Concept of WSM Country Status on Watershed Management Planning Institution and Legislation relevant to WSM in Laos Application of Watershed Management

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1 Watershed Management in the Lao PDR Dr. Khamla Phanvilay Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sithong Thongmanivong Faculty of Forestry National University of Laos 1 Outlines of Presentation Concept of WSM Country Status on Watershed Management Planning Institution and Legislation relevant to WSM in Laos Application of Watershed Management 2 1

2 Definition of Watershed A watershed is an area of land within which all waters flow to a single river system (Heathcote, 1998) 3 Watershed Management is a holistic area-based planning process, which extends the governments policy on sustainable natural resources management and development activities 4 2

3 Concept of WSM The objective of Watershed Management is the maintenance of the watershed functions 5 Watershed Functions The function of watersheds is the sustainable provision of goods and services Ecological Ensure water flow and quality within the watershed and further downstream Provide erosion control, soil fertility, biodiversity, clean air Climate adaptation (floods, draught), carbon sequestration Sustainable Develop ment Social Economic Produce food, timber, fish, hydro power Sustain livelihoods Support income generation Support indigenous culture and livelihoods Provide recreational opportunities 6 3

4 Cumulative Impact all watersheds managed appropriately 7 Cumulative Impact no watershed managed appropriately 8 4

5 Cumulative Impact 2 watersheds managed appropriately 9 Cumulative Impact 5 watersheds managed appropriately 10 5

6 Cumulative Impact 5 watersheds managed appropriately 11 Cumulative Impact 8 watershed managed appropriately 12 6

7 Cumulative Impact Cross border situation watersheds crossing border managed appropriately 13 Cumulative Impact Cross border situation watersheds not crossing border managed appropriately 14 7

8 WSM Levels of concern Regional River Basin (Organisation) National River Basin (Organisation) Watershed Committee Private Sector Government NGO s User Organizations National level Private Sector Province level Government NGO s User Organizations Private Sector Government District level NGO s User Organizations Agriculture Rural Development Land Management Forestry Horizontal consistency Energy Planning Water Resources Interior Women Affairs Policies Planning Systems Implementation Guidelines Monitoring Procedures Stakeholders participation Catchment (Institution) Private Sector Government NGO s Commune level Institutional consistency User Organizations 15 WSM Levels of concern National development plan Provincial development plan District Consistency of National and local planning District development plan Village Village development plan 16 8

9 Country Status on Watershed Management Planning 17 Overview about Lao PDR Mountainous cover > 80% of the total land area Aim to be battery of SEA, more than 60 hydropower projects are identified or had feasibility studied for hydropower projects Rural population dependent on natural resources Agriculture and forestry play important roles for socio-economic development Bio-diversity conservation VS hydropower and mining operations 18 9

10 Watershed in Laos Laos consists of 64 watersheds 87% of the total land area is considered upland 53 watersheds or 91% of the land area drain into the Mekong River Remaining 11 watersheds drain into Vietnam from Xieng Khouang and Huaphan Provinces 19 Level of Watershed Level Indicative Area Extent Administrative Coverage Key Agencies Mekong River International Governments of the Mekong riparian countries Mekong River Commission National Whole country Government of Lao PDR Water Resources Coordinating Committee Lao National Mekong Committee Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry River Basin or large watershed Watershed Micro Watershed Over 1,600 km 2 Less 1,600 km 2 Province(s) District(s) Provincial Government(s) Provincial Agriculture and Forest Services (PAFS) District Government(s) District Agricultural and Forestry Office (DAFO) Less 100 km 2 Village(s) Village Development Committee (VDC) 20 10

11 Policies & Legal Framework Support Watershed Management International commitment Long-term Development strategy National development programs Legal framework Institutional framework 21 International commitment Convention on biodiversity, Convention on desertification, Ramsar convention (wetland Mgt.), convention on climate change, International arrangements on forest etc 22 11

12 Long-term Development strategy Vision and ultimate goal for development (2020) Shift from less developing country to developing country Modernization and industrialization Transferring from a natural resource based economy to an intensive economy 23 National Development Programs Promotion of market-oriented production Stabilization of slash and burn cultivation 24 12

13 Budget Law (1994) Legal Framework Water and Water Resources Law (1996) Forestry Law (1996) Land Law (1997) (amendment in 2004) Mining Law (1997) Electricity Law (1997); Agriculture Law (1998); Processing Industry Law (1999); Environment Protection Law (1999). 25 Institutional Framework Institutional setting for watershed management planning and implemetation is in a dynamic processes. However key leading agencies are always designated to MAF, WREA, CPC, MIH at central level and its inline agencies

14 Application of Watershed Management 27 Current watershed mgt. planning and implementation Watershed Management Approach should be applied by all districts as a process and planning framework for sustainable NRM and poverty alleviation (National Agricultural and Forestry Conference April 2002) 28 14

15 Existing WSM plans Nam Neun Watershed Nam Theun 2 Nam Ngum Watershed Nam Ton Watershed 29 Nam Neun and Nam Ngum Bottom up planning approach Enhance local capacity in NRM Gender development, especially the ethnic groups 30 15

16 Nam Theun2 Add Nt2 picture Integrate biodiversity conservation and hydropower development Supporting sustainable livelihood development strategy and poverty reduction Maintain livelihood of downstream people (Se Bangfai) 31 Nam Ton WSM Pilot Project of MRC-GTZ 32 16

17 Nam Ton Watershed 33 A new approach to Watershed Management Past generation New generation Integration of socio-economic issues within watershed management Programmes. Focus on people s or community participation, with an emphasis on bottom-up participatory planning. Emphasis on watershed natural resource management as part of local socio-economic development processes Focus on multi-stakeholder participation, linking social, technical and policy concerns in a pluralist collaborative process Belief that access, tenure and social conflicts can be solved by technical sound interventions Awareness that most access, tenure and social conflicts in watersheds are rooted in society and politics and should be managed through continuous negotiation Reference: FAO Forestry Paper 150 The new generation of watershed management programmes and projects; 2006, page

18 Integrate WSM concept into the socioeconomic development plan Policy development Institutional Development Human Resources Development Today Policies MRC- GTZ MRC-LAO-KfW Policies Future IWRM WSM enabling environment Implementation Implementation No enabling environment leads to unsustainable resources management Sector activities like: Agriculture Fisheries Forestry Infrastructure Enabling environment, considering IWRM and WSM, supports sustainable resources management 35 Watershed Management Process Negotiations and discussions on watershed management functions Modification of functions and guidelines Formulation of watershed guidelines to be integrated in commune planning processes District planning Monitoring of commune plans with respect to integration of the watershed management guidelines Implementation of District plans Monitoring of commune plan implementation with respect to the watershed guidelines 36 18

19 Activities within the Pilot Watersheds Preparatory activities by WSM project Negotiating Activities Facilitating and Capacity Building by WSM Project Outputs Base Line Study Watershed Profile Watershed Committee and Government authorities Decision on Watershed Functions Options for Watershed Management planning guidelines Watershed Committee and Government authorities Guidelines considered in development plans Options for monitoring methods and instruments Watershed Committee and Government authorities Agreed Monitoring system functioning 37 Decisions already made: (high level meeting Hanoi 10 January 2007) 1. Consensus on the Watershed Management Concept. (Watershed Functions, Policy Implementation and Participatory Processes, Watershed Management Guidelines and Monitoring, Integration of Watershed Management guidelines in development planning processes) 2. Clear understanding that Watershed Management requires an Institutional Development process. (Institutional Development on National, Province, District and Local Level) 3. Acceptance that a comprehensive Policy Analysis and adjacent work on respective recommendations is a prerequisite for further Watershed Management developments and Policy Implementation. (International, National, Province legal arrangements and guidelines; National and Regional Policy Dialogues) 4. An extensive Capacity Building programme focussing on Institutional and Human Resources development needs to get the full support from relevant decision-makers. (Target group oriented capacity building packages) 38 19

20 Nam Ton Watershed Management Projects MRC Lao Government and GTZ Supports the Lao government with Policy Advise on regulations and institutions, Capacity Building and Information Management 12/ / /2011 Depending on the results of the coming appraisal MRC Lao Government and KfW Supports the Nam Ton Watershed through necessary development activities 12/ / WSM Issue and Lesson Learned Socio-economic development plans (at all levels) is not yet integrated to the watershed development concept Rapid change of socio-economic development and policies with sectors focus that lead to ignoring the WSM concepts and principles Watershed boundary and administrative boundary are not always lie under the same setting There is no clear guideline on monitoring of the plan that constrains by budget, human resource and institution setting 40 20

21 WSM Issue and Lesson Learned Clear institutions and mandates are the important keys but to have core agencies in coordination and negotiation is the best Water resource management VS Watershed Management (What a different?) Strong stakeholders synergy is the most important key for the successful of WSM Competition of water resource and level scarcity is not yet become a social problem, therefore the interest of local participation is not attractive, especially upstream and down stream Trans-boundary of domestic and international levels????? 41 Thank You 42 21