Project Description

CPWF-Mekong ran a small-grants initiative called the ‘Opportunity Fund’ with support from AusAID from 2011 to 2013. Grants ranged from US$5,000 to US$9,500 and were used to fund small initiatives that contributed to the Mekong Basin Development Challenge “to reduce poverty and foster development by optimizing the use of water in reservoirs.

Outputs

• • Governing the Mekong: Engaging in the politics of knowledge. Strategic Information and Research Development Centre, Selangor, Malaysia.
    http://gbgerakbudaya.com/bookshop/

  • Water Resources and Sustainable Development: perspectives from Laos and Vietnam:

    Pan Nature hosted the First Mekong Resources Forum on Water Resource and Sustainable Development in Hanoi in December 2011. The objective of the Forum was to facilitate information exchange, dialog and further research between scientists, research organizations and civil society institutions from Laos and Vietnam on natural resources governance, particularly water resources in the context of national and regional development. Read the workshop report.

  • Panel Discussion on Regional Economic Integration and the Resource Economy: Exploring the Interface of Public Knowledge and Public Policy:

    This initiative, led by the Mekong Program on Water, Environment and Resilience (M-POWER), was presented during the conference on ‘Confronting Unequal Worlds of Development: Crisis of Public Knowledge, and the Transnational Social Science Agenda‘, held from 25-26 October, 2012,

    at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. The informative report discusses the creation of public knowledge in the Mekong region and challenges to scaling up those efforts.

  • Participation by Women Fishers in Community-Managed Fisheries in Sekong River Basin, Lao PDR:

    Led by IUCN, this small-scale water governance research project examined how women are being included in village-based fisheries management committees in the Sekong River Basin.
    Read a paper, published in the Journal of Lao Studies See a Poster on the work Read the report.
    View the PowerPoint presentation.
    Watch a YouTube video from the workshop.

  • Third Pole: Alternative prospects of cooperation along the Mekong River:

    This project aimed to stimulate more open dialogue between China and downstream countries on river basin management and to foster increased understanding and acceptance of the benefits of regional water cooperation among key stakeholders. Third Pole commissioned a series of high quality articles on thethirdpole.net and a sister site chinadialogue.net, which explore the cumulative impacts of hydropower and development projects across the entire river basin and alternative prospects for cooperation. The project brought together perspectives from experts, journalists and policymakers in China and downstream countries.

    China gives green light to new era of mega-dams – Beth Walker
    China fails to build trust with Mekong neighbours – Darrin Magee
    China needs to change its energy strategy in the Mekong region – Brian Eyler
    The battle over Yunnan’s hydropower – Hu Xuecui
    Why has water-rich Yunnan become a drought hotspot? -Yang Fangyi and Zhou Jiading
    The fate of people displaced by the Mekong dams – Meng Si
    Life in the shadows of the Mekong dams – Meng Si
    Laos mutes opposition to controversial Mekong dam – Philip Hirsch
    China needs red lines to protect its rivers from hydropower craze – Zhang Chun
    Climate change could worsen Mekong Delta woes – Mike Ives

  • Ian Taylor Photography: Mekong Portraits:

    An initiative to give a face to the Mekong. View and download any of the 500 total available images here. Visit Ian Taylor’s website here

  • CPWF Support to World Water Day 2013 in Lao PDR: 

    CPWF was proud to support the Department of Water Resources, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in hosting a Scientific Seminar on “International Year of Water Cooperation” on        29 March 2013 at the Water Resources Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, The National University of Laos. Read the report here

  • Ecole de la paix: Documentary movie about the impact of hydropower dams on fish resources and food security: post-production, sound editing and dissemination in Khmer:
    The Opportunity Fund contributed to the post-production of this documentary film about the impact of hydropower dams on fish resources and food security in Cambodia.

  • Mekong Center for Development: M-POWER Book Purchase and Distribution:

    This project purchased copies of the M-POWER book and distributed the three volume sets to libraries and document centers.

  • Promotion of Safe Pico-hydro in Xieng Khuang Province:

    The objective of this project was to raise the profile of pico-hydropower and increase the understanding of local stakeholders with respect to this important, decentralized power option.

  • Nam Ngum Water Quality Study:

    This project sought to improve understanding of Mekong reservoir water quality, water quality problems and water quality processes in order to support sustainable reservoir quality management. The fund was used to conduct a water quality study in the Nam Ngum reservoir of Lao PDR.

Kids on their way to school. Muang Khong, Laos by Ian Taylor Photography

• Chinese Private Sector Engagement Survey:
  The Chinese Private Sector Engagement Survey explored and assessed strategies for engaging the Chinese private sector in Lao PDR and highlighted areas for future collaboration.

• Long term ex-post impact analysis of community resettlement around the Nam Mang 3 Hydropower Dam:

  Opportunity fund money was granted to an AIT graduate student to examine changes in livelihoods of resettled and non-resettled communities in the same area of the Nam Mang 3 hydropower dam, which was completed in 2005.

• Evaluation of Project Effectiveness: The Research for Development Model in the Mekong River Basin:

  The opportunity fund provided funding for a graduate student from Purdue University to conduct a survey to identify the organizations and stakeholders working in the Mekong River Basin. The study aimed to map the resource management network of the Mekong and identify basin priorities.

• How to Manage Water Usage to Avoid Future Conflicts between Host Villages and Resettled Villages:

  National University of Laos researchers looked at conflict and its resolution in four villages in Fueang District, Vientiane Province. The objective of the project was to use action research to identify the causes of conflict and provide advice and training to Feuang District authorities.

• 40 Villages: Screening ‘Mekong’ Film in Cambodia:

  The documentary film, ‘Mekong‘, had lots of exposure in cities and international film festivals. CEPA took ‘Mekong’ to forty remote villages in Sekong, Sesan and Sre Pok sub-basins in Cambodia.

• Hydropower Basin Game Development Assistance:

  The project team acquired a license from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation to develop the Catchment Detox game into a Hydropower Decision Making game to be played by stakeholders across the Mekong Basin. The game was envisioned to be both an educational tool that demonstrates the long-term and short-term impacts and benefits of hydropower development, as well as highlight the potential benefits of cooperation.

Read  WOMEN & RESETTLEMENT II : A case study on gender aspects at the Upper Paunglaung Hydropower and  WOMEN & RESETTLEMENT III : A case study on analysis of gender and socio-economic survey data from the Upper Paunglaung Dam, by village

Funding

This is a CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food initiative supported by funding from Australian Aid