The Belgian government has agreed to increase its support to the Mekong River Commission (MRC) with a US$10.4 million contribution over the next four years.
The issues of both mainstream hydropower and freedom of navigation on the Mekong River are in the spotlight this week in Thailand.
Improving river transport infrastructure could be a means for boosting trade and staving off economic downturn, said the MRC, an inter-government organisation that helps Mekong Basin countries manage their water resources.
“Improving the safety of navigation in the Mekong Basin is vital for the economic development of the region,” said CEO of the MRC, Mr Jeremy Bird, at a ceremony in Hua Hin, Thailand, to mark the Belgian government’s contribution to the MRC programme.
“It is essential that Mekong countries improve the quality of waterborne transport. By using rivers in a more efficient manner export potential can improve and this will, in turn, help the region to achieve its poverty alleviation goals.”
“The government of Belgium has been supporting the MRC’s Navigation Programme since 2006, and this has been a catalyst for significant increases in trade volume through waterborne transportation across the Mekong basin,” Mr Bird said.
“We are most pleased to receive this additional support today.”
The MRC said while the river can be difficult and sometimes dangerous to navigate, river transport is more efficient than moving goods by road or rail, as well as much more environmentally friendly.
For example, on average, one litre of fuel can move one tonne of cargo 182 km by river, compared to 71 km by rail and 21 km by road. Similarly, river freight produces approximately one-fifth of the greenhouse gas CO2 per tonne and per kilometre, compared to trucking goods by road.
US$6 million of the Belgian funding will be earmarked for the further improvement of properly marked navigation cha nnels in priority stretches of the river, which the MRC says will help make Mekong travel less precarious. In the long-term, this will make the use of the river more efficient and help to boost trade in the region by increasing the total tonnage being transported by river.
The remaining US$4.4 million of the funding will go towards helping Mekong countries assess sustainable forms of hydropower that balance environmental, social and economic considerations to utilise the renewable energy sources in the region.
Past studies have shown that hydropower brings with it several concerns regarding the potential consequences on the environment, fisheries and people’s livelihoods, said the MRC.
“However, these concerns need to be balanced with the economic and poverty alleviation priorities of the region,” said Belgian Ambassador to Thailand, Mr Rudi Veestraeten.
“On top of our support to improve Mekong navigation, the government of Belgium is pleased to offer this support to th e MRC Member Countries, so they can work together to develop coordinated and integrated impact assessments, consistent and fair mitigation measures, and hydropower development strategies and policies that take into account their impact on the ordinary people in the Mekong Basin; especially those living in poverty whose lives depend on the river for day-to-day survival,” Mr Rudi said.
The US$10.4 million contribution to both the navigation and sustainable hydropower programmes of the MRC will make Belgium one of the organisation’s most significant development partners.
By Vientiane Times Reporters
December 01, 2009
