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December 2011

Delta Study on the impacts of Mekong mainstream hydropower. ICEM has been commissioned by the Vietnam National Mekong Committee and Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in Vietnam to design a study assessing the impacts of Mekong mainstream hydropower development on the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. The Delta Study is in accordance with the Government of Vietnam’s commitment to undertake a study of the upstream influence of hydropower and irrigation in the Mekong Delta as recommended in the MRC SEA of hydropower completed by ICEM, and to build a suitable scientific evidence base for decisions on the sustainable exploitation of Mekong River. ICEM will design a 3 million USD study and support the Government of Vietnam in the recruitment of the firm to undertake the Delta Study.

The 3rd International Forum on Water and Food – CGIAR Challenge Program. The 3rd International Forum on Water and Food hosted by FANRPAN and IWMI took place from November 14-17, 2011 in Johannesburg, South Africa. ICEM produced a conference poster "Scoping for sustainable multiple use of water in cascades of hydropower schemes in the Sesan River Basin" that was presented at the conference. The poster was developed with the Challenge 3 project partners and is available to be downloaded on the ICEM publications page.

Water pollution control funds in Vietnam Brief.ICEM has developed a Water pollution control funds in Vietnam Brief to explore the role of environmental funds for helping control water pollution in Vietnam. The brief is based on the findings and recommendations from a number of our recent reports on pollution and pollution control in Vietnam –including a national audit of pollution in manufacturing industries and review of pollution control legislation, planning and administration in Vietnam conducted by ICEM for the World Bank (ICEM 2007); a survey of financing demand amongst polluting establishments, financing mechanisms for pollution control and the costs of wastewater treatment in Vietnam conducted by ICEM for JICA Vietnam (ICEM 2010a); a study of revolving funds for water pollution prevention also for JICA Vietnam (ICEM 2010b); and, research by ICEM for the Asian Development Bank (ICEM 2008) and by the World Bank on point source pollution issues in the Nhue-Day and Dong Nai river basins (LBCD 2010). Many of ICEMs reports and briefs can be downloaded on the ICEM publications page. The Water pollution control funds Brief is also available by clicking here.

VUSTA Mainstream hydropower seminar. ICEM spoke at a recent seminar on mainstream hydropower organized by VUSTA – Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations: Xayaburi Hydropower Project – Gains and losses to the Lower Mekong Basin. The workshop, held on November 23, 2011 in Ho Chi Minh City, is part of VUSTA’s program to open dialogue between Vietnamese and regional scientists and reach mutual understanding on the impacts of Mekong mainstream hydropower development. Conclusions of the workshop will be presented to government officials and representatives as an input into the decision-making process. ICEM’s Tarek Ketelsen presented the findings and recommendations of our review of the Xayaburi HPP Compliance Report (prepared by Poyry AG in August 2011). To find out more about Mekong mainstream hydropower please visit our MRC SEA of mainstream hydropower page. The presentation given at the VUSTA seminar is available by clicking here.

SEA of hydropower on the Mekong mainstream. ICEM was commissioned by MRC to undertake an SEA of 11 planned hydropower dams along the mainstream Mekong River. The SEA ran for 12 months and assessed the wider economic, social and environmental implications of the proposed developments. The final SEA report is now available to download in Vietnamese by visiting our MRC SEA of hydropower page, or by clicking here. The Vietnamese translation was completed in collaboration with Pan Nature.

The findings of the SEA have also been presented to wide range of stakeholders by the ICEM team. In November, 2011, ICEM presented its findings at the Viet Nam National Mekong Committee National Dissemination Workshop on the Results of MRC SEA of Hydropower on the Mekong Mainstream. The presentation given at the workshop is available on our MRC SEA of mainstream hydropower page or by clicking here. ICEM will also present the SEA findings to the NGO Forum on Cambodia at the National Conference on Climate Change, Agriculture, and Energy to be held from December 1 – 2 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Climate Change Adaptation in the Pacific. Members of the ICEM team completed their third and final field mission in support of KBR and ADB for a regional project in the Pacific to strengthen the capacity of island countries to respond to climate change. The project Phase 1 involves five countries – Palau, Marshall Islands, Timor L’este, Fiji and Solomon Islands and is expected to be completed at the end of 2011. The project includes national and regional workshops, climate change impact and vulnerability assessments and the design of pilot adaptation projects for implementation in Phase 2.

Drinking water quality management in rural Lao PDR. The final field mission for the World Bank Water and Sanitation project: Drinking Water Management in Rural Areas was recently completed. Over the last 6 months ICEM has facilitated the development of Water Safety Plans in the two pilot project villages, Poung Neua Village in Khammoune Province, Phone Gnam Village in Bolikhamsay Province. During the mission, ICEM evaluated the success, lessons and barriers to their innovative approach to water safety planning. The results will be synthesised in the final project report and presented at the Regional workshop scheduled for February 2012 in Vientiane, Lao PDR. 

Biodiversity and Development of the Hydropower Sector: Lessons from the Vietnam Experience. ICEM has completed a five volume series of good practice materials on “Biodiversity and Development of the Hydropower Sector: Lessons from the Vietnamese Experience”, sponsored by a grant from the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) and administered by the BirdLife International Indochina Programme in Vietnam. The series is designed to widen understanding of the relationship between hydropower and biodiversity, and to provide guidance on the use of SEA as a planning tool. These resource materials are intended to support hydropower as a central part of Vietnam’s power generation sector for decades to come, without contributing to destruction of the nation’s rich biodiversity. The series is available to be downloaded on the ICEM publications page.

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