5 April 2023 | Lao PDR

The Mekong River Commission (MRC) Summit is convened every four years, bringing together political leaders to address the prevailing challenges and opportunities facing the Mekong Basin. It is an opportunity for the Heads of Governments of the four MRC Member Countries to revisit the commitments made four years earlier and agree on strategies for the future and beyond.

Three summits have been held to date – the first in 2010, hosted by the Kingdom of Thailand in Hua Hin, and the second in 2014, hosted by the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam in Ho Chi Minh City and the third in 2018, hosted by the Kingdom of Cambodia in Siem Reap. Ministerial representatives from MRC Dialogue Partners, China and Myanmar, participated in the three Summits.

The fourth Summit, which focuses on the theme ‘Innovation and Cooperation for a Water Secure and Sustainable Mekong’, will be hosted by the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and held on 5 April 2023 following a preparatory Ministerial Meeting on 4 April and an International Conference of Stakeholders on 2-3 April 2023. The venue for all events is Vientiane Capital, Lao PDR.

See the full agenda or register to attend.

For more information, visit the MRC Summit webpage.

AWP and our Partners at the MRC International Conference and 4^th MRC Summit

Parallel Session 1C: Innovation in valuing water: sharing approaches for stronger cooperation

 2 April 2023 | 1:10pm – 2:55pm

 Overview: Climate impacts have placed stress on global water systems, highlighting the contrasting values of water that are crucial to sustaining our economy, ecosystems, and diverse cultures. Innovative practice in managing these different values of water is emerging in Australia and across the Mekong Region and will be crucial to effective transboundary collaboration in managing water resources in the context of climate uncertainty. This parallel session will be an interactive opportunity to share innovations in cultural, environmental and economic values in water reform, drawing on experiences from Australia and the Mekong Region. Panellists will provide valuable ‘place based’ insights into cooperation in negotiating trade-offs and the cross-sectoral engagement needed in modern river basin management, that actively considers different values of water.

Speakers include:

• HE Paul Kelly, Australian Ambassador to Laos
• Maria Angelica Sotomayor, World Bank
• Sarah Ransom, General Manager, Australian Water Partnership
• Nguyen Hong Phuong, Deputy Director General, Vietnam National Mekong Committee
• Oudomsack Philavong, Deputy Secretary General of Laos National Mekong Commission Secretariat
• Kaneka Keo, Mekong Water Governance Program, Oxfam, Cambodia
• (Nan) Wimolpat Bumbudsanpharoke Khamkanya, Senior Economist Office of National Water Resources, Thailand
• Jane Doolan, Member, Murray-Darling Basin Authority

Session 1B – Innovative Technologies for river monitoring, modelling and forecasting – Part 1

 2 April 2023 | 1:10pm – 2:55pm

Wayne Robinson, Charles Sturt University will present on ‘Whole River System Fish Monitoring – technology solutions to coordinate operation for sustainable fisheries’

Session 1D – Cooperating for better data, information and coordination of dam cascade: meeting multiple objectives

2 April 2023 | 3:30pm – 5:15pm

Paradis Someth, eWater will be on a panel speaking about ‘Decision support systems for integrated water resources management’.

Simon Tilleard, Alluvium will speak about AWP supported work on ‘Coordination of flows in the Mekong (Lao PDR): Improving regional and national communication and information sharing.’

Reflections from river basin organisation leaders

3 April 2023 | 12:10pm – 12:40pm

Jane Doolan a Member of the Murray Darling Basin Authority will provide her perspectives on the evolution of water management across the basin including cooperation between State and Federal governments. She will reflect on how key intergovernmental agreements and the governing legislative and institutional regimes were adapted to deal with the issues of the times, and how this is an ongoing process, which today is still dealing with the residual actions addressing over-allocation and the needs of First Nations peoples as well as looking forward to managing the Basin under a drying climate with more extreme events.

Exhibition

AWP will be hosting a booth with ACIAR, eWater and Charles Sturt University, so if you are attending please visit us there for more information.