CRP5 - SUBPROGRAM ON BASINS Relevant Research at WorldFish in Greater Mekong Region

1. CRP5 - SUBPROGRAM ON BASINSRelevant Research at WorldFish in Greater Mekong Region Yumiko Kura and Eric Baran 1st Basin SRP Meeting, ILRI Ethiopia Campus, 28-29th May 2012

2. Which Basin SRP themes does WorldFish’s research address? • Understand and consider resource variability in basin management • Invest in water infrastructure • Allocate and manage basin water and land to raise productivity, improve equity and safeguard ecosystem services • Introduce and consistently follow the principles of benefit-sharing • Pay attention to the political economy of policy selection

3. WATER-ENERGY-ENVIRONMENT NEXUS Trade-offs between hydropower and freshwater fish biodiversity Global distribution Migration ranges within the Mekong river system Flooded Highland Location of dams Total 800 species known 250 species with known migration patterns 50 commercially important migratory species Habitat loss resulting from dams Local fisheries studies (importance in fisheries) RISK OF LOSS FOR SPECIES S1 Overall risk for species (conservation) Risk for local fishery production (food security)

4. HIGH MOUNTAINS LOWMOUNTAINS Freshwater fish biodiversity in the Lower Mekong Basin 22 families, 151 species 12% endemics, 5% introduced, 83% native 31 families, 140 species 18% endemics, 3% introduced, 79% native ISLANDS,WETLANDS PLATEAU 35 families, 191 species 14% endemics, 4% introduced, 82% native 41 families, 267 species 16% endemics, 2% introduced, 82% native DELTA FLOODPLAINS 51 families, 328 species 11% endemics, 3% introduced, 86% native 74 families, 484 species 6% endemics, 1% introduced, 93% native

5. Importance of individual sub-basins for migratory fish and fishery production Baran E., Saray Samadee, Teoh Shwu Jiau, Tran Thanh Cong. 2011. Fish and fisheries in the Sekong, Sesan and Srepok River Basins. Mekong Challenge Program project MK3 “Optimizing the management of a cascade of reservoirs at the catchment level”. WorldFish Center, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. 61 pp.

6. Hydropower potential of Mekong sub-basins and future water development scenarios Fukushima M. and Baran E. (Eds) Forthcoming. Mekong fishes and their future - Atlas of migratory fish and dam development.

7. Trade-offs between hydropower, migratory fish diversity, and fishery production Ziv G., Baran E., So Nam, Rodríguez-Iturbe I., Levin S. A. 2012 Trading-off fish biodiversity, food security, and hydropower in the Mekong River Basin. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 109 (15): 5609-5614.

8. 2030 scenarios compared to 2000 baseline Fish loss forecasted with 71+6 but no LMB mainstream dams: 210,000 - 540,000 t This represents the marine catch + aquaculture production of UK in 2008 (453,243t), or the total annual meat production of Bangladesh in 2009 (373600 t) Fish loss forecasted if 6 mainstream dams are also built : 270,000 - 600,000 tThis represents the total freshwater production of North + South America in 2008 (525,470 t) Fish loss forecasted if all 11 mainstream dams are built: 550,000-880,000 tThis represents 1-2 times the aquaculture production of Europe in 2008 (458,693 tonnes), or more than half the total livestock production of Thailand + Laos + Cambodia in 2009 (1,348,503 t) Trade-offs between mainstream dams, fish resources, food security Baseline Scenario in 2000: 1 Chinese dam, 15 dams on tributaries, 2.1 million tonnes of fish produced (15% of the world’s freshwater capture fish), at least 38% of the catch based on long distance migrants 3 Future Scenarios in 2030: 6 Chinese dams, 71 dams on tributaries, 6 to 11 Lower Mekong mainstream dams, from 23 to 81% of the Mekong Basin barred to migrations

9. Impacts on Policy and Decision-Making • Strategic Environmental Assessment of Hydropower on the Mekong Mainstream – commissioned by the Mekong River Commission to facilitate broader dialogue among the 4 member countries regarding the proposed 11 hydropower dams on the mainstream • Recommendation for the deferment of mainstream hydropower development for at least 10 years until more scientific knowledge becomes available for better impact assessment and mitigation measures 2012 Award by the International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) for its impact on the decision-making process

10. Challenge Program on Water and Food - Mekong Basin Development Challenge • Started in mid 2010, continues to 2013 • Aims to reduce poverty and foster development through management of water for multiple uses in large dams and small reservoirs • Coordinated research projects: • MK1: Optimizing reservoir management for livelihoods • MK2: Water valuation • MK3: Land and water management in catchments with cascades of dams • MK4: Water governance • MK5: Coordination and change • MK6: Hydropower governance and multi-stakeholder platforms • Working in three countries: • Cambodia – Sesan/Srepok catchments • Laos – Nam TheunHimboeun catchment • Vietnam – Sesan catchment

11. Mekong Project 2: Water Valuation • Overall Project Objective: Assess the value of water in its various uses and estimate costs and benefits associated with different water management strategies • Research Questions: • 1) What is the value of alternative and multiple uses of water relative to a narrower focus on hydro-electric power generation or irrigation? • 2) to what extent can declines in the value of water, as a result of being used for alternative purposes, be mitigated to sustain the value of water for hydropower?

12. Mekong Project 2: Organizing Framework • Human Impact • Coping strategies and adaptation: over harvesting; change in land use etc.. Human Impact Hydropower development Dam Reservoir Flow diversion Emphasis of Assessment Water Value • Freshwater/Wetlands ecosystem goods and services • Flood control • Nutrient Retention • Fish and aquatic plants and animals quantity and diversity: • Availability: when; where • Quantity • Physical Characteristics of Surface Water • Changes in : • Where the water is • River • Reservoir • Seasonal wetlands • When water is available/accessible • - Flow regime • Seasonal flooding patterns • Water Quality • - Sediment load • Livelihood Systems • Who benefit from what water use/value gains? • Who bear the cost of what water use/value losses? • Relative importance of each water value to stakeholders - all year around, seasonal? • Level of dependency on livelihood derived from particular water value • What social/institutional structure affect the water access? • Use value • Direct use • Indirect use • Non use value • Option value Will determine the habitat Water and water services that contribute to local livelihood and its relation to the physical status of water. Adapted from Springate-Baginski et al. 2009

13. Economic Values of Water Use Value Direct Use Value Indirect Use Value Non - Use Value Or existence values • Spiritual and religious values • Biodiversity • Recreational values • Fisheries • Other aquatic resources (plants, mollusk etc…) • Irrigation/recession agriculture/river bank gardens • Domestic use (drinking, washing) • Urban water supply • Hydropower • Aquaculture • Water for livestock Values assessed in Cambodia Values assessed in Lao Values assessed in Vietnam • -Transport • Fertilization/sediment transport • Fish habitats/migration routes Values need be measured at appropriate scale - local, basin-wide, national, global

14. Linking hydrology with water values derived locally • Proximity and access to the reservoir in the full supply level and low supply level • Current pattern of water values derived from reservoir and tributaries • Potential for increasing total water value of the reservoir and its tributaries through multiple use

16. Preliminary Lessons and Impacts on Policy and Decision-Making • Vietnam: principle of multi-use and benefit sharing being introduced to provincial/district level water user sector development plans, the potential of multi-use reservoirs for increased local benefit, and the need for sectoral coordination are clearly recognized in the context of increasing water competition. • Cambodia: the need for more comprehensive EIA/SIA, and resettlement and compensation program design, including allowing the local community access to the new reservoir, is being recognized by the provincial authority. • Lao PDR: multiple use potential of hydropower reservoir is actively explored by some power companies, but requires a lot of data, inter-sectoral coordination, support services for local livelihoods. Lessons can be shared with countries such as Cambodia that have very limited experience developing hydropower projects.

17. Implementation through Diverse Partnerships National Institute of Environmental Studies (Japan), Ubon Ratchathani University (Thailand), Inland Fisheries Research and Development Institute (Cambodia), WWF (Lao), Princeton University (USA), Mekong River Commission, Compagnie Nationale du Rhône (France), Natural Heritage Institute (USA), IWMI (Lao), International Center for Environmental Management (Vietnam), International Food Policy Research Institute (USA), Culture and Environment Preservation Association (Cambodia), Department of Livestock and Fisheries (Lao), Central Institute for Economic Management (Vietnam)