The CPWF Project PN50 "Enhancing multi-scale water governance" was a flagship activity of the Mekong Program on Water, Environment Resilience (M-POWER). The goal of helping improve livelihood security, human and ecosystem health in the Mekong Region through democratizing water governance was pursued through critical research and direct engagement with stakeholders involved in managing floods, irrigation, hydropower, watersheds, fisheries and urban water works at various scales. We identified commons governance problems and suggested ways that some can be addressed. Often, for example, there are needs to: strengthen local representation, improve the quality of deliberative processes, enhance the interplay between institutions at different levels, and build capacities to handle uncertainties and adapt to changes in flow regimes.
In Daniel, R.; Lebel, L.; Manorom, K. (Eds.). Governing the Mekong: engaging in the politics of knowledge. Petaling Jaya, Malaysia: Strategic Information and Research Development Centre (SIRD).
Transboundary pollution from vegetation fires is a recurrent and highly politicised environmental problem in Southeast Asia. This paper is a critical synthesis of the policy response to the severe haze episodes of 1997/1998. It is based on a series of science–policy activities co-ordinated by the Global Change Impacts Centre for Southeast Asia aimed at exploring land-use planning and management options to reduce the impacts of transboundary pollution from vegetation fires. We begin with a brief summary of what is known about the causes of the fires and haze, the composition and distribution of haze, and the main impacts. Policy options and instruments are considered at a range of levels, from local waste-wood management options and national land development strategies, through to regional and international institutions. In these analyses, we seek to understand the interaction of different interest groups and identify potentially complementary policies as well as likely tradeoffs. Ultimately, the aims of these activities are improvement of the public policy process and greater relevance of research activities and research-based knowledge.
In: Biermann , F , Betsill , M M , Gupta , J , Kanie , N , Lebel , L , Liverman , D , Schroeder , H , Siebenhüner , B & Zondervan , R 2010 , ' Earth system governance: A research framework ' , International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics , vol. 10 , no. 4 , pp. 277-298 . https://doi.org/10.1007/s10784-010-9137-3
The COVID-19 pandemic has underlined the importance of safe access to sufficient clean water in vulnerable communities, renewing interest in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) programs and related targets under Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6). The purpose of this study was to better understand the obstacles to water access in vulnerable communities and identify ways they might be addressed in five countries in the Mekong Region (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam). To this end, qualitative interviews with 50 government officials and development or health experts were complimented with a quantitative survey of the experiences and views of individuals in 15 vulnerable communities. There were several key findings. First, difficulties in accessing sufficient clean water for drinking and hygiene persist in certain vulnerable communities, including informal urban settlements, remote minority villages, and migrant worker camps. Second, limited rights, high prices, and remote locations were common obstacles to household access to improved water sources. Third, seasonal differences in the availability of clean water, alongside other disruptions to supply such as restrictions on movement in COVID-19 responses, drove households towards lower quality sources. Fourth, there are multiple threats to water quality from source to consumption that should be addressed by monitoring, treatment, and watershed protection. Fifth, stakeholder groups differ from each other and residents of vulnerable communities regarding the significance of water access, supply and quality difficulties, and how they should be addressed. The paper ends with a set of program suggestions addressing these water-related difficulties.