MRC Reaches ‘Historic Breakthrough’ on Hydropower Dam Constructions

• 6 October 2022
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The Mekong River Commission (MRC) has approved a milestone document that clarifies guidelines for how to design hydropower projects, to minimize the impact on ecosystems and communities along Southeast Asia’s largest waterway.

According to the MCR meeting on 4 October, beyond this revised Preliminary Design Guidance (PDG), the MRC also agreed on a Guideline on Transboundary Environmental Impact Assessment (TbEIA).

Given the transboundary nature of a river flowing through the four MRC Member Countries – Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand, and Vietnam – a TbEIA would measure how a project affects a neighbor.

The agreement allows the TbEIA to be tested and applied by countries and developers, with MRC’s technical support.

TbEIA measures how a hydropower dam or any large water infrastructure project, such as irrigation diversion or navigation work affects issues like water flow, sediment transport, water quality, and fisheries, which may adversely impact river ecosystems and vulnerable communities at the transnational or regional level.

“This is a historic breakthrough for MRC cooperation after years of discussion. The two guidelines point out exactly what to do in minimizing cross-border environmental impacts,” said Dr. Anoulak Kittikhoun, CEO of the MRC Secretariat.

“Members will see how beneficial the guidance is, not just to their own country and local communities, but in working together with their neighbors,” he added.

Discussions of the TbEIA actually began 18 years ago, in 2004. This year, it was recommended that the TbEIA be tested voluntarily and with MRC Secretariat’s support.

As for the Preliminary Design Guidance for hydropower projects, it has also undergone a long process of negotiation and clarification. The first PDG was approved in 2009, in line with each country’s original commitments to the 1995 Mekong Agreement. It covered six issues: sediment transport and geomorphology, water quality, aquatic life, fish and fisheries, dam safety, and navigation.

This PDG 2022 is the culmination of four years of discussion, which incorporates the MRC’s lessons learned over the past decade, as well as international best practices in how to strike the right balance. No standards were lost, however.

For current hydropower projects, the updated PDG can provide guidance for operations. For incoming projects, it can offer guidance for good design, plus effective mitigation measures regarding construction and operation.

• Energy and Environment
• water infrastructure
• mekong