The role of the Mekong River commission in water resources security and food security issue in lower Mekong River today

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thu Anh Bui
Water Policy ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 798-821 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bennett L. Bearden

In 1957, the four lower Mekong River states jointly organized the development of the basin and established a legal regime that has spanned five decades of cooperation. In 1995, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam concluded the Agreement on the Cooperation for the Sustainable Development of the Mekong River Basin and formed the Mekong River Commission, which has been lauded as the most progressive of river institutions and a model for the world. At the core of the 1995 Mekong Agreement is the concept of sustainable development. Guided by this sustainable development paradigm, the Lower Mekong River Basin states attempt to balance the maintenance of water quantity with protection of water quality, and agree to cooperate and use the Mekong's water resources in a manner in which the river system's environmental conditions and ecological balance are conserved and maintained. However, development of the Mekong and its tributaries has rendered the efficacy of the Mekong legal regime to support holistic water resources management questionable. More than ten years of experience has shown that there are aspects of the 1995 Mekong Agreement that should be strengthened in order to secure the environmental, economic and social benefits that it promises.


2013 ◽  
Vol 438-439 ◽  
pp. 1441-1445
Author(s):  
Xiao Fei Liu ◽  
Jian Xin Xu ◽  
Jing Sheng Sun ◽  
Liang Jun Fei ◽  
Ji Yang Zhang ◽  
...  

With the growth of population, shortage of water resources, natural disasters, climate change, serious shortage of land resources and the development of urbanization and industrialization and impacts of other unfavorable factors, China's grain security issue has become a focus of public concern. Through the Chinese population quantity analysis and forecast of 2020 and 2030 the total demand of grain, comparison between total demand and current level of food production, China's grain problem is facing tremendous pressure. Water conservancy is the lifeline of agriculture and irrigation has great potential for grain production guarantee. Results for food safety in China made the following responses: First, the rational use of water resources, improve the efficiency of irrigation and grain yield per unit area. Second, multiple sectors such as agriculture, meteorology, soil, make a good combination of multiple disciplines for food security. Third, increase the peasants' production enthusiasm. Last, scientific and technological progress is the guarantee of grain production. In General, the issue of food security is national security, social stability, a top priority. The combination of our country's water resources crisis, limited rational development of agricultural water resources, improve the efficiency of irrigation, which will provide a guarantee for China agricultural water crisis, alleviating the shortage of water resources and increasing food safety assurance.


2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 479-503 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Zakaria ◽  
Junyang Xi

The paper empirically examines the effects of trade liberalization reforms on food security in South Asia countries (sacs) using econometric analysis in a panel framework for the period from 1972 to 2013. The estimated results indicate that trade liberalization has a significant positive effect on food production and food security in the region. The results also endorse the role of agriculture factors in improving food production and food security in sacs. The findings indicate that food security is mainly a political problem in South Asia. Solving conflicts politically, violence prevention, the reduction of international arms trade, and the reduction of military expenditures and protection of civil and political rights should be central to policies that address food security issue in the region.


2001 ◽  
Vol 43 (9) ◽  
pp. 157-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. G. Jensen

The “Lower Mekong Basin” in this paper refers to the part of the Mekong River Basin which is shared by Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Viet Nam, all members of the Mekong River Commission, consisting of approx. 2,400 km of mainstream river, numerous tributaries and huge flood plains. Few river basins produce as much fish as the Mekong River Basin, and the fishery in the Lower Mekong Basin is among the biggest and most productive inland fisheries in the world. The flood plains of the Lower Mekong produce some four times as much fish per square kilometre as the North Sea, which is among the most productive marine areas in the world. It is quite clear that the fisheries in the Mekong Basin are very important for the population in respect to their food security and income. Its importance in nutrition is highest in the rural areas, where there are few other low cost sources of protein, and even in highland areas fish is of crucial importance in the diet. Most fish species in the Mekong Basin are migratory, and the economically most important ones are certainly so. However, with economic development gaining speed, the impact on migratory patterns and the competition for the water resources are becoming stronger. The water resources offer a large number of opportunities, and a lot of economic activities need access to the water resources for their development. However, what is seen in one sector as an opportunity may be considered as a threat in another, and a careful balance is necessary in order not to lose opportunities in important sectors. The fate of a large number of river basins in the world is frightening. Most have been left biologically near dead, with some of the big rivers reduced for a time, or forever, to be used as waste water canals for the new industries, and others almost dried out from excessive water extraction before they reach the sea.


Author(s):  
Rabi Mohtar ◽  
Amjad Assi

The environmental challenges within drylands to providing sustainable water, food, and energy for an increased population test the capacity of integrated science to represent, apply, and project our knowledge to future forecasts. Scientists in this discipline need to provide (i) quantitative understanding of natural resources (land and water), their characteristics, and their interactions within the soil-water-plant-atmosphere continuum; (ii) the valuation of primary resources and their use for food production; and (iii) knowledge for the building of a translational framework between the scientific and the policymaking communities to advise policymakers how to better manage these resources. The use/reuse of two potential water resources can play pivotal roles in improving water and food security in drylands; once potential challenges and gaps in physical water accounting and characterization are addressed, new water and green water can be a part of future water and food policymaking and bridge the ever increasing water–food demands in drylands.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. e0116733 ◽  
Author(s):  
Insa Flachsbarth ◽  
Bárbara Willaarts ◽  
Hua Xie ◽  
Gauthier Pitois ◽  
Nathaniel D. Mueller ◽  
...  

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