -
summit and ministerial levels - have taken place
on a highly regular basis. Between 1999 and 2005,
the ministerial level meetings are convened 4 or
5 times annually on an average. Large number of
agreements has been reached.
As shown in Figure 4, Graph B, the issues of
national security, and trade and investment have
occupied the central place in ASEAN-China
intergovernmental meetings. China-ASEAN Free
Trade Area and the economic cooperation in the
Mekong Sub-region are regarded by the China and
its Southeast Asian partners as the most important
regional economic mechanism (Guanghui 2002).
ASEAN with its Mekong related profiles and with
the active dialogue with China and other regional
economic power houses, occupies a crucial place
in the Mekong Regional development. But some
independent observers were sceptical about
ASEAN’s prospect to take a leading role in the
regional environmental governance for a “common
prosperity”, due to its extremely trade focus
and non-interference policy (Badenoch, 2002).
Moreover, the establishment of China-ASEAN
Free Trade Area is very much driven by perceived

Box 2 Key Paragraphs in Kunming Declaration pointing to the urgent need for considering environment and
institutionalization.

2nd GMS SUMMIT DECLARATION “A STRONGER GMS PARTNERSHIP FOR COMMON PROSPERITY”,
Kunming, Yunnan, China, 4–5 July 2005

27. Environmental conservation and sustainable management and use of shared natural resources in the
Mekong river basin are vital to the sustainable development in the sub-region. ………..

29. The considerable initiatives in physical, environmental and social infrastructure, and in trade and investment,
will require strengthened GMS institution capacities, and especially, in the GMS national secretariats. We are
committed to strengthening those capacities to better coordinate and manage GMS Program.
Sokhem & Sunada - Modern upstream myth: Is a sharing and caring Mekong region possible? 145

9 12
ASEAN-China Key Events by Hierachal Level (A) ASEAN-China Key Events by Sectors (B)
8
Number of Meetings

Number of Interaction
10
7
6 8
5
4 6
3 4
2
1 2
0
0
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
P. Participation Senior officials
working committee Public private/business summit Natutal resources Energy Technology
Agreements Summit
Ministerial Policy Human Security Trade & investment

Figure 4 ASEAN-China Events (A) by Level of Participations, (B) by Sectors

MRC-China by Participation Levels (A) MRC-China by Areas of Cooperation (B)

2005 2005
2004 2004
2003 2003
2002 2002
2001 2001
2000 2000
1999 1999
1998 1998
1997 1997
1996 1996
1995 1995
0 1 2 3 4 0 1 2 3 4
Number of events Number of events
Agreement Senior officials Dialgue working meetings Workshop Technical colaboration Data Flood Navigation

Figure 5 MRC-China Events (A) by participation level, (B) Areas of Interests.

economic benefits and exploitation of the natural China from its upstream stations to the MRC for
resources of the Mekong Region, rather than flood forecasting was the only major achievement
addressing the equitable distribution of benefits or in China and MRC upstream-downstream
sustainable development per se (Badenoch, 2002). collaboration (Figure 5, Graph A). In general,
ASEAN’s greatest strength in convening hundreds the meetings have been at a relatively low level
of meetings annually, is however, compromised and of technical nature. Since 1996, the annual
by its poor track-record of implementation and dialogue meeting has been held regularly once a
verification of agreed policy (Montaperto, 2005). year (Figure 5, Graph A).

The focus of the technical collaboration has been

4.2.3 China and the Mekong River Commission on the sectors of mutual interest, such as data
China has had the status of dialogue partner with provision for flood forecasting, and participation
the Mekong River Commission (MRC) since 1996 in the workshops or regional meetings of highly
(Niny, 2005). In a clear contrast to its remarkable technical nature on flood management and
efforts to expand its role and participation in GMS navigation (Figure 5 Graph B). During the years
and ASEAN, China’s engagement in the MRC- 2001-2003, some momentum was gained in
China Dialogue Partnership has been essentially MRC-China Collaboration when the two sides
limited to a purely technical collaboration. implemented the agreement on the provision
of hydrological information by China and the
As shown in Figure 5 (A and B), the interaction provision of equipment and training by MRC
level between China and the MRC has been for improving two hydro-meteorological stations
almost stagnant over the period of 1995-2005. in Jinghong on the mainstream and in Man’an,
The agreement signed on the 1st of April 2002 on on a major tributary of Mekong River in Yunnan
the provision of the hydrological information by (Sokhem, 2005).
146
ASEAN and GMS are seen by the Chinese political
leaders as a possibility for gaining more direct
economic gains through expanding business and
trade, while MRC is seen to focus on “software” –
developing rules, and sustainable development and
water assessment policy guidelines (Ratner, 2003).
It is quite evident that China’s future cooperation
with MRC depends on the changes in MRC’s
policy direction that would fit with China’s interest
and agenda. Mr. Zhang Wanhai, the head of the
Chinese Delegation to the 10th MRC-Upstream
countries Dialogue Meeting in early September
2005, urged “MRC to move forward in its goals to
eradicate poverty, and meet development needs of
the basin. These changes can also help to generate
new opportunities for cooperation between the
MRC and its partners, including China” (Wanhai,
2005).
Mr. Wanhai while highly speaking of the steady
development of the GMS Mekong sub-regional
cooperation “bringing tangible results to the
people of the Mekong sub-region, hinted that the
change in the MRC’s policy direction to focus on a
tangible development should be as pre-conditions
for better cooperation with China within the
MRC-China collaboration framework.
5 Conclusions
The myth about “is a sharing and caring Mekong
Region possible?” was rigorously tested. It is found
that there is increasing regionalism going on in
the Mekong Region, but it remains a state-led
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part IV: Politics and Policies
cooperative regionalism. This type of regionalism
is focused on economic growth, opening up trade
and installing infrastructure to facilitate increased
interaction and economic activity. That would not
automatically result in a “common prosperity” for
all if the problem of equity and distribution are not
properly addressed.
While trade and infrastructure development
is essential for economic growth and poverty
eradication, it could likewise be a disadvantage if
the leaders are not responding enough to mitigate
impacts from that development and to ensure a
more equitable distribution of benefits, especially
for the most vulnerable groups of people.
The absence of a daring and real institutional
framework, the “caring and sharing” Mekong
Region would remain a myth.
While words “caring and sharing” are relatively
easy to say, “daring” is extremely challenging
and supreme test of commitment in making a
difference – actual behavioural changes – by
sacrificing for the greater common good.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to the Japan Science and Technology
Agency (JST) for its generous support. We are
equally thankful to Dr. Olli Varis, Mr. Matti
Kummu and Mr. Marko Keskinen, as well as the
reviewers for their very helpful comments. This work
has also been financially supported by the Academy
of Finland (project 211010).
Sokhem & Sunada - Modern upstream myth: Is a sharing and caring Mekong region possible?
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 Water & Development Publications - Helsinki University of Technology AB

COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS FOR MANAGING

WATER RESOURCES AROUND TONLE SAP LAKE:
A MYTH OR REALITY?
Carl Middleton & Prom Tola
Fisheries Action Coalition Team, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

This chapter discusses different levels of water resources management in the Tonle Sap Basin of Cambodia.
A case study from Balaing village in Kampong Cham province describes a community based water
resource management arrangement developed on the initiative of the community, demonstrating that local
management organizations do exist within the basin. In view of this case study, the potential role of local
water resources management institutions within the overall management of Tonle Sap Basin is explored.
It is argued that both political and knowledge partnerships must be established between local communities
and state/expert institutions at higher levels. Whilst communities are best positioned to apply their
knowledge through local institutions to manage their local resources, they are ill-equipped to coordinate at
a basin-scale, which should be the main role of a macro-scale management institution.

1 Introduction
There is an increasing need to improve the
coordinated management of water resources in
the Tonle Sap Basin of Cambodia. Accelerating
economic growth, increasing population, high
levels of poverty and widening inequality have
led to mounting pressure on water resources,
the ecosystems they sustain, and the livelihoods
dependant upon them. Research to date has focused
mainly on gaining a scientific understanding of
natural resource use, the hydrodynamics of the
lake, and the development of state institutions
that could facilitate Integrated Water Resources
Corresponding author:
Carl Middleton
Fisheries Action Coalition Team
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Email: Carl_Middleton@hotmail.com
Management arrangements (e.g. Milner et al.,
2005; Kummu et al., 2006). Relatively little effort
has been expended on exploring more local forms
of water management.
It is a commonly held myth that very few
arrangements currently exist amongst local
communities to manage water resources outside of
intervention by broader development projects. For
example, Molle (2005) describes a recent series
of pilot projects under a ‘Participatory Irrigation
Management and Development’ (PIMD) program
that aimed to establish Farmer Water User
Communities. Summarizing the project, Molle
(2005) writes ‘The PIMD is a top-down program
where farmers are considered as recipients of the
knowledge and advice of the administration and
experts, and are sometimes considered not to fully

© 2008 TKK & Middleton & Tola ISBN 978-951-22-9102-1

Kummu, M., Keskinen, M. & Varis, O. (eds.): Modern Myths of the Mekong, pp. 149-159
150
understand the issues at stake.’ At the same time,
however, there are numerous examples throughout
Cambodia where artificial community organization
arrangements have been unsuccessfully imposed
under the guise of community participation
without first examining the potential for adapting
or building upon existing local arrangements. This
chapter presents a case study of such a local level
water management organization, and discusses
how local knowledge and local management
institutions could be better incorporated into the
basin-wide management of the Tonle Sap Basin.
1.1 The Tonle Sap Lake and its basin
The Tonle Sap Basin is located in the Northwest
of Cambodia and is of paramount importance to
Cambodia’s food security, economy and cultural
heritage. Approximately 4.4 million people live
within the basin (Milner et al., 2005). The Tonle
Sap Lake itself is one of the most productive
inland fisheries in the world and was designated
a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in October 1997
(Baran, 2005). The principal livelihood activity
on and close to the lake is fishing and fisheries-
associated activities. Further away from the
Lake, in the flood plains and beyond, rice-based
agriculture becomes the dominant livelihood
activity, together with livestock rearing and
processing of crops. Flooded forests near the lake
and other forested areas further away provide a
diversity of Non-Timber Forest Products. Trade
is also an important activity, particularly in urban
centers (McKenney & Tola, 2002; Keskinen,
2006).
The socio-economic setting of the Lake is
characterized by a rapidly growing population,
high poverty levels, and deep dependence on
common natural resources. The basin is also
notable for its diversity, including ethnic diversity
and seasonal variation of livelihood activities, and
its inequality, especially unequal access to natural
resources (Keskinen, 2006). Despite a rich natural
resource base, poverty within the basin is pervasive;
half of the villages located within the basin have
between 40–60% of households below the official
poverty line, with a peak of 80% in some areas
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part IV: Politics and Policies
(ADB, 2005a). There is a common perception that
the standard of living is decreasing, as fish catch,
area of flooded and terrestrial forest, availability
of agricultural land and water quality are all
perceived to be falling (Keskinen, 2006).
The nature and causes of poverty within the
Tonle Sap Basin are complex. Natural resources
within the basin generally are over-exploited
and poorly managed, and a high incidence of
landlessness leads to dependence on common
property resources, promoting livelihood activities
such as fishing and foraging (ADB, 2005a). As is
the general case throughout Cambodia, health
shocks and chronic illnesses are another root
cause of poverty, together with low levels of adult
literacy. Gender inequality is pervasive; women
gain access to significantly fewer opportunities
than men, such as land ownership, education,
and decision making within the community.
Around the Tonle Sap Lake, the high proportion
of female-headed households, a result of the earlier
conflict in Cambodia, compounds this problem.
Ethnic divisions between the Khmer majority
and Vietnamese and Cham minorities around
the Tonle Sap Lake also result in inequity and
on occasion animosity (ADB, 2005a). Finally,
effective governance within the Tonle Sap Basin
faces numerous institutional impediments that
limit improvements in management including:
weak governance and wide-spread corruption;
an absence of key laws and clarity; a lack of law
enforcement and a weak judicial system; and a
lack of clear property rights in forestry, fisheries,
and land (Sokhem & Sunada, 2006).
1.2 Initiatives for coordinated management
Recent years have seen different initiatives and
proposals for more coordinated, basin-wide
management of the Tonle Sap Basin. The Asian
Development Bank (ADB), for example, considers
the Tonle Sap Basin a priority geographical
focus for investment in Cambodia, and in 2003,
as a component of its Tonle Sap Basin Strategy,
initiated the establishment of a Tonle Sap Basin
Management Organization (TSBMO) (ADB,
2005b). The TSBMO aims to ‘sustainably develop
Middleton & Tola - Community organizations for managing water resources around Tonle Sap Lake
the Tonle Sap Basin’s economy and infrastructure’
through promoting the principles of IWRM
(Milner et al., 2005). The proposed organization
structure for the TSBMO consists of a central-
level overall basin planning and coordination
system housed within the Cambodian National
Mekong Committee, and a sub-basin planning
and coordination system working at a provincial
and district level.
A remarkable step forward in the overall
management of Tonle Sap was taken in September
2007 when a Royal Degree was signed to establish
the Tonle Sap Basin Authority (TSBA) for
“coordination of the management, conservation
and development of the Tonle Sap Basin areas …
under direct guidance of the Royal Government
of Cambodia” (Royal Government of Cambodia
2007). In the Royal Degree –that was prepared
without broad public engagement– the Authority’s
role was defined as to prepare policies, strategies and
programs in collaboration with relevant ministries
and development partners as well as to coordinate
“activities of ministries-agencies, local authorities,
National and International Organizations, Non-
governmental Organizations and Civil Societies
working in Tonle Sap basin areas in order to make
work smooth and effective” (Royal Government of
Cambodia 2007).
It is, however, likely that the TSBA or any other
basin-wide management organization in the
Tonle Sap will face significant challenges in
its implementation. Cambodia’s institutional
arrangements for management of the Tonle
Sap Basin are characterized as highly
compartmentalized, with limited coordination
and even rivalries between key ministries.
Furthermore, the political process for the Royal
Government of Cambodia’s Decentralization
and Deconcentration policy is incomplete and is
proceeding at a “painfully” slow pace (Sokhem &
Sunada, 2006).
1.3 The nature of local knowledge
The past decade or so has seen the rise of the
concept of Community Based Natural Resources
151
Management (CBNRM). It revises the traditional
top-down political arrangement between state and
community to a co-management arrangement
under which a certain amount of responsibility
is delegated to the community to manage its own
local natural resources (Zanetell & Knuth, 2004;
CBNRM Learning Initiative, 2005). A gradually
increasing recognition of the value of indigenous
or local knowledge has accompanied this trend,
together with a general recognition of the limits
of expert knowledge, although the latter still
dominates development discourse (Incamnina,
1993; Rahman, 2000; Zanetell & Knuth, 2002).
Local knowledge is defined by Zanetell & Knuth
(2002) as ‘the beliefs and ideas of citizens,
laypersons, indigenous tribes, ethnic groups,
and local residents’, and more specifically in the
context of natural resources management as ‘the
information, experiences, and predictive insights
of resource users and persons whose lives are
closely linked to a resource of concern.’ Extensive
debate over the nature of local and expert
knowledge has resulted in numerous dichotomies
including: qualitative versus quantitative; intuitive
versus analytical; subjective versus objective;
and storytelling versus science. Agrawal (1996)
cautions, however, that the complete divide often
portrayed between expert and local knowledge is
artificial, and that attempts to separate one from
the other masks elements of similarities.
There is now an emerging view that local
knowledge and expert knowledge is complimentary
and should be integrated in so-called ‘knowledge
partnerships’ to exceed each types respective
limitations, although precisely how this can be
achieved in practice remains a challenge (Zanetell
& Knuth, 2002). Various tools, such as Rapid
Rural Appraisal (RRA) and Participatory Rural
Appraisal (PRA) have been developed to enable
an interaction between expert and local forms of
knowledge. However, even when adopting these
approaches the initiative and emphasis remains
mainly with the expert, for example in defining
the overall research project objectives and design.
More innovative forms of community based
research have evolved in the Mekong region, such
152
as the Thai Bann approach pioneered by villagers
involved in the decade-long campaign opposing
operation of the Pak Mun dam in Northeastern
Thailand, although these approaches are yet to be
widely adopted (SEARIN et al., 2004).
An appreciation of the value of local knowledge
seems to be evolving in the eyes of experts in
the Mekong Basin. For example, Mekong River
Commission’s (MRC) fisheries experts were
heavily dependent on villagers’ local knowledge
to determine basin-wide fish migration patterns
(Bao et al., 2001; Poulsen et al., 2003). The study
concluded that fisheries planning cannot be
developed without applying both local and expert
forms of knowledge. Within the Tonle Sap Basin,
Keskinen (2006) notes that the insights of local
people collected using RRA and PRA techniques
was crucial for untangling some of the complex
relationships between water, environment and
societal factors that led to the development of
an integrated hydrological and socio-economic
analysis for the Tonle Sap Lake.
2 A case study on community-led local
water resources management
The following case study describes a community-
led water management arrangement established at
the initiative of the community itself to manage
water retained from the ebbing flow of the Tonle
Sap Lake’s flood in a series of natural and artificial
reservoirs for dry season rice cultivation. Whilst
the arrangement has been beneficial for those that
have access to the stored water, the organization
has also had its challenges. The allocation of the
benefits has not been equitable, and the natural
reservoirs that were once recognized as common
property resources are now considered as the private
property of those that use the water to irrigate
their fields – being generally wealthier members
of the community. This is to the detriment of
poorer members of the community who are now
excluded from accessing the reservoir’s water
and fish resources. Despite this inequity, the
water management arrangement has spread to
neighboring villages throughout the commune.
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part IV: Politics and Policies
2.1 Main livelihood strategy in Balaing
village
Balaing village in Sambour commune of Kompong
Cham province is located in the Tonle Sap Lake
floodplain between Highway No. 5 and the Tonle
Sap Lake1. Dry season rice cultivation is the
predominant livelihood occupation in the village.
The floods of Tonle Sap Lake have commonly
devastated wet season rice production in the
past, and nowadays only few farmers are willing
to confront this risk. The total area under rice
cultivation in Balaing village is around 268 hectare.
Land holding per household varies according
to economic status; better-off households hold
larger, more productive land areas, while poor
and destitute households occupy smaller plots of
less productive land that are further from water
sources2. As the village borders Tonle Sap Lake,
villagers also often go fishing during both the wet
and dry season for home consumption and sale.
During the wet season the village is flooded by
Tonle Sap Lake’s waters and villagers can catch
fish nearby the village.
Population increase together with flooding
disasters has placed increasing pressure on Balaing
village’s natural resources. As a result, over the
past decade inundated forest within the village’s
boundary, which are important fish spawning
grounds when flooded, have been progressively
cleared and converted into agricultural land for
dry season rice production. During this period
any family that had sufficient labour to clear land
was permitted to do so. By 2003, inundated forest
within the village boundary had been completely
cleared. As time passed by, the local authorities
recognized the cleared land as under the private
ownership of those families that had cleared and
worked it. The situation thus changed remarkably,
as previously, when the land was inundated forest,
it was treated as a common property resource by
the villagers.
The farmers in Balaing village nowdays use water
retained and stored in three natural and five
constructed reservoirs to irrigate their dry-season
rice fields once the Tonle Sap Lake’s flood waters
have receded. Farmers manage distribution of
Middleton & Tola - Community organizations for managing water resources around Tonle Sap Lake
these surface water resources through what the
villagers themselves refer to as a Community
Based Water Resource Management (CBWRM)
arrangement. According to villagers, the CBWRM
system was established by the community at their
own initiative.
Some farmers, mainly the better-off ones, also
utilise groundwater extracted by pumping to
irrigate their rice fields. Whilst groundwater
irrigation has improved rice yields, this practice
has had negative impacts on soil salinity and
availability of drinking water. Village wells can no
longer yield enough water in the dry season, and
villagers are forced to travel between five and ten
kilometres towards the Tonle Sap Lake to collect
water for drinking and cooking.
2.2 Community Based Water Resource
Management in Balaing village
Balaing villagers have actively practiced the
Community Based Water Resource Management
(CBWRM) arrangement since 1986-1987.
This was a period when Cambodia followed a
planned economy, although the Government
had already started distributing private land to
rural households. As privatization of land took
place, it became apparent to villagers that water
allocation to irrigate dry season rice from storage
reservoirs was not well organized. Consequently,
the villagers initiated the CBWRM system with
the intention of ensuring coordinated distribution
of water amongst the multiple farmers using each
reservoir’s water. Their aim was to ensure efficient
use of the water and improved agricultural yields.
Eight CBWRM committees were established
in the village, one for each reservoir. Each
committee operates as an independent entity and
consists of between 30 and 50 members, formed
of all villagers that use water from the reservoir.
Only land nearby each reservoir is irrigated,
which is also the most productive land in the
village. It is mainly the better-off and medium
income households that own this valuable land
and therefore constitute the main membership
of the CBWRM committees. Villagers may be a
153
member of several CBWRM committees if they
own land around more than one reservoir. Land
reform and distribution since 1986-87 and more
significantly since 1993 provided an opportunity
for land transaction to take place in the village.
This change also allowed outsiders, usually those
from neighbouring villages, to purchase land from
Balaing villagers These outsiders are also entitled
to become CBWRM committee members.
Between 1986 and 1993, when Cambodia was still
under a planned economic system, the CBWRM
committee leaders were appointed directly by the
chief of village and chief of commune as a matter
of protocol. Cambodia’s transition to a more
democratic, free-market economy in 1993 also
influenced CBWRM in the village, and as a result
since 1993 the CBWRM committee leaders have
been elected directly by the CBWRM committees
for three-year terms. For their effort, CBWRM
committee leaders either receive approximately 15
kg of rice per 0.5 hectare of rice field irrigated from
each CBWRM committee member, or they are
granted the temporary use of 0.1 to 0.2 hectare of
land for rice cultivation within the irrigated area.
The CBWRM committee leaders have played
an increasingly important role in facilitating
the management of water resources, including:
ensuring efficient water distribution and
reservoir operation; daily monitoring activities
for maintenance of the reservoir and mobilizing
community members to repair damage when
necessary; and collecting maintenance fees
from committee members. Where a CBWRM
committee leader is performing poorly, the
members may vote for his/her resignation.
Members’ commitment and participation in
the CBWRM committee’s activities ensure the
effectiveness of the committees. Economic viability
is secured by contribution of a membership fee, the
level of which is decided by common agreement
of the CBWRM committee and is typically
US$30–40 over a two to three year period. The
membership fee is used to cover the cost of reservoir
maintenance, such as excavation work to remove
deposited sediment thus preventing filling.
154
Rich fish stocks within the reservoir are also
harvested to support reservoir operations. Under
this process, the right to collect fish after the
rice has been harvested is sold in an auction
process. The fee is contributed towards the
reservoir maintenance fund. Whilst this fishing
arrangement has always been applied for the
artificial reservoirs, it was introduced to the natural
reservoirs only in 2003. Before that, the natural
reservoir fish stocks were treated as a common
pool resource. The privatization of fish stocks in
the natural reservoirs appears to have followed
on from the recognition of land rights around the
reservoir. As the CBWRM committee members
began paying a fee to use water from the reservoir,
this also legitimized over time the members’
opinion that the natural reservoir itself was a
private property until they finally felt that they
were entitled to prevent non-committee members
from fishing in the reservoir. Some income
generated from the auction process is contributed
to a community development fund, for example to
repair roads, as a form of compensation.
Members of each CBWRM committee plan
and coordinate their rice production activities
including seed sharing, and sharing of labour for
land preparation, transplanting and harvesting
rice crops. This goes beyond typical arrangements
for labour sharing found in Cambodian rural
communities, which are typically ascribed to
shortages in household labour and low cash
reserves with which to hire labour. The aim instead
is that each CBWRM member’s rice fields are at
the same stage in the rice plant’s growth cycle to
ensure the most efficient use of water resources
delivered from the reservoirs.
2.3 Social inequity and limitations of
the CBWRM arrangement
In general in Cambodia, the rural poor struggle to
move out of poverty because investment capital is
scarce, the poor typically hold less productive assets
such as land and other agricultural materials, and
indebtedness is common due to informal credit
loans with unfavourable interest rates. The poor
are also commonly marginalised in their access to
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part IV: Politics and Policies
and control over common pool resources (CPRs),
including water and fish; this despite the fact that
the poor rely on CPRs as a safety net from harvest
failures, to which they are also more vulnerable.
In Balaing village, a large proportion of poor
households occupy small plots of land far from
readily accessible water resources including the
natural and artificial reservoirs. In the worst cases
they are landless. Therefore, whilst the better-off
and medium wealth households in the village
gain access to the reservoir water resources
and benefit from the CBWRM committee’s
organization, poor families generally do not.
CBWRM committee members consider the
holding capacity of the reservoirs sufficient only to
irrigate the land nearby, thus excluding the land
further away owned by poorer families from access
to reliable water supply. Whilst surplus water is
occasionally released to non-committee members,
agreement must first be reached amongst CBWRM
committee members, which is a time consuming
process and often results in the release of water at
suboptimal stages of the rice production cycle.
The underlying issue is that poorer households
have a relative lack of power to demand water
from the reservoir. The transition from common
pool resources to privatized resources –first of the
inundated forest to agricultural land, and then
access to the natural reservoir fisheries– further
exacerbates inequalities in access to opportunity.
The recent ban on access to fisheries has seriously
impacted the poor households, as they used to
catch fish and collect other aquatic resources from
the natural reservoirs for both income generation
and home consumption. Some poor households
have resorted to collecting unexploded munitions
left behind from earlier fighting in the area to
generate income, posing a serious threat to their
life.
2.4 CBWRM arrangement spreads to
neighboring villages
The CBWRM arrangements initially developed
in Balaing village have recently been adopted by
all seven villages of Sambour commune, Batheay
Middleton & Tola - Community organizations for managing water resources around Tonle Sap Lake
district, Kompong Cham province. Reservoir sizes
within the commune range between 2.5 and 5.0
hectares with depths of around 2.5 to 3 meters,
capable of irrigating between 20 and 100 hectares
of paddy field. The size of membership per
reservoir ranges between 20 and 100 households.
Focus group discussions furthermore suggest that
nowadays an increasing number of households are
digging ponds to supplement their dry season rice
cultivation.
3 Implications of local water resource
management on Tonle Sap Basin-
wide coordination
The case study from Balaing village presented
above outlines the existence of a community based
organization established for the management of
local water resources, developed independent
from more macro-scale development initiatives.
The following discussion explores possible
implications of these kinds of community based
management organisations in the broader, basin-
wide management of the Tonle Sap Basin.
3.1 Development of basin-wide
management organisations
Natural resource management initiatives around
the Tonle Sap Lake to date have generally been
developed in a top-down and technocratic manner
with little community involvement (Sokhem &
Sunada, 2006; Rosien, 2006). With the exception
of the Cambodian National Mekong Committee
(CNMC) and the Ministry of Water Resources
and Meteorology (MOWRAM), there appears
to be little recognition amongst ministries, line
agencies, and community resource users of
the need for a basin management organization
(BMO).
It also appears that little consideration has been
given to existing local water resource management
arrangements and how broader, basin-wide
management organizations could integrate with
them. This is derived, at least in part, from the
myth that local water resource management
arrangements do not exist and that therefore
155
they must be fostered by external development
projects.
3.2 Community involvement in water
resources management
The need for the participation of local communities
is now a widely recognized, if complex, tenet
of development thinking. There is a significant
body of evidence demonstrating the limited
power of the modern state to coerce
communities into unpopular development
programs, essentially necessitating communities’
meaningful participation for successful resource
management (Agrawal & Gibson 1999). Local
communities that depend on local resources
have an incentive to manage their resources
in a sustainable way, and as they possess local
knowledge about these resources they are the
most appropriate managers. Reflecting on the
Mekong’s small-scale fisheries, Poulsen et al.
(2003) note ‘Fishers usually constitute the de-
facto managers… and unless they are enlisted
to take an active part in management, including
implementation, prospects for success are poor’.
Whilst community participation is critical
to successful community-based resource
management, incentives and barriers to
participation are complex, and sometimes counter-
intuitive (Zanetell & Knuth, 2004). However,
where benefits are readily apparent to stakeholders
and local concerns and systems clearly recognized,
as is demonstrated by the Balaing village case
study, reasonably successful local water resources
management arrangements can be implemented.
3.3 Knowledge partnerships and the need
for institutions
Analogous to the political partnership that is
built for community based co-management
arrangements, knowledge partnerships must also
be developed between state agencies and local
communities that combines local and expert
knowledge, exceeding the limits of either alone
(Zanetell & Knuth, 2002). For CBNRM to be
successful, the knowledge base that informs
156
decision-making must incorporate both the state-
and community based approaches to problem
solving. The motivation for local communities to
be involved will depend on the perceived effort
and efficacy of the plan to address important
local issues. Unfortunately, to date, despite an
increasing recognition of the need to meld expert
and scientific knowledge, effective implementation
of this principle has proven difficult, in part due
to inadequate mechanisms to integrate local and
expert knowledge in decision-making practices
(Rahman, 2000).
The recent popularity of the role of community
in resource management has been subject to
comparatively limited critical analysis, although
recently concerns have been raised that some
development practitioners tend to idealize
communities. Agrawal & Gibson (1999) call this
misconception the ‘mythical community’, in which
community is assumed to be small spatial units,
with a homogenous social structure and shared,
locally evolved norms that manage their resources
sustainably and equitably through a desirable
collective decision-making process. The reality
is that, as found at Balaing village, communities
consist of multiple actors with multiple interests
that result in internal differences and local or
multilayered politics that must be accounted
for. Furthermore, local interactions take place
within a larger social context and consideration
must also be given to community interaction with
external actors and institutions. In Cambodia,
society is predominantly hierarchical, with status
determined by economic wealth, political status,
age, religious piety, education, ethnicity and
gender (Rosien, 2006).
The role of institutions is a critical factor in
influencing the outcomes of political processes.
An institution may be defined as ‘sets of formal and
informal rules and norms that shape interactions
of humans with others and nature’ (Agrawal &
Gibson, 1999). Institutions are not static but
evolve through processes of renegotiation amongst
actors. Agrawal & Gibson (1999) argue that
focusing on institutions rather than ‘community’
is likely to lead to more successful results for
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part IV: Politics and Policies
community based management. It is the value and
role of institutions at the local level (such as the
CBWRM arrangement in Balaing village) and the
national level (the TSBA) that should be evaluated
to determine how they might successfully interact
together.
3.4 Linking local institutions and the basin
organisations
Issues of scale present a challenge both to
local communities and state agencies. Local
communities are the most appropriate actors to
formulate the structure and rules of local-level
institutions due to their site-specific knowledge
and experience. The Balaing village case study
demonstrates a local, economically sustainable
institution for water resource management
- although issues of equity must be addressed. The
establishment of farmer water user committees
and community fisheries committees within
Cambodia are also steps in the right direction,
although these efforts remain to varying extents
prescriptive. Where local institutions for water
resources management do not exist, their formation
could be encouraged based on existing structures
within the village as identified by the communities
themselves.
It is almost impossible, however, to imagine that
local organizations founded on local knowledge
and social structures alone will be able to
provide for the coordinated management of
resources at the basin level, which will become
increasing necessary if conflict is to be avoided.
Local communities hold a limited perspective
on environmental, economic and social changes
occurring at a larger scale (although often
experience direct impacts from these changes),
and therefore would face difficulties in effectively
expanding their cooperative organization at a
basin scale without support.
The role, therefore, of a successful basin-wide
management organization, such as the Tonle
Sap Basin Authority (TSBA) or Tonle Sap Basin
Management Organization (TSBMO), is to
effectively interface and integrate with local
institutions to coordinate macro-scale issues.
Middleton & Tola - Community organizations for managing water resources around Tonle Sap Lake
National ministries and their line agencies within
this kind of cooperation organisation are staffed by
experts trained in various technical fields of water
resources management, and are therefore equipped
to operate at this macro-level. Other important
roles beyond the reach of local institutions and
appropriate to the upper levels of the organization
include arbitrating conflicts between communities,
providing assistance in protecting local resources
against uninvited powerful external actors, and
providing neutral technical advice. The process
adopted to establish the organization will be a
critical factor in determining its success, and
should be organic and flexible rather than forced
and prescriptive (Claridge, 2004).
In moving towards a partnership between
state and community, it should however be
recognized that state officials and community
representatives have access to very different levels
of resources and power, and external forces such
as state policies can significantly affect local
institutions. Furthermore, whilst the rhetoric
of participation and decentralization is often
quoted by development actors in Cambodia, in
practice significant constraints continue to exist.
The concept of democracy has yet to be fully
incorporated into village life, where there remains
a significant hierarchical social order. Whilst most
ministries concerned with water management in
Cambodia have provincial and district level offices,
they currently possess limited capacity to instigate
public participation policies and there exists only
a limited level of trust between communities and
these line agencies (Sokhem & Sunada, 2006;
Rosien 2006).
4 Conclusions
The Balaing village case study demonstrates
one example around Tonle Sap Lake of a
locally-developed water resource management
arrangement that has evolved independent of
broader, more top-down development project
interventions. The community based water
resources management (CBWRM) arrangement
in Balaing village would appear to be sustainable
as the economic benefits are readily apparent to
157
the CBWRM committee members and there
therefore is deeper ownership of the project by
the committee members. It is also interesting to
note that the success of this local institutional
arrangement has led to it being mimicked
throughout the commune, again with apparently
no external intervention by typical development
actors, and at almost no cost.
Clearance of flooded forests and subsequent
privatization of the land in Balaing village, together
with increasing control over water resources by
better-off and medium wealth villagers has led
to a decrease in the availability of common pool
resources that are vital particularly to poorer
households’ livelihoods. In other words, whilst the
community based arrangement has arisen through
cooperative action of many villagers, the benefits
have not been equally distributed throughout the
community.
To effectively manage the Tonle Sap Basin’s water
resources, there is a need for both local institutions
and a basin management organization. Knowledge
partnerships are needed to compliment political
partnerships. As such, there must be an increased
understanding of the value and limits of local
and expert knowledge, and also the scales at
which they can operate effectively. The scale-
threshold should form the level of interaction
and integration between local institutions and
the basin management organization. To
successfully build these partnerships, the idea
of rigid institutional structures (often rapidly
created), although appealing to state agencies
and large development organizations, must be
discarded in favor of a more organic process with
less predictable outcomes originating from the
bottom upwards.
It is likely that community based management
examples as explicit as Balaing village occur only
rarely within the Tonle Sap Basin. To the authors’
knowledge no similar cases have been identified
either in the literature or by development workers.
The Balaing village case study does demonstrate
the potential for successful local water resource
management institutions, if existing community
158 Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part IV: Politics and Policies

structures are taken into account and community Acknowledgements

participation and motivation mobilized. Therefore,
the existence of local water resource management
arrangements should be the subject of further
investigation. Where explicit arrangements do not
exist, further effort should be expended to explore
how local communities might be catalyzed to
shape their own local institutions for effective
water resources management.
The authors would like to thank the Academy of
Finland (Project 211010) for funding this work. We
would also like to thank two anonymous reviewers
and Marko Keskinen for their comments that
significantly improved the text.

Endnotes
1 The Balaing village case study was initially identified by Mr. Prom Tola during his employment as researcher on the
‘Participatory Poverty Assessment on the Tonle Sap Lake’ project, funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and
the Department for International Development (DFID) of the UK Government, and implemented by the Cambodian
Development Research Institute (CDRI). The research and analysis presented in this paper is prepared independent
of ADB, DFID and CDRI, and should not be interpreted as representative of these organizations’ views.

2 In the Participatory Poverty Assessment (PPA) process villagers defined a poverty rank themselves within the village.
Usually, the better-off and medium households are those who were able to access capital to expand their businesses,
derived either from their own savings or from access to formal and informal credit. Better-off and medium households
also hold more productive assets in the village such as land, livestock, and modern agricultural materials, which then
acts as collateral to enable their access to further credit and other capital resources for additional investment. Most
of the better-off/medium households are traders who provide commodities and services to other villagers including
provision of credit to the poor and destitute households, and generally have good housing conditions. In contrast, poor
and destitute households generally hold poor productive assets (e.g. land, agricultural materials…), are subject to stress
because of temporary food insecurity, and own poor quality houses or are homelessness.
Middleton & Tola - Community organizations for managing water resources around Tonle Sap Lake
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water.tkk.fi/global/publications
 Water & Development Publications - Helsinki University of Technology AB

DO THE DOWNSTREAM COUNTRIES OPPOSE

THE UPSTREAM DAMS?
Katri Mehtonen
Water Resources Laboratory, Helsinki University of Technology, Finland

It is often argued that China builds dams on the upstream Mekong despite the opposition of the
downstream countries. Particularly the media have reported the situation as if the downstream nations
wished China to stop the damming. However, the opposing voices represent mostly the civil society and the
NGOs, and not the national governments. Actually, all of the Mekong countries are involved in the plans
for regional power trade, in which the Yunnan province of China will be a net exporter.
Therefore, the criticism towards upper Mekong damming should be
directed towards all the parties involved in the projects.

1 Introduction
Currently, China is constructing a significant
dam cascade on the upper Mekong River, and
plans exist to develop the upper Salween as well.
These projects cause concerns in the downstream
countries because of their possible social and
environmental impacts. The picture is however
not as simple as that, particularly what comes to
cross border energy trade. In addition to China,
there are several parties involved in the plans for
energy connection and trade, which are strongly
Corresponding author:
Katri Mehtonen
Water Resources Laboratory
Helsinki University of Technology - TKK
P.O. Box 5200
FIN-02015 TKK, Finland
Email: katri.mehtonen@gmail.com
based on hydropower. Therefore, the downstream
countries’ views of the upper Mekong dams
were studied - in particular those of the national
governments. Even though different groups within
a country often think very differently of the dams,
reports of a country having a certain opinion are
usually understood to describe the opinion of the
national government.
Regional energy trade is strongly linked to the
Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) program,
which is a regional body between the six Mekong
riparian countries of Laos, Myanmar, Thailand,
Cambodia, Vietnam and China (the Yunnan
province is China’s representative). The program
was established in 1992 mainly to promote
economic growth in the Mekong region. One of
the GMS’s key issues is the lack of adequate energy

© 2008 TKK & Mehtonen ISBN 978-951-22-9102-1

Kummu, M., Keskinen, M. & Varis, O. (eds.): Modern Myths of the Mekong, pp. 161-173
162
supply. Hydropower is the most significant energy
resource in the GMS, but only a minor share of the
total potential has been so far harnessed.
This paper starts by describing the current energy
situation in the Mekong countries, based on the
available figures. Thereafter, the future aspects are
analyzed, including the plans for regional energy
trade and particularly energy imports from China.
Finally, the power setting between the countries,
the real opinions of the national governments, and
the reasons for their approaches are discussed.
The study was done by considering the following
questions:
• What kind of picture does the media and other
readily available sources give from the upper
Mekong hydropower development and the
different players included in it?
• What is the real approach of the Mekong
countries’ national governments to hydropower
development in the region - particularly
in China - and what are the reasons for the
stands the governments have taken?
2 Energy and Hydropower in the GMS
There are great differences between the GMS
countries both in terms of electricity demand and
supply potential. However, in general, the energy
,PSRUW

)XHORLO

'LHVHO

/LJQLWH

*DV

&RDO

+\GUR

Figure 1 Installed generation capacity and the shares of
different energy forms in the GMS countries. China’s share
represents only Yunnan. (ADB 2003)
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part IV: Politics and Policies
supply is inadequate to satisfy the needs of basic
development. In many countries, electrification
is still at a very low level (Table 1). Particularly
the rural people lack electricity, which would
be needed to improve living conditions and
agricultural production. The major constrains
for supply are the lack of generation capacity and
problems in transmission and distribution (ADB
2003).
Hydropower with its 32 % share of the total
installed capacity in the GMS region (Figure 1)
is an important component in bringing electricity
to the region. There are several significant
rivers flowing through the region, including the
Mekong, Salween, Irrawaddy and Red River.
The total hydropower potential is estimated to
be approximately 168,000 MW, of which 11,200
MW had been installed by 2001 (Yu, 2003). The
potential is mainly situated in Laos, Myanmar,
some parts of Vietnam and the Yunnan province of
China, which all have large untapped hydropower
potential far exceeding their own demand.
The relevant information of the GMS countries in
terms of energy needs and supply is summarized
in the Table 1 and in the following chapters. The
issue of future energy needs has raised a lot of
different opinions. The Asian Development Bank
(ADB) is one of those making energy predictions.
According to the ADB, the GMS economies
require significantly more energy in the future to
fuel development (Table 2).
2.1 China
China’s energy need is significant, and is in
substantial growth. The biggest needs appear in the
economic centers of the east cost. According to the
Chinese Energy Research Centre at the National
Development and Reform Commission, China’s
energy demand is expected to rise from 1.4 billion
tons of standard coal (2002) to 2.4-3.2 billion tons
by 2020 (People’s Daily, 2003). Difficulties in
electricity distribution, caused by long distances
and poor infrastructure, hamper fulfilling the
basic requirements. Regional differences are
substantial, and a significant rural population has
not yet an access to electricity.
Mehtonen - Do the downstream countries oppose the upstream dams? 163

China’s main domestic energy resources are coal
and hydro. Coal accounts for about two-thirds of
China’s total energy usage and for about 70-80
% of electricity generation (CSLF, 2005). Today,
hydropower and other renewable energy forms
receive growing attention particularly because
of environmental concerns. China’s hydropower
potential is the largest in the world. According
to a government survey, the commercially viable
hydropower capacity is around 400,000 MW
(Interfax, 2006). Hydropower currently provides
about a quarter of the nation’s total electricity
supply, while majority of the capacity still remains
untapped. Consequently, significant increases of
hydropower production have been planned.
2.1.1 Southwest China’s hydropower plans
Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) and the Yunnan
province are the major regions where the upper
Mekong (Lancang in Chinese) and other southwest

Table 1 Installed power generation capacities and electrification levels of 2001 (ADB, 2003).

Total (MW) Hydropower (MW) Share of hydro (%) Electrification level

(%)
Thailand 21 873 2 886 13,2 96
Laos 642 628 97,8 34
Cambodia 129 1 0,8 15
Vietnam 6 675 3 291 49,3 70
Yunnan 7 569 5 150 68 92
Myanmar 1 240 360 29 15

Table 2 Supply requirements in the GMS countries in 2000 and 2020 (ADB, 2003).

Supply requirements Supply requirements Annual growth Per capita requirements Per capita requirements
in 2000 (GWh) in 2020 (GWh) (%) in 2000 (kWh) in 2020 (kWh)
Thailand 96781 328429 6.3 1576 5349
Laos 865 4438 8.5 160 822
Cambodia 586 5720 12.1 52 511
Vietnam 26722 169428 9.7 335 2123
Myanmar 4400 16400 6.8 96 360
Yunnan 31635 91689 5.5 755 2188

Table 3 The Upper Mekong projects (Plinston et al., 2000; Akatsuka et al., 1996).

Dams Catchment Mean Cross Net Low flow Dam Installed Resettlement Completion
area (km2) annual storage storage increase height capacity (persons) (year)
inflow inflow (MCM) (m3/s) (m) (MW)
(m3/s) (MCM)
Conguoqiao 97 200 985 510 120 8 130 750 n.a. n.a.
Xiaowan 113 300 1210 15 650 11 500 565 300 4 200 32 737 2012-2013
Manwan 114 500 1230 1110 410 26 126 1 500 3 513 1996
Dachaoshan 121 000 1342 940 240 15 110 1 350 6 054 2003
Nuozhadu 144 700 1771 7300 300 212 254 5 000 23 826 2017
Jinghong 149 100 1850 97 220 14 118 1 500 2 264 2003-2010
Ganlanha 151 800 1984 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.
Mengsong n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.
164 Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part IV: Politics and Policies

China’s transboundary rivers flow (Figure 2).
Majority of these rivers cross the national border
in Yunnan. Yunnan is located close to China’s
east coast and Southeast Asia, and therefore has
particularly great prospects for energy exports.
Yunnan has so far developed only a minor share of
its massive potential installed hydropower capacity
of about 100,000 MW, which accounts for about
24 % of the China’s hydropower potential (Dore.,
2007). Of the total potential of the province,
around 20,000 MW is situated at the Mekong.
Yunnan already provides about 10 % of the
national hydropower production and due to the
massive reserves, this share might double in the
future (Dore & Yu, 2004).

95°E 100°E 105°E

Z
!

Chengdu
!

Lhasa 30°N
Chongqing
! !

CHINA

BHUTAN
Guiyang
!
INDIA

Kunming
! 25°N
BANGLADESH
Dhaka
!
Irrawaddy
!
Mandalay
! Red River
Hanoi
MYANMAR !
!Haiphong
Salween LAOS
20°N
VIETNAM

Chao !
Vientiane

Phraya
!
Rangoon Mekong
Hue
!
THAILAND
15°N

Bangkok
Legend Andaman Sea !

! Cities
CAMBODIA
Major rivers
Phnom Penh
country !

Irrawaddy Basin !Ho Chi Minh City

Salween Basin 10°N

Gulf of Thailand
Chao Phraya Basin

Mekong Basin
South China Sea
Red River Basin

500
km
MALAYSIA

Figure 2 Transboundary rivers in Yunnan.

Mehtonen - Do the downstream countries oppose the upstream dams?
Currently, China is implementing a cascade
of seven or eight large dams on the Mekong
within Yunnan. The upper Mekong cascade will
provide a total installed capacity of about 15,000
MW (Table 3). Manwan and Dachaoshan dams
are already in operation. The massive Xiaowan
arch dam with a height close to 300 m is well
advanced, and construction at Jinghong began in
2003 (Dore & Yu, 2004; Makkonen, 2003). The
impacts of the upper Mekong dams have created
serious concerns. Roughly said, the Chinese argue
that the impacts will be mainly positive and will
only reach the stretch between China and Laos.
However, particularly the lower basin communities
are concerned about the changes in the natural
flow regime, which is critically important for local
livelihoods (Dore & Yu, 2004).
There are also solid plans for the upper Salween
River within Yunnan. A proposal of 13 dams with
a total installed capacity exceeding 20,000 MW
was presented in 2003, but the approval process
was later halted because of the exceptionally
strong public opposition. Salween is one of the
last pristine rivers in Asia and the Three Parallel
Rivers area, where the Salween, Irrawaddy and
Mekong run side by side, has been designated as
a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Currently, it
seems that a slimmed-down version of four dams
will be first allowed (Interfax, 2006; He, 2005).
2.2 Thailand
Despite the different opinions, Thailand seems
to be the principal energy market in the Mekong
region. According to the ADB (2003), the annual
energy consumption per capita will triple from
2003 until 2020. According to the Vice Minister
for Energy of Thailand, the country will need to
increase the generating capacity by roughly 77 %
during the next 10 years (Bangkok Post, 2006a).
Currently, the electricity production in Thailand
relies on thermal and combined cycle generation.
Of the total electricity generation, about 9 % is
based on large-scale hydropower (JGSEE, 2006).
There is still a large untapped hydropower potential
in the country, but due to the fact that electricity
165
supply has become a major environmental and
social issue in the country, further development
is difficult (see eg. Bakker, 1999). Consequently,
Thailand intends to develop hydropower for its own
needs in the neighbouring countries, particularly
in Myanmar and Laos (see eg. Reuters, 2006).
The national power development plan for 2003-
2016 includes among other things significant
increase in hydropower imports from Laos.
(Paichit Thienpaitoon, 2005). However, the
projections in the plan have been criticised for
being based on an unrealistic economic growth
and for overestimating the future power demands
(Bangkok Post, 2006a).
Already from the beginning of the planning,
Thailand has showed clear interests towards
China’s upper Mekong dams. The EGAT was
originally planning to fund the Jinghong power
plant (Xinhua News Agency, 2000 in Magee,
2006). This funding scheme was not implemented
due, among other things, to a speedier timeline
than the original one and the economic slow down
in Thailand (Magee, 2006). However, Thailand
later made initial commitments to joint develop
the Nuozhadu dam (China Electrical Equipment
Industry, 2002, in Magee, 2006).
2.3 Vietnam
In addition to Thailand, Vietnam has a rapidly
developing economy and the country’s energy
demand is increasing fast. During 1995-2004, the
demand rose by an average of 15 % a year (VNA,
2005). Due to the high oil costs, hydropower is
expected to take up a growing share in Vietnam.
The country is already reliant on 40 % hydropower
and plans to build more plants, as well as to import
hydro electricity (Reuters, 2006).
In northern Vietnam, hydropower is abundant
while the south has to rely on diesel-fired
generation. The country basically emphasizes self-
sufficiency in energy supply (Yu, 2003), but it still
seems cross-border trade will have a significant role
in the future. The country is expected to import
electricity from Laos and the Yunnan province
166
of China, and to export to Cambodia. In 2006,
Vietnam already increased power imports from
China significantly to avoid problems during the
dry season (Reuters, 2006).
2.4 Laos
Compared to its own needs, Laos has a huge
exploitable hydropower potential of about 23,000
MW (Lao National Committee for energy, 2004).
There are currently 49 dams with a total installed
capacity of only 690 MW (Vientiane Times,
2006). Therefore, the country has an active policy
for export-orientated energy projects. Laos has
exported hydropower to Thailand since 1970s
and in 2000, close to 80 % of the generation was
exported to Thailand (ADB, 2003).
In addition to China, Laos is expected to be
the main hydropower exporter in the Mekong
region. The country is poor and landlocked, and
hydropower is one of the very few natural resources
it has. Consequently, hydropower is seen by many
as a major tool to boost development and to raise
the country out of poverty.
2.5 Cambodia
Cambodia has a substantial hydropower potential
of about 8,000 MW (Yu, 2003), but the country
is undeveloped and therefore the level of
energy consumption is still extremely low. As a
consequence, there is no adequate demand to
boost the development of the existing resources.
Therefore, Cambodia’s electricity consumption
is largely based on imported high-cost diesel oil,
making the cost of electricity one of the highest in
the world (ADB, 2003).
2.6 Myanmar
With a technical potential up to 100,000 MW,
hydropower is estimated to be Myanmar’s main
source for future energy supply (Piyasvasti, 1999).
The main challenge in developing hydropower
is the lack of financial and technical resources.
Because of the lack of the supply capacity, power
shortages continued to be a major problem in
the 1990s (Yu, 2003). Myanmar already exports
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part IV: Politics and Policies
significant amounts of natural gas to Thailand,
generating 20 percent of all electricity in Thailand.
In the future, Thailand plans to buy an additional
8,200 MW from Myanmar, most of which is likely
to come from hydroelectric power plants on the
Salween River. (International Herald Tribune,
2007). The Salween hydropower projects have
created much criticism due to their expected
social and environmental impacts.
3 The myth of the downstream
countries’ opposition
It is often argued that China is building the
upstream Mekong dams despite the opposition of
the downstream countries. Many media sources
in particular have reported that the downstream
countries oppose China’s dams, or at least would
want to oppose but may not dare to criticize their
stronger neighbour.
Even though the opinion of a country can be
understood in many ways, the first image a reader
gets is the national government’s thinking. For
example, the Bangkok Post (2003) described the
situation in a following way:
“Downstream countries are increasingly alarmed
by China’s attempts to “improve” the Mekong
River … Thailand is examining plans to protect
its Mekong water reserves for its northeast
territories. Vietnam’s investments and projects
in the Mekong delta will be affected by any
reduction of the Mekong’s waters. Cambodians
worry that a lower Mekong level will kill the
Tonle Sap … Agriculture and industry officials
(of the downstream countries) worry that Chinese
dams on the Mekong will give China the upper
hand in controlling water supply to industries,
farms, plantations, and vital food production
and supply centres. Trade and security officials
… have held closed-door conferences on how
China could use this combination of river access
and water control as a bargaining power to force
the Mekong-dependent countries to bend to its
future wishes.”
Mehtonen - Do the downstream countries oppose the upstream dams?
The report later describes how the downstream
countries are by practical reasons forced to dance
to China’s tune. This way, an image of opposing
downstream governments has been given.
Another report by the same paper talked about a
meeting between China and the other Mekong
countries that was going to discuss the conflicts
over water rights and the ecological impact of
dam construction in China (Bangkok Post,
2004). According to the report, the downstream
countries are upset about changes in the river flow
and decreasing water levels, for both of which the
reason is believed to be China’s dams.
*06 is many-sided, as even some officials have been
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167
Another example is the International Rivers
Network (IRN), which also emphasizes the
downstream states’ unhappiness about China’s
dams. In their report, it was stated (IRN, 2004):
“But not everyone is singing the praises of these
(China’s) development strategies. … downstream
states, worried about the potential impacts of
China’s dam-building on water supplies for their
thirsty populations, are all now questioning
the wisdom of China’s plans to re-plumb its
southwest.”
These examples are from media and NGOs that
sometimes tend to be rather biased. However,
the issue of the downstream countries’ opinion
quoted on claming China. For example, the
Washington Post (2004) reported the comment of
a Cambodian cabinet minister who heads a team
that is devoted to Mekong policy:
“China, they will work for their own country.
We are downstream, so we suffer all the negative
consequences (of the dams). …. What can we
do? They (China) are upstream. They are a
richer country operating in their own sovereign
territory. How can we stop them?”
In addition, an environmental scientist who
belongs to a think-tank at Cambodia’s Cabinet
of Council Ministers was quoted by Asia Times
(2002) saying:
construction. … the dam’s release or flow of water
during the monsoon season creates more flooding
in Cambodia.”
Often the sources conclude that despite their
basic resistance, China’s downstream neighbours
7KDLODQG   0: [ are not saying anything because they prefer to
&DPERGLD [ [ [
 promote trade, and possibly have plans to develop
0:
9LHWQDP [ 0:  [
Figure 3 GMS regional power trade options, consisting
mainly of hydropower. (International Herald Tribune, 2007,
Enerdata, 2006, The Nation, 2006a; ADB 2003; Yu, 2003)
hydropower or buy it from China (eg. Washington
Post, 2004). For example, John Dore and Yu
Xiaogang state in their famous report (Dore & Yu,
2004):
168
“The concerns of downstream nations do not
seem to have been taken into account, but this
is no surprise given the reticence of any of the
downstream government elites to make any
serious representations to their more powerful
upstream neighbour, and in several cases,
increasingly important patron.”
This kind of reporting pattern leaves the reader with
a strong image of China building the dams despite
the downstream governments’ opposition, even
though sometimes hidden. Particularly when the
reports relate to the statements of the officials, the
reader concludes that talking about downstream
countries’ opposition means talking about the
official opinion of the national governments.
4 The Other Side of the Picture:
Widely Planned Cross-border Trade
By reading the reports quoted above, it seems as
if the downstream national governments consider
China’s dams as harmful to them. However, many
of the governments have a pretty interesting
position. For example, Thailand has on one hand
complained about the negative effects of China’s
dams while on the other hand is asking to buy
electricity produced by them (Interfax, 2005).
According to many sources, energy needs appear to
grow strongly in all the Mekong countries. Due to
this and the uneven distribution of resources, the
countries plan various power trade arrangements
with each other. Cross-border energy trade appears
to play a growing role in the future regional energy
balance, as all the GMS countries are involved in
plans to either import or export electricity.
Figure 3 highlights some of the power trade
agreements and Memoranda of Understanding
(MOUs), mainly based on hydropower. As it can
be noted, the interconnections are complicated,
and China is far from being the only player in this
game. Thailand, Laos and Vietnam are actually
planning to import electricity from Yunnan.
Furthermore, if the upper Salween dams are built,
some of their electricity will be transferred to
Myanmar.
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part IV: Politics and Policies
The other major hydropower exporter, Laos,
already provides electricity to Thailand and
significant increase has been planned. In addition
to Thailand, Vietnam has signed a MOU to
purchase hydropower from Laos. By 2020, Laos
plans to generate altogether about 8,000 MW
of hydro power and to sell it to its neighbours
(Bangkok Post, 2006c).
Thailand and Myanmar have signed a MOU for
electricity transfers between the two countries,
largely based on the lower Salween dams that
would generate totally about 12,700 MW (The
Nation, 2006b). Thailand is altogether involved
with several bilateral power-purchase agreements.
The country already imports 20 MW from
Cambodia. By 2008, Thailand is buying 3,000
megawatts from Laos, by 2010 1,500 MW from
Myanmar, and by 2017 3,000 MW from China
(Enerdata, 2006; The Nation, 2006a). Recently,
Laos has proposed increasing the amount of
exports to Thailand to 4,000 MW, or even to 5,000
MW. Both parties appear willing to increase the
power trade between the two countries. (Bangkok
Post, 2006c; Vientiane Times, 2006).
In addition to pure exports and imports, the
countries are getting more and more involved with
investing in the neighbouring countries’ energy
industries. Vietnam and Laos have established the
Viet-Lao Electricity Development and Investment
Joint Stock Company, which builds dams in
Laos (Vietnam News Agency, 2006). Chinese
companies have agreed with the Lao, Vietnamese
and Cambodian governments on developing
hydropower industry in the three countries. On
the other hand, the Vietnamese plan to invest in
the facilities on the Chinese side. (KPL, 2006;
China Daily, 2006; BBC, 2006). The Chinese are
also active in the lower Salween River and have
signed a MOU with the EGAT to develop the first
dam in a series of five (China Economic Daily
and International Business Daily, 2006). The
EGAT, with its existing and planned subsidiaries,
is interested in hydropower production and
transmission projects Laos, southern China,
Myanmar and Cambodia (Bangkok Post, 2006b;
Dow Jones, 2006).
Mehtonen - Do the downstream countries oppose the upstream dams?
A regional power market, stressed by the World
Bank and supported by the ADB, would facilitate
power transfers (ADB, 2003; Yu, 2003). The
development banks claim that a regional grid
would bring significant benefits. According to
the ADB, extending regional power trade will
increase hydropower’s share both in absolute
terms and in percentage. In 2005, the Regional
Power Trade Coordination Committee (RPTCC),
comprising of the six GMS countries, ADB, and
other development partners, endorsed a Work Plan
for 2005–2008. The outputs of the Plan include
reviewing and updating the proposed GMS power
interconnection projects with high potential
for regional trade. (ADB, 2005). Construction
of the first transmission line under the Plan,
linking Cambodia and Vietnam, commenced
in 2003. Other components of the grid include a
transmission line via Laos between Thailand and
China, and a transmission line to interconnect
Thailand, Vietnam and Laos. (IRN, 2006).
5 Discussion
Pressures to boost economic development are
high in all the GMS countries. Consequently,
factors that support economy are often given
priority. Energy production is one of these factors
and therefore an important issue. In several
countries, the supply capability is far behind the
needs. Economically, the most viable option is to
buy electricity from where its production is most
profitable. This becomes particularly clear if the
privatization of the energy sector continues in
the GMS countries. The trade agreements and
the planned extension of power grids show that
cross border power trade can be expected to grow
sharply in the close future.
For Southwest China, electricity exports are
becoming more and more tempting. There is a
growing energy demand both in China’s eastern
provinces and in mainland Southeast Asia, and
the Yunnan province has both a large untapped
hydropower potential and a suitable location
to serve exports. With the domestic demand,
willingness of the neighbouring countries to import
electricity from China, and the development
169
banks’ the eagerness to build a regional power
grid, developing hydropower seems profitable.
Considering the downstream nation’s interests for
Yunnanese hydropower, China alone is not the only
one to blame for the upper Mekong and Salween
development. If one really wants to influence
China’s actions on the two rivers, the demands
should be directed to all stakeholders involved
in the hydropower play. China’s construction
plans are clearly influenced by the involvement
of the other Mekong nations. They, Thailand in
particular, have a significant role in the matter
and their plans to import electricity from Yunnan
significantly increase the profitability of the upper
Mekong schemes.
There are, of course, many voices in the Mekong
countries opposing hydropower development in
the upstream. They are, however, at least partly
muted by the fact that China is in many senses
a dominating country in the region, and is also
supporting its smaller neighbours significantly.
China has become a generous trading partner and
is also promoting security cooperation among the
GMS countries. For example, the relations between
China and Cambodia used to be pretty hostile due
to China’s support to the Khmer Rouge regime.
However, China has now become Cambodia’s
largest foreign investor and a major trade partner,
and has offered the country significant donations
and loans. Consequently, it appears that no
major Cambodian leaders openly dare to criticise
China (Chicago Tribune, 2006; Bangkok Post
2006d). Even though some Cambodian officials
have complained about the impacts of the upper
Mekong dams, as the examples of the Washington
Post (2004) and the Asia Times (2002) quoted
above show, the Cambodian government as such
has not dared to express official complains.
In terms of Thailand and Myanmar, the two
share the Salween River with China and might be
affected by China’s upper Salween plans. However,
partly for the reasons described above and for the
fact that they have their own damming plans for
the river, the two may not want to criticise China’s
dams. Furthermore, particularly Thailand has
170
clear interests for buying Yunnanese hydropower
and therefore it is not unexpected that the Thai
government silently approves the upper Mekong
damming.
The aspect of staying quiet for its own projects
also applies to Laos, which is tied to its own
hydropower development, and also welcomes
the Chinese getting involved in the construction
works. Moreover, Laos is very much dependent on
external donations as almost 20 % of the country’s
GDP comes from international donors and aid
contributes up to 70 % of public investments. By
2001-2002, China had become the second largest
bilateral donor. Furthermore, bilateral trade
and Chinese investments in Laos have grown
significantly. (China Development Brief, 2006).
In terms of Vietnam, the Vietnamese prime
minister expressed some careful concern over the
upstream developed in the second GMS summit
in 2005. The minister emphasized that the overall
exploitation of the Mekong basin needs to take into
account the legitimate interests of the countries
in the region and should not compromise the
interests of those countries situated at the lower
part of the basin (Vietnamese Ministry of foreign
affairs, 2005).
Considering all this, it is pretty clear that the
Mekong national governments have shown green
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part IV: Politics and Policies
light to the hydropower development on the upper
Mekong and Salween rivers. It is also clear that
there are many parties strongly opposing the dam
projects and these parties sometimes include even
individual government officials. However, all the
arrangements made for the regional energy trade
show that the myth of the downstream countries’
opposition towards China’s upper Mekong dams
is not true as far as talking about the national
governments. Nevertheless, a reader not familiar
with all the aspects gets a very different picture
when trying to follow the situation through media
and other sources. According to this picture, or the
myth, the downstream national governments do
oppose the upper Mekong dams.
Acknowledgements
This study was funded by the Sven Hallin
Foundation and the Academy of Finland under
the project 211010. The study was done as a part
of the Young Scientists Summer Program of
the International Institute for Applied System
Analysis (IIASA), as well as a part of the author’s
PhD Dissertation at the Helsinki University of
Technology (TKK). The author is grateful to Dr.
Olli Varis and Professor Pertti Vakkilainen at TKK,
as well as to Dr. David Wiberg and Dr. Mahendra
Shah at IIASA.
Mehtonen - Do the downstream countries oppose the upstream dams?
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water.tkk.fi/global/publications
 Water & Development Publications - Helsinki University of Technology AB

INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCES

MANAGEMENT PLANS:
THE KEY TO SUSTAINABILITY?
Olli Varis, Muhammad Mizanur Rahaman & Virpi Stucki
Water Resources Laboratory, Helsinki University of Technology, Finland

Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) has been strongly promoted

in the major international events (such as Mar del Plata, Dublin, The Hague,
Bonn, Johannesburg, and Kyoto conferences) during the last three decades. But IWRM
plans do not automatically lead to success in water resources development and management,
as the experience from the Mekong and Senegal River Basins clearly reveals.

1 Introduction
Integrated Water Resources Management
(IWRM) has been identified as one of the basic
water resources related policy approaches in several
recent important commitments and
recommendations such as those of the Rio
and Johannesburg Summits, and the World
Water Forums. In the Johannesburg Plan of
Implementation, the preparation of IWRM
and water efficiency plans by 2005 for all major
watersheds of the world was one of the two
major water targets. The inclusion of IWRM
as one of the standard components of Poverty
Corresponding author:
Olli Varis
Water Resources Laboratory
Helsinki University of Technology - TKK
P.O. Box 5200
FIN-02015 TKK, Finland
Email: olli.varis@tkk.fi
Reduction Strategy Papers has been discussed
lately. That would still enhance the political role
of IWRM, which aims at developing democratic
governance and promotes balanced development
of water resources for poverty reduction, social
equity, economic growth and environmental
sustainability.
International rivers account for 60% of all the water
that flows in world’s rivers. 145 nations have shared
waters with their neighbours (Giordano & Wolf,
2003). Thus, international basin organizations are
one of the key actors in implementing IWRM in
practice. International basins have found different
solutions for managing their shared waters.
This paper summarizes the history and present
situation of IWRM as a theoretical concept, and
contrasts this with the historical developments in
the Mekong River basin in Southeast Asia and in
the Senegal River basin in West Africa.

© 2008 TKK & Varis, Rahaman & Stucki ISBN 978-951-22-9102-1

Kummu, M., Keskinen, M. & Varis, O. (eds.): Modern Myths of the Mekong, pp. 173-183
174
2 Milestones of IWRM
2.1 Definition and brief history
The philosophy of Integrated Water Resources
Management has been around in various forms for
several decades. The most used definition is that of
the Global Water Partnership (GWP, 2000, 2003)
emphasising that the social, environmental and
economic aspects should be all developed hand in
hand in a sustainable manner:
“…process which promotes the co-ordinated
development and management of water, land
and related resources, in order to maximise the
resultant economic and social welfare in an
equitable manner without compromising the
sustainability of vital ecosystems”
There have been serious attempts to IWRM in
different regions of the world over several decades.
Many trace the roots of IWRM to the 1940s as the
Tennessee Valley authority was set up to develop
the water resources of the region (Barkin & King,
1986; Tortajada, 2005). However, the roots of
IWRM go far beyond that as in many countries
water management has been institutionalized in
an advanced and integrated way over centuries.
For example, Embid (2003) claims that Spain
was probably the first country to organise water
management based on river basins as it adopted the
system of “confederaciones hidrográficas” in 1926.
However, it is not difficult to find other examples
from literature where certain regions or countries
are claimed to be the first ones in this respect. We
must go centuries if not millennia back in time
and we still can find pretty evolved forerunners of
the present IWRM paradigm (Rahaman & Varis
2005).
2.2 United Nations Conference on Water
(Mar del Plata 1977)
In 1977 UN Conference on Water was held in Mar
del Plata, Argentina. The conference approved the
Mar del Plata Action Plan, which was the first
internationally coordinated approach to IWRM
(Biswas, 2004).
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part IV: Politics and Policies
The 1980s saw a plenty of implementation of the
Mar del Plata principles, but gradually, water faded
away from international agendas. For instance,
the Bruntland Commission Report (WCED,
1987)—that laid the cornerstones to the concept
of sustainable development to international policy
agendas such as those of the Rio Conference in
1992—had hardly a word on water.
2.3 Dublin 1992: International Conference
on Water and Environment
15 years after the Mar del Plata, water popped
again up in the international agenda. In January
1992 International Conference on Water and
Environment for the 21st Century, was held in
Dublin, Ireland, to serve as the preparatory event
for the Rio UNCED Conference with respect to
water issues.
The four principles resulting from the Dublin
conference (ICWE, 1992) stress the importance of
IWRM, participatory approach, role of women in
water related activities, and water as an economic
good.
In spite of several problems related to these
very generalising principles which were heavily
criticised afterwards, it is justified to say that
current thinking of the crucial issues of IWRM
is heavily influenced by the Dublin Principles
(Rahaman & Varis, 2005).
2.4 Rio de Janeiro 1992: The UN
Conference on Environment and
Development
The UN Conference on Environment and
Development (UNCED) known also as The
Earth Summit was held in Rio de Janeiro in
between 3-14 June 1992. 178 UN member States,
2400 NGO representatives, and around 17,000
other participants attended this conference. This
Summit, participated by 108 heads of the States or
Governments of the world, was the most influential
of its kind. The key declaration adopted in Rio
Summit was Agenda 21 endorsed by 178 States.
Varis et al - Integrated water resources management plans: the key to sustainability?
Chapter 18 of the Agenda 21 exclusively dealt with
freshwater issues (UNCED, 1992).
Agenda 21, Chapter 18, proposed seven programme
areas for the freshwater sector with detail
implementation guidelines for each programme
areas. These programme areas are integrated water
resources development and management; water
resources assessment; protection of water resources,
water quality and aquatic ecosystems; drinking-
water supply and sanitation; water and sustainable
urban development; water for sustainable food
production and rural development.
Chapter 18 of the Agenda 21 provides the most
comprehensive policy guidelines for sustainable
and integrated water resources development and
management. Unfortunately, the international
water communities and relevant academic studies
and literatures are overlooking these excellent
guidelines provided by the Chapter 18 of the
Agenda 21 (Rahaman & Varis, 2008).
2.5 The Hague 2000: The Second World
Water Forum
On March 2000, the Second World Water Forum
was held in The Hague, the Netherlands. Unlike
Mar del Plata and Dublin, this Forum not only
gathered governmental participants and experts
but also saw participation of a spectrum of
stakeholders related to water management from
developing and developed world.
The key issues raised in the Second World Water
Forum in order to meet the challenges related to
IWRM include water privatisation and public-
private partnerships; charging the full cost for
water services along with appropriate subsidies to
the poor; right to access water and land as a means
to breakdown poverty trap and social inequity;
transparent water governance, and meaningful
participation of all stakeholders etc. (Rahaman et
al., 2004).
The Second World Water Forum was successful
by putting IWRM in political agenda, allowing
175
the active participation of developing world and
stakeholders, gathering world water leaders and
water community together.
2.6 Bonn 2001: The International
Conference on Freshwater
Germany hosted the International Conference on
Freshwater in Bonn in December 2001, with the
aim to contribute to the solutions to global water
problems and to support preparation for the World
Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in
Johannesburg 2002 and Third World Water Forum
in Kyoto 2003.
The Conference reviewed the previous water
resources development principles and recognized
that there is often a gap between imposing
and implementing such policies. The Bonn
Conference tried to focus on practical ideas to find
out the ways to implement the policies. Not only
the challenges and key targets were identified, but
also actions programmes necessary to implement
the policies in the field level were recommended
(ICFW 2001).
The Bonn Keys, which summarized the conference
discussions, highlighted the key steps toward
sustainable development by meeting water security
needs of the poor, promoting decentralization,
new partnerships. To achieve these, it suggested
IWRM as the most prominent approach.
Bonn Recommendations for Action addressed the
issues such as poverty, gender equity, combating
corruption and managing of water at the lowest
appropriate level. The Conference recommended
WSSD to harmonize water issues with overall
objective of sustainable development and to
integrate water into the national strategies for
poverty reduction (Rahaman & Varis, 2005).
2.7 Johannesburg 2002: The World
Summit on Sustainable Development
The World Summit on Sustainable Development,
held in Johannesburg, South Africa, should
176
be recognized for putting IWRM very high
in the international agenda. WSSD Plan of
Implementation includes IWRM as one of the key
components for achieving sustainable development
and provides specific targets and guidelines for
implementing IWRM worldwide.
These major targets and guidelines include
developing IWRM and water efficiency plans
by 2005 for all major river basins of the world;
developing and implementing national/regional
strategies, plans and programmes with regard
to IWRM; improving efficiency of water
use, establishing public-private partnership;
and developing gender sensitive policies and
programmes etc. (WSSD, 2002).
By far it seems that the Bonn Conference
recommendations were adopted in WSSD and
IWRM is now becoming the most internationally
accepted water policy approach. The WSSD
outputs also encourage the major donors to
commit themselves towards implementing IWRM
in developing world (Rahaman, 2003).
The international political recognition of IWRM
at the WSSD as the most sustainable means of
water management no doubt has aided to push the
concept high in the agendas of institutions working
in the field of water resources management.
2.8 Kyoto 2003: The Third World Water
Forum
The Third World Water Forum was held in March
2003 in Kyoto, Japan. The forum again recognized
IWRM as the recommendable way to achieve
sustainable water resources management.
The ministerial declaration resulting from the
Forum addressed a number of IWRM related
principles and also vowed a support for developing
countries to achieve UN Millennium Development
Goals. This declaration also commits fullest
support for developing integrated water resources
management and water efficiency plan in all
river basins of the world by 2005, the target set at
the World Summit on Sustainable Development
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part IV: Politics and Policies
(TWWF, 2003). Putting various stakeholders
and water ministers around the world in Multi
Stakeholder Dialogue (MSD) table together was
another key feat of the Forum.
3 IWRM in Practice: Easier said than
done
3.1 IWRM along the Mekong River
The Mekong River is the ninth largest river in the
world. China, Myanmar, Thailand, Lao PDR,
Cambodia and Vietnam share this basin, which
accommodates 60 million people. The GNI
(Gross National Income) per capita of the riparian
countries ranges between Cambodia’s US$300 to
Thailand’s US$2,000. In Vietnam, Laos PDR and
Cambodia, around 40% of population live below
the poverty line. Over 50% of the GNI originates
from fishing and agriculture. Mekong is one of the
world’s most pristine large rivers (MRC, 2001).
Although the majority of the IWRM efforts
are realised at national and local levels, we will
analyse the performance of the international
flagship institution of the Lower Mekong Basin
in this context, the Mekong Committee (later
the Mekong River Commission) since its history
reflects extremely well the whole history of water
management in the region, and the phases that
the national and local institutions have passed
through are parts of the same history.
The Mekong Committee was established in
1957. It attempted to solve the regional water
controversies with varying success. Its functioning
was particularly hampered by China’s absence, as
well by several national and international conflicts
and wars in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos (Jacobs,
1995).
After the troublesome time of the WWII and the
War of Indochina, the Lower Mekong River basin
countries saw the need for regional co-operation,
particularly in connection of harnessing the
resources of the untamed Mekong. The UN and
US interest were strong as well.
Varis et al - Integrated water resources management plans: the key to sustainability?
The Mekong Committee was the largest single
attempt that the UN had made by that time.
Hundreds of surveys and studies were conducted
to gather data and information to serve extensive
development plans. 180 potential large-scale
projects were described. Solely the planned
hydropower generating capacity would have been
23,300 MW. Seven huge dams were planned for
the mainstream Mekong and over hundred smaller
dams to the tributaries.
Despite of these ambitious goals, plans and massive
support, the reality took a different path. The wars
came. Irrigation, navigation and hydropower plans
remained plans only.
Cambodia was absent from the Committee from
the mid-1970s until 1995 due to the country’s
internal conflicts. During that time the Committee
was known as the Interim Mekong Committee. It
continued the planning activity, and published the
updated Basin Development Plan, revised in 1987.
Promoting hydropower was by far the primary goal.
Again, the implementation never saw daylight.
With Cambodia’s absence, international projects
were very handicapped. The required massive
funds were never raised due to the instability of the
region and increasingly by the growing opposition
against dam construction (Kristensen, 2002).
The development philosophy shifted gradually
from central planning dominance to development
thinking with a strong emphasis on market forces
and economic plus human development.
By 1995, the regional political ambient allowed
again political and economic integration in
Southeast Asia. As one of the results Vietnam, Lao
PDR, Cambodia and Thailand signed the Mekong
Agreement on the new modalities of co-operation
in the Lower Mekong River Basin. This agreement
re-established the Committee, and it was newly
named as the Mekong River Commission.
The Commission was reinforced in many ways.
Cambodia became again a member, yet China
and Myanmar continued to be absent. A major
shift was from being an agency that primarily
177
executed various projects to an agency, which has
a more strategic mandate. Instead of projects, it
commits itself to a set of programmes in a more
long-term basis.
MRC’s vision statement was postulated as:
“An economically prosperous, socially just and
environmentally sound Mekong River Basin.”
This in full accordance with the definition
of IWRM. One of the major instruments for
reaching the vision is the third Basin Development
Plan (BDP), which is a major planning process
which started in 2002. This BDP is in many ways
different from the previous ones due to the more
long-term, strategic type of approach that the MRC
has in comparison to its predecessors. Instead of
producing a one-shot master plan, it targets at
encouraging IWRM principles at all planning
levels and to provide examples of best practices.
Besides addressing different sectors such as
agriculture, fisheries, hydropower and so forth, the
BDP has a strong focus on “cross-cutting themes”,
such as human resource development and poverty
reduction. BDP should also comply with national
planning practices.
Besides the BDP, the MRC incorporates IWRM
principles in several other core programs such as
the Integrated Basin Flow Management Program
and the Navigation Strategy.
The MRC has not been fully bought by the
member countries. The donor funding remains
absolutely dominant. The national committees
remain weak since ministries are unwilling to
compromise their own power with the MRC.
The Asian Development Bank attracts the
member countries with the Greater Mekong
Subregion (GMS) Programme, which has more
of a macroeconomics targeted priority setting than
does the programme of the MRC.
Economic integration of the region proceeds
rapidly. Unfortunately, the water programme of
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations is
178
fairly disconnected from the MRC and the GMS
(Sokhem & Kuneda 2006, Mehtonen et al. 2008).
The MRC’s core programs seem to be prone to
certain discontinuity, being sometimes specifically
linked to certain donors (that are partly programme
specific) than with one another. The BDP, can be
seen as the prime agent for the integrated planning
of the Lower Mekong Basin, given the content
of the Mekong Agreement of 1995. But, it was
suspended in 2005 due to a mix of reasons.
3.2 IWRM along the Senegal River
The Senegal River is a 1,800 km long lifeline in
the Sahel zone of West Africa shared by Guinea,
Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal. During the last
half a century, the river has been seen as a means of
enhancing the national economies of these states.
An attempt at food self-sufficiency, boosted by the
problem of feeding the growing urban population
and the possibility of future droughts, has been
the major driving force for the development plans.
Large-scale schemes for modernizing agriculture,
hydropower generation, and enabling navigation
are listed as the major means of supporting such
attempts.
The modernization of the economy of the hitherto
traditional African livelihoods and economy of
the Senegal valley started in the 1950s with the
introduction of irrigated rice to the farmers. Yet,
the climatic and other natural conditions were not
suitable and the economic, social and institutional
structures were not suited to commercial rice
farming at that time.
The organisation for the development of the
Senegal River (Organisation pour la Mise en
Valeur du Fleuve Sénégal, OMVS) was established
in 1974. OMVS’s management plan included three
components: irrigation, navigation, and energy.
“Programme integré de développement du bassin
du Sénégal” – a 12-volume plan for the integrated
management of the river – was introduced in the
1974 (PNUD-OMVS, 1994). Key development
features included the construction of a hydropower
dam in Mali (Manantali dam) and a salt-wedge
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part IV: Politics and Policies
dam (Diama dam) in Senegal (e.g. Salem-
Murdock et al., 1994). As of today, the electricity
and irrigation projects are still on going, whilst the
navigation project is defunct (cf. Lahtela, 2002).
In 1994, the government of Senegal adopted a
master plan for the integrated development of
the river’s left bank, aiming to achieve a viable
compromise between social, economic, and
ecological imperatives. Yet, in 1995, the World
Bank approved two agricultural sector related
programmes presented by the Senegalese
government, which did not take into account the
objectives of the Master Plan accepted only one
year earlier. At the end of 1990’s, the Senegalese
State Development Corporation SAED (Société
d’Exploitation des Terres du Delta du Fleuve
Sénégal) introduced a construction and
rehabilitation programme for irrigation schemes
- also contradicting the objectives of the Master
Plan (Adams, 1997).
The contrasts between the traditionally based
small-scale irrigation-schemes and village
developments (bottom-up) and the government-
promoted rice irrigation schemes (top-down) have
been characteristics in the basin.
In August 2001, the “West African Regional
Action Plan on Integrated Water Resources
Management” (MEE, 2001) was presented for the
possible development partners. The plan - which
incorporates various international principles,
those of the Dublin, Rio and Bonn conferences
and of the World Water Vision - includes a general
framework with numerous specific objectives for
IWRM in West Africa.
The reality looks different (Lahtela, 2003). The
countries keep struggling with intrinsic obstacles
such as the unforeseeable climate patterns and
a traditionally fragmented society where ethnic
groups form an important societal order. Other
challenges include the underdevelopment of civil
society with a low educational level, high incidence
of human poverty, adverse economic development
and political instability.
Varis et al - Integrated water resources management plans: the key to sustainability?
The latest step towards IWRM along the Senegal
River includes the establishment of a legal and
regulatory framework for the basin. The Senegal
River Water Charter, signed in 2002, highlights
collaborative management approach. It also
establishes principles of sharing the river waters
among the different user groups based on optimal
satisfaction of users’ requirements instead of
withdrawals (UN/WWAP, 2003).
Whereas the attempts towards integrated
management and development along the Senegal
River are many, the fact is that the future of the
river development requires major trade-offs
between the national and local stakeholders.
Turning these into solutions acceptable for the
different groups requires integration between the
different stakeholders and institutions in society, as
well as all the environmental components around
the river (Niasse et al., 2004). Perhaps the biggest
challenge is to get the two poles of development,
national and local, to mirror their goals and actions
in the same landscape, most importantly to give
all stakeholders the possibility to influence the
decisions on the development options (Lahtela,
2003; IUCN, 2005).
3.3 Key gaps
This chapter introduces two examples of
implementation of IWRM. The two cases, one
from Asia and the other one from Africa, both show
that the gaps existing between the international
plans and local reality are numerous (cf. Varis et
al., 2008):
• Social aspects
Both the Mekong and Senegal River basins
have experienced development plans without
adequate stakeholder consultation. This has
lead to negative consequences especially for
people depending on the traditional ways of
using the wetlands.
• Environmental aspects
Development plans towards enhanced
economic gains have often caused important
environmental concerns. This has resulted
to a situation where the resource provides
179
even less economic benefits than before the
development actions.
• Economic aspects
In the two cases, economic aspects seem to
have been the driving force for developing the
River basins. The attempts to enhance national
economies are understandable taking into
account the poverty levels in the countries of
the two basins. Yet, it is questionable how much
these plans and their way of implementation
have resulted in economic benefits.
4 Lessons learned
This overview of the milestones of IWRM
in theoretical level as articulated in major
international events, as well as in the practical
level in the case of the Senegal and Mekong
Rivers reveals the mismatch and gap between the
theoretical and practical IWRM (see also Lahtela,
2002).
People working in the field of integrated natural
resources management should be better aware
of the various externalities that influence the
water sector. Too often the political, institutional,
cultural, social, environmental, economic,
financial and other realities turn into constraints
that hamper the implementation of IWRM
in practice as the Senegal and Mekong cases
demonstrate.
Many of the key problems that the MRC has faced
and is facing are similar to those of West African
basin organizations. The following points are not
only valid for the two basins presented earlier,
but can be seen as general phenomena among a
number of other water basins of the world (Varis
2004, Mehtonen et al., 2008; Varis et al., 2008):
1. Regulation vs. development
These two functions have too often been
confused, and one agency has at the same time
issued permits and regulations and been active
e.g. in dam construction, thus judging its own
operation. SAED and OMVS have not been
immune to this problematique. Self-regulation
180
is ultimately an aspect that should be avoided
by all means, and societies are becoming more
and more sensitive to this issue.
2. Institutions are a grand mix
In both the Senegal and Mekong Basins, the
institutional set-up is a complicated mix of
various international, national, governmental
and non-governmental, commercial or
subsistence-related, and many other agencies
and stakeholders. The stakes and ambitions
within a river basin do not originate alone
from the basin itself.
3. Weak vertical (between local, national and
international levels) and horizontal (between
sectors) coordination
It seems to be common that the international
basin agencies do not work fluently in accord
with national authorities. In West Africa
as well as in the Mekong countries, water
management tasks have been delegated
and split among a number of government
departments influencing negatively the
implementation of the IWRM. The basin
agencies usually stand in a difficult position,
trying to fit their own ambitions to those of the
many national governments, donor agencies
and non-governmental organizations.
4. Unrealistic plans
The MRC is infamous for its ambitious
plans over decades to develop hydropower,
navigation, irrigated agriculture and other
economic activities in the basin with
full force. However, wars, institutional
incapabilities, shortage of resources and
lately massive opposition by emerging civil
society organizations have stood against these
and they have mainly failed. In West Africa,
the numerous IWRM planning projects
have failed for similar reasons. The plans
have partly been unrealistic in terms of the
institutional capacity of the nations, of their
suitability to other existing plans, and of their
acceptability by different stakeholders. MRC’s
present strategy and the subsequent actions
are interesting in this respect, and they deserve
Modern Myths of the Mekong - Part IV: Politics and Policies
a careful process of scrutiny among the West
African water professionals.
5. Lack of communication and participation
In both West Africa and Southeast Asia, the
development of open communication and
public participation has had a cumbersome
starting point. The style of the MRC is
evolving towards open communication, social
considerations and participatory approaches
are starting to be more and more common in
the investigations leading to plans. Internet
is already used in many ways and much
development work is under way. In this
respect, the West African organizations have
still much to learn.
6. Strategic philosophy vs. tactical technique
It has become clear that IWRM is a far more
strategic, even philosophic issue than often
recognised. One example is the MRC’s
ongoing Basin Development Plan process,
which is the third of its kind in the history. The
first two ones both never got implemented.
Both of them shared the typical problem
of such plans: they were not rooted into the
reality of the societies and the cultures of the
riparian countries. River basins are the cradles
of the mankind, and each basin has its own
ages-old and recent history. The former one
is a potpourri of cultural, ethnic, political
and other factors and the latter one includes
institutional arrangements and governance
characteristics. They all influence the
implementation of IWRM. The water sector
should build its own efforts on these realities
(see also Mehtonen et al. 2008).
7. Mainstreaming IWRM into development
Without the common recognition and
ownership of the IWRM concepts in the
villages, at the local governance, at the
government level and in the international
setting, IWRM remains a theoretical concept
with not much sound scientific background
from real-life development projects and not
much sustainable impact on the environment,
society and economy. It is important to see
Varis et al - Integrated water resources management plans: the key to sustainability?
IWRM in the broad, cross-cutting framework
of other development issues.
8. Water sector is not alone
In the IWRM recommendations, the water
sector is typically seen as too disconnected
from other sectors. The water sector itself is
a many-dimensional mosaic of activities, with
no clear disciplinary boundaries (cf. Mohile,
2005; Rahaman, 2005). Energy, agriculture,
environment, health etc. sectors are part of
the water sector in the Mekong Basin, but they
are also sectors by their own right, and parts
of other sectors. We should of course try to
bring these all together, but recognize too that
many other sectors are suffering with similar
integration challenges—in some of them
water being an important component.
9. National borders cross many basins
It is important to recognize that IWRM
requires massive international efforts due to
the transboundary character of the problems,
accorded typically with complicated and
difficult political settings. The Johannesburg
Plan of Implementation entitled that all major
river basins of the world should have an IWRM
and water efficiency plan by the end of 2005.
The Mekong and Senegal experiences show
that approaching the myriad of problems and
challenges of the world’s major river basins
with such a one-shot plan are challenging in
many ways (Mehtonen et al., 2008).
5 Conclusions
Implementation challenges along the Senegal
and Mekong River basins were presented
to demonstrate the gap that exists between
theoretical and practical applications of IWRM.
Institutional settings, weak horizontal and
vertical coordination, unrealistic plans, weak
communication and consultation, transboundary
watersheds, incomplete understanding of the
philosophy of IWRM, and the lack of integrating
water sector into the broader development agenda
are identified as the main constraints towards
successful implementation of IWRM along the
two basins.
181
The target of developing IWRM efficiency plans
for all major watersheds is an important one.
However, plans don’t help much if proper
implementation is not there. The post-Johannesburg
plans should bring better results than their various
ancestors. The task is anything but easy as the
history shows. West Africa and Southeast Asia
are only two examples among many that could
be taken. A recent study on eleven countries in
South and Southeast Asia reveals that attempts are
many and success stories are very few (Biswas et
al., 2005) - yet the integrated approach is the way
to go. The implementation of the approach should
be developed and elaborated much further than
done at present due to its weight in agendas as well
as importance in practice.
We presented nine lessons learned from the
practical implementation of IWRM. The final
conclusion is the serious concern for the “one-
size-fits-for-all” kind of attitude towards IWRM
(Biswas, 2005). If we reduce the IWRM definition
from all complexity, it very easily falls into a simple
rule of thumb. If you impose an economically
targeted water project, plan, policy, program or
strategy, you must take into account also social and
environmental concerns. Equally, if you impose
an environmentally targeted one, the social and
economic concerns should be taken into account.
And analogically, a socially targeted one should be
economically and environmentally viable (Varis
& Pres, 2008). Would this simple reduction be
worthy?
Acknowledgements
This work has been jointly funded by the Academy
of Finland (under the project 211010), by the
WUP-FIN project and by Helsinki University of
Technology. The authors are deeply acknowledged
to the WUP-FIN team as well as the colleagues
from our host institutes, particularly to Pertti
Vakkilainen, Marko Keskinen, Katri Mehtonen,
Matti Kummu, Markku Virtanen, Seppo Hellsten,
Ulla Heinonen, Jussi Nikula and the Cambodian
co-workers and trainees. The fluent co-operation
with the Mekong River Commission is appreciated.
182
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This publication is available electronically at
water.tkk.fi/global/publications
 185

Biographies
Eric Baran is a tropical fisheries specialist with expertise in fish ecology, statistics, and decision support systems. He has
worked in 12 countries and for the past 8 years has focussed on Mekong fish resources. His main publications on Mekong
fisheries are available at www.worldfishcenter.org.
E-mail: e.baran@cgiar.org

Roland Fletcher completed his undergraduate degree and his PhD at Cambridge University (UK) in the 1970s. He
joined the staff of the University of Sydney in 1976 and is a member of the Department of Archaeology in the School
of Philosophical and Historical Inquiry. His fields of expertise are the theory and philosophy of archaeology, the study
of settlement growth and decline and the analysis of large-scale cultural phenomena over time. His current research
interest is pre-industrial urbanism and he is a Director of the “Greater Angkor Project” and the “Living With Heritage”
Project working in collaboration with APSARA, EFEO and UNESCO at Angkor in Cambodia. He has recently become
Professor of Theoretical and World Archaeology at the University of Sydney.
E-mail: roland.fletcher@arts.usyd.edu.au

Carl Grundy-Warr is a Senior Lecturer at Geography Department, National University of Singapore. His research
focuses on the geopolitics of Southeast Asia, and he is on the Editorial Board of the Singapore Journal of Tropical
Geography and the International Advisory Board of the Geopolitics journal. He can be reached at Department of
Geography, National University of Singapore, 10 Kent Ridge Crescent, Singapore 119260.
E-mail: geocerg@nus.edu.sg

Ulla Heinonen is a coordinator of environmental continuing education in the Lifelong Learning Institute of the Helsinki
University of Technology (TKK). She is also a PhD candidate at the TKK’s Water Resources Laboratory. She has several
years’ research experience from Cambodia and Thailand, particularly from Phnom Penh and Bangkok. Her research
focuses on the linkages of urbanization and water resources management. She can be reached at Tietotie 1E, 02150
Espoo, Finland.
E-mail: ulla.heinonen@tkk.fi

Marko Keskinen is a researcher and PhD candidate at the Water Resources Laboratory of Helsinki University of
Technology. He has several years’ work and research experience from the Mekong Region, in particular from Cambodia.
His research focuses on the interactions between water and society as well as on multi- and interdisciplinary approaches
to water management and impact assessment. He can be reached at Tietotie 1E, 02150 Espoo, Finland.
E-mail: keskinen@iki.fi

Matti Kummu is a researcher and PhD candidate at the Water Resources Laboratory of Helsinki University of
Technology, Finland. His research concentrates on human impact on hydrology and sediment transport in the Mekong.
He has several years of work experience from the Mekong Basin. His address is Helsinki University of Technology, Water
Resources Laboratory, P.O. Box 5200, FIN-02015 TKK, Finland.
E-mail: matti.kummu@iki.fi

Dirk Lamberts is a PhD student with the Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology and Evolution Biology of the Catholic University
of Leuven, Belgium. A freshwater ecologist, he has been involved in natural resources and environmental management
in developing countries since 1991. He was one of the early researchers on the Tonle Sap lake, starting in 1995, and
has been involved in a large number of research and development projects. He has published research papers on the
flood pulse and environmental management of the Tonle Sap. Address: Laboratory for Aquatic Ecology and Evolution
Biology, Charles Deberiotstraat 32 - bus 2439, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
E-mail: dirklamberts@yahoo.com

Lu Xi Xi is with Department of Geography, National University of Singapore (NUS). He has research interests in large
Asian rivers with a focus on water, sediment and carbon fluxes, and river channel changes. He started his work from
the Upper Yangtze River and is now working on major large Asian rivers such as Mekong, Chao Phraya, Salween and
Irrawaddy etc. He is an editorial board member of Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, Online Journal of Earth
Science and Open Journal of Geology. He is a founder of the series workshops on large Asian rivers.
E-mail: geoluxx@nus.edu.sg
186

Terry Lustig is a consultant environmental engineer and ecological economist, who has been been working in the Asia-
Pacific Region for 42 years. He has been a volunteer with the Greater Angkor Project, studying the water systems of the
Angkorian Empire since 1999. He can be reached at 15 Cottenham Ave, Kensington, NSW 2033, Australia.
E-mail: terry@environmentalmanagement.com.au

Katri Mehtonen is a PhD candidate at the Water Resources Laboratory of Helsinki University of Technology. Her
research focuses on the management of international rivers, particularly on the viewpoints of the upstream countries.
Her specific focus is on China’s role with those international rivers that flow southwards from China.
E-mail: katri.mehtonen@gmail.com

Carl Middleton is a researcher and campaigner presently with the NGO International Rivers. Between 2003 and
2005 he was based in Cambodia working on a variety of environmental and natural resource management issues with
local NGOs. During 2004 and 2005, he was a project officer at the Fisheries Action Coalition Team researching and
monitoring major development projects around the Tonle Sap Lake, and developing a Tonle Sap Community Database.
He graduated from the University of Manchester, UK with a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering and a Ph.D. in
Environmental Chemistry.
E-mail: Carl_Middleton@hotmail.com

Naoki Miyazawa is an assistant professor at the Hydraulic Laboratory of University of Yamanashi. He has worked and
researched several years in the Mekong River basin. His research focuses on from the reach-scale riverbank erosion
processes to basin-scale sediment management and impact assessment. His contact address is Kofu, Yamanashi 400-
8511, Japan.
E-mail: miyazawa@yamanashi.ac.jp

Chris Myschowoda is a freelance writer and communications consultant based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. He has
several years’ work experience in the Mekong Region, and has collaborated on multiple projects focussing on fisheries
and the environment in that basin.
E-mail: chris.m0920@gmail.com

Jussi Nikula is an environmental and risk management specialist at Gaia Consulting Ltd., Finland. His academic
research work in the Mekong region since 2004 focuses on interrelations between water resources management
practices, environmental responses and local livelihoods. His current work at Gaia Consulting Ltd. covers a wide variety
of assignments mostly related with strategic planning and evaluation in the fields of environmental and risk management
as well as technology and innovation. His long term plan is to carry out PhD studies at the Water Resources Laboratory
of Helsinki University of Technology.
E-mails: jussi.nikula@tkk.fi or jussi.nikula@gaia.fi

Dan Penny is a Research Fellow in the School of Geosciences, University of Sydney, Australia. His research interests
include climatic change in the Asian monsoon region and the interaction between culture and the natural environment.
His address: School of Geosciences, Madsen F09, University of Sydney NSW 2006, Australia.
E-mail: d.penny@geosci.usyd.edu.au

Christophe Pottier is an Associate Professor at the Ecole Française d’Extrême-Orient (EFEO) and head of the EFEO
research center in Siem Reap since its reopening in 1992. He gained his architect’s degree in 1990 and a PhD. in history
and archaeology (Sorbonne University, Paris III) in 1999. Since 2000, he is director of Cambodian-French Archaeological
Mission on the Angkor Region (Mafkata), and a co-director of the Greater Angkor Project at the University of Sydney.
His address is EFEO, P.O. box 93300, Siem Reap, Cambodia.
E-mails: efeo.angkor@online.com.kh & christophe.pottier@efeo.net

Muhammad Mizanur Rahaman is a researcher at the Water Resources Laboratory, Helsinki University of Technology.
His research interests are integrated water resources management, transboundary river basin management, water laws
and global water policies. Mr. Rahaman can be reached at Tietotie 1E, 02150 Espoo, Finland.
E-mail: mizanur.rahaman@tkk.fi
 187

Bernadette P. Resurreccion is Assistant Professor and Coordinator of Gender and Development Studies at the Asian
Institute of Technology in Pathum Thani, Thailand. Her areas of research include gender, natural resource management
and migrant livelihoods. She is an associate editor of the journal Gender, Technology and Development and a member
of the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF) Management Team. She can be reached at AIT/GDS,
P.O. Box 4, Klong Luang, Pathum Thani, Thailand 12120.
E-mail: babette@ait.ac.th

Juha Sarkkula is a senior research scientist in the Finnish Environment Institute. He has acted as a team leader of WUP-
FIN project and has been working with the Tonle Sap Lake over six years. He has long-term experience in hydrological,
hydrodynamic, sediment and water quality modeling projects for water resources management and environmental
impact assessment. His address is: Finnish Environment Institute, Mechelininkatu 34a, 00260 Helsinki, Finland.
E-mail: juha.sarkkula@environment.fi

Pech Sokhem is a senior international river basin governance specialist, Hatfield Group, Vancouver, Canada. He has
a broad and multidisciplinary experience in water law; water and natural resources management, institutional and
organization development with specific focus on the Mekong Sub-region, regional policy formulation and hydro-
diplomacy; multi-stakeholder dialogue and consultation, water resources strategic assessment; water dispute management,
and development of inter-country data and information sharing mechanism.
E-mail: pechsokhem@yahoo.co.uk, speech@hatfieldgroup.com

Virpi Stucki works currently as a Programme Officer at the Forest Conservation Programme of IUCN - The World
Conservation Union. She has several years’ work experience on water and forest issues mainly from Africa. Prior joining
IUCN, Ms. Stucki worked as a research associate at the Helsinki University of Technology’s Water Resources Laboratory
from where she has Master’s and Licentiate’s degrees. Ms. Stucki can be reached at IUCN, Rue Mauverney 28, 1196
Gland, Switzerland.
E-mail: virpi.stucki@iucn.org

Kengo Sunada is a Professor at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Interdisciplinary Graduate
School of Medicine and Engineering. He is currently a leader of the Japan Science and Technology Agency’s research
project Sustainable Water Policy Scenario for river basins with rapidly increasing population - counter-measure strategy
to global hydrological variation in Monsoon Asia.
E-mail: sunada@yamanashi.ac.jp

Prom Tola is an independent researcher and consultant based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. He has long experience from
natural resources management and use of participatory approaches in the region, including the Tonle Sap Area.
E-mail: tolaprom@yahoo.com

Pertti Vakkilainen is Professor of Hydrology and Water Resources Management at the Water Resources Laboratory of
Helsinki University of Technology, Finland. He is one of the pioneers of IWRM practices in Finland, being actively
involved in integrated planning processes since 1970s. Professor Vakkilainen can be reached at Water Resources
Laboratory, Helsinki University of Technology, P.O. Box 5200, FIN-02015 TKK, Finland
E-mail: pertti.vakkilainen@tkk.fi

Olli Varis is a senior researcher at the Water Resources Laboratory of Helsinki University of Technology, and has a broad
and interdisciplinary experience on water, environment and development research and consultation. He is a frequently
used expert by various international organizations, and the author of over 300 scientific papers. His address is Helsinki
University of Technology, Water Resources Laboratory, P.O. Box 5200, FIN-02015 TKK, Finland.
E-mail: olli.varis@tkk.fi

Wang Jian-Jun is a PhD candidate at Geography Department, National University of Singapore. His research focuses
on the impacts of climate changes and human activities on the water discharge and sediment flux changes of the tropic
rivers like the Mekong River. He can be reached at Department of Geography, National University of Singapore, 10 Kent
Ridge Crescent, Singapore 119260.
E-mail: jianjunwang71@yahoo.com
MODERN MYTHS OF THE MEKONG
A critical review of water and development concepts, principles and policies
Matti Kummu, Marko Keskinen & Olli Varis (eds.)

The Mekong Region in Southeast Asia is under rapid development; the rising population,
accelerating urbanisation and growing economies put water and natural resources under increasing
stress. At the same time disparities are growing between urban and rural areas as well as between
the rich and the poor. All the riparian countries have plans to utilise the Mekong River and its
tributaries to an increasing extent, particularly by building hydropower dams. Yet this development
is estimated to have a significant negative impact on ecosystems, and to benefit some groups while
causing losses to others. Furthermore, the countries in the area differ significantly in terms of their
needs for utilising the Mekong and its resources.

To understand better this complex and dynamic setting, people seem often to resort to so-called
‘simple truths’. These simple truths allow people to better understand complex issues by wrapping
them up into nice-looking, easy-to-comprehend packages. But while such truths might be useful,
they also distort reality by oversimplifying it. Simple truths may also be used to justify certain kinds
of decisions and strategies. Policies and agendas related to development and the environment are
affected by these kinds of simple truths, just like most other human activities.

This book presents a critical account of the various simple truths, or modern myths related to
development and water resources management in the Mekong Region. In the 14 chapters,
prominent researchers and practitioners working in the region scrutinise the modern myths and
give illustrative real-life examples of them. They also address problems that have resulted, or may
result, from the simplified accounts of reality provided by these modern myths, and discuss the
reasons for the persistence of such myths.

The book is complemented by a volume containing summaries of the articles translated to all
major languages of the region: Burmese, Chinese, Khmer, Lao, Thai and Vietnamese.

9 789512 291021

Water & Development Publications - Helsinki University of Technology ISSN 1797-254X

water.tkk.fi/global ISBN 978-951-22-9103-8 (PDF)