Mekong Region

Environmental flows between the earth, nature and people in the Mekong region, Vietnam

In Asia, the BRIDGE initiative seeks to facilitate cooperative processes in the Sekong (Viet Nam-Lao PDR-Cambodia), Sesan (Viet Nam-Cambodia) and Sre Pok (Viet Nam-Cambodia) river basins.

The 3S Basin

The three basins are collectively known as the 3S basin, which is the only trans-boundary tributary of the Mekong. Together, the Sekong, Sesan and Sre Pok (3S) rivers shared by Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic and Viet Nam, contribute up to 18 percent of the Mekong’s annual total discharge, making these rivers instrumental in the hydrology of the lower Mekong. The 3S river basin is also an important means of livelihood for about 3.5 million people - it supports numerous fisheries and is a rich source of sand and alluvial gold. 

The 3S rivers provide freshwater supply to urban communities in Viet Nam, in addition to being the main transportation route in the highlands during the wet season. As the region develops, the rivers are expected to continue playing a significant role in the economic growth of the basin – in this case, as a source of hydropower.

In ensuring efficient allocation of water resources for the various development needs of the 3S basin, trans-boundary cooperation is necessary. IUCN, with funding from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, will support the creation of appropriate frameworks for trans-boundary cooperation for the 3S basin.

As a preliminary approach to fostering collaborative water governance in the 3S basin, the BRIDGE initiative supports the formulation of a basin-wide roadmap for trans-boundary cooperation. In the Sesan and Sre Pok river basins, efforts will concentrate on the development of country-driven frameworks, whereas in the Sekong basin, there will be an emphasis on facilitating the establishment of a bilateral river basin committee.

Simultaneously, training programmes on water resources management concepts, such as environmental flows, benefit sharing and hydro-diplomacy will be offered to local leadership to enhance governance capacities and to encourage the creation of knowledge networks.

This initiative also aims to collect and consolidate information on the basin to facilitate collaborative water management, as well as to build capacity of key stakeholders on benefit sharing, water quality, environmental flows, water governance and flood management. 

Case studies:

The 3S River Basin: Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam - Creating spaces for cooperation through multi-level dialogues and capacity building

The Sesan and Sre Pok River Basins

The Sekong River in Viet Nam, Lao PDR and Cambodia - An Information Sourcebook for Dialogue on River Flow Management

Latest News Stories

Regional cooperation on electricity trade

June 2022: While expanding solar and wind will be an important factor in helping Vietnam to reduce its coal consumption and meet its COP26 commitments, increasing power imports from neighbors is another step in this process. The April 2022 version of Vietnam’s Power Development Plan 8 (PDP 8) anticipates electricity imports rising from just 572 MW in 2020 to around 4,000 MW by 2025.

Grid integration of renewables

May 2022: Vietnam’s has made impressive progress on its renewable energy transition, but the rapid expansion of solar and wind is straining the country’s electricity grid. In 2020, more than 100,000 rooftop solar installations and at least 15 utility-scale solar plants were connected to the grid. In 2021, at least 84 wind power plants came online. Most of these projects are concentrated in Ho Chi Minh City and a few southern provinces, outpacing the ability of the grid to integrate them. Because of this, in 2022 Vietnam’s National Load Dispatch Centre announced a pause on new solar and wind projects. To ensure continued progress toward Vietnam’s renewable energy target of 50% solar and wind by 2045, Electricity Vietnam (EVN) must improve grid planning and investment.

Opportunities and challenges in expanding wind in Vietnam’s electricity mix

May 2022: This is the fourth in a series of six web stories exploring how Viet Nam can implement its COP26 energy commitments while minimizing environmental impacts and making progress on broader sustainable development goals. Other pieces explore topics like international finance for renewable energy and how Viet Nam can protect the natural productivity of the Mekong Delta by investing in alternatives to the Sekong A dam in Lao PDR.

Unlocking international finance for Vietnam’s renewable energy transition

May 2022: This is the third in a series of six web stories exploring how Viet Nam can implement its COP26 energy commitments while minimizing environmental impacts and making progress on broader sustainable development goals. Other pieces explore topics like what role wind power can play in Vietnam’s electricity mix, renewable energy integration into the grid, and how Vietnam can protect the natural productivity of the Mekong Delta by investing in alternatives to the Sekong A dam in Lao PDR.

The Sekong A dam in Lao PDR and the Mekong Delta: a moment of decision for Viet Nam

May 2022: This is the second in a series of six web stories exploring how Vietnam can implement its COP26 energy commitments while minimising environmental impacts and making progress on broader sustainable development goals. Other pieces explore topics like how to stimulate international finance for renewables and expanding wind in Vietnam’s electricity mix. This piece explores how Vietnam can protect the natural productivity of the Mekong Delta by investing in alternatives to the Sekong A dam in Lao PDR.

Vietnam’s COP26 commitments: a moment of truth

May 2022: Vietnam’s commitments at COP26 offer an ambitious agenda to de-carbonize the economy by avoiding new coal plants and transitioning towards clean energy. This is a significant departure from existing energy plans and an indication that Vietnam has made the political decision to move to a more diverse and less carbon-intensive energy mix. In doing so, Vietnam also has the opportunity to reduce threats to the Mekong Delta by importing power from Lao PDR that excludes high-risk dams and prioritizes imports from solar, wind, and low-impact hydropower plants.

New study on coffee transition for multiple benefits in the Central Highlands

March 2022: New study on coffee transition for multiple benefits in the Central Highlands - Through its BRIDGE (Building River Dialogue and Governance) Program, IUCN is supporting transboundary river cooperation in the Srepok, Sesan and Sekong (3S) River Basins. Coffee is the dominant commercial land use and a major use of water in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, which form the headwaters of the Srepok and Sesan (2S) Rivers.

Paul Sein Twa, co-founder of KESAN and Salween Peace Park in Myanmar, receives Goldman Environmental Prize 2020

December 2020 - IUCN Asia Regional Office congratulates Paul Sein Twa, recipient of the Goldman Environmental Prize 2020 for Asia, in recognition of his efforts in promoting the self-determination of the Karen people in managing their natural resources.

Business consultation on coffee transformation and water use in Vietnam’s Central Highlands

On September 10, 2020, IUCN organised a business consultation in Ho Chi Minh City on opportunities to transform coffee production in the Central Highlands to a more diverse and climate resilient crop mix. 

Transforming coffee and water use in the Central Highlands of Vietnam: case study from Dak Lak Province

August 2020 - In 2019, IUCN published a water-food-energy nexus assessment of the 3S river basins covering Cambodia, Vietnam, and Lao PDR. A key opportunity to improve water use for multiple benefits was the coffee sector in the Vietnam’s Central Highlands, which form the headwaters of two of the 3S rivers: the Srepok and Sesan.

Sekong, Sesan and Srepok River Basin energy profile

May 2020 - In many ways, the 3S river basin of Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Vietnam is the last frontier of development with national governments seeking to harness the area’s rich natural resources to drive economic growth. This has included the development of hydropower dams, first in Vietnam starting in the late 1990s, then Laos, and most recently in Cambodia, where the Lower Sesan 2 dam was completed in 2017.

Conference promotes cooperation to protect Mekong River

Published 29 June 2019 by Vietnam Plus: A conference on how to enhance cooperation in protecting the Mekong River via smarter water energy planning approaches and wide application of renewable energy throughout the Mekong region was held in Hanoi on June 28. 

Mekong transboundary cooperation: Making a problem bigger

June 2019: When asked about his success as a soldier and politician, U.S. President Eisenhower said: “Whenever I run into a problem I can’t solve, I always make it bigger.  I can never solve it by trying to make it smaller, but if I make it big enough, I can begin to see the outlines of a solution.”  Eisenhower’s approach to problem-solving made him a successful leader.  And it may be relevant to the situation in the Mekong today. 

Mekong water and power: Some recent trends

May 2019 - Perhaps more than in any other transboundary river basin, in the Mekong, energy, water, and fisheries, and biodiversity are inextricably linked, with energy and specifically hydropower being by far the dominant sector. Major decisions on the Mekong are driven almost exclusively by energy considerations.

A nexus assessment of the 3S river basins: initial results and feedback

Nov 2018 - Over the last 18 months, IUCN, ICEM, and IWMI have been preparing a water-food-energy-environment (WFEE) nexus assessment of the Srepok, Sesan, and Sekong (3S) River Basins in Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Vietnam on behalf of the US State Department’s Nexus Futures Program and SDC’s Building River Dialogues and Governance (BRIDGE) Program.  The 3S are the largest tributaries of the Mekong.

Mekong and Brahmaputra-Meghna Basins: Opportunity to collaborate and improve transboundary water management

9 Nov 2018: 20 representatives from civil society, government, and the academic sector, representing seven countries which are part of the Mekong and Brahmaputra-Meghna River Basins, met in Bangkok to identify cross-basin learning and collaboration opportunities. The event was co-organised by the IUCN BRIDGE Programme and the Asian Confluence, India.  

Rethink plans to dam Mekong after Laos disaster

14 August 2018: Barrage collapse highlights risks and need for alternative energy sources - The collapse of the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy dam after heavy rains last month that killed more than 30 in Laos and left thousands of Lao and Cambodian people homeless is reigniting an urgent debate about preventing similar tragedies in future.

A dialogue to discuss cooperation opportunities from the UN Watercourse Convention in Myanmar

July 2018: IUCN, together with the Myanmar National Water Resources Committee (NWRC), held the Dialogue on ‘The UN Watercourses Convention: A window of opportunity for cooperation,’ in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar on 11 April 2018. The Dialogue aimed to provide a better understanding of the UN Watercourses Convention (UNWC), and the possible implications should Myanmar decides to accede to the UNWC. 

Dams threaten local basin: report

Published in Phnom Penh Post 11 May 2018: Conservation International (CI) and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) collaborated with Cambodia National Mekong Committee (CNMC) on the study, which evaluated the freshwater health of the ecosystem in the Sesan, Srepok and Sekong (3S) basin which spans Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. The research found that the ecosystems are facing “stress” and could hinder the livelihood of 3.4 million people. Despite a yearly budget of $10 million, conservation and restoration for the basin are limited

Tropical Neighbours Chase Energy Goals

Published in Bangkong post 24 February 2018: recent work by the Stimson Centre, IUCN, the University of California-Berkeley, and The Nature Conservancy shows if Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam take advantage of recent advances in renewable power generation and transmission technologies,t hey can achieve energy security at significantly lower socia, environmental and political risks. 

Enhancing regional water cooperation

Published in Phnom Penh post 18 January 2018: Recent work by the Stimson Center, IUCN, the University of California-Berkeley, and The Nature Conservancy shows if Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam take advantage of recent advances in renewable power generation and transmission technologies, they can achieve energy security (defined as the uninterrupted availability of energy sources at an affordable price) at significantly lower social, environmental and political risks.

Importance of gender equity in safeguarding water resources highlighted at recent regional forum

September 2017: IUCN’s BRIDGE programme and the Oxfam Inclusion Project, in collaboration with the Lao Women’s Union, facilitated a regional forum on gender equity and women’s leadership in transboundary water governance from 13 to 15 September in Vientiane, Lao PDR. The forum, which provided a platform for dialogue and networking among actors in the Mekong region, was attended by more than 60 representatives from the government, civil society organisations (CSOs) and the private sector from Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam.

Video: Key stakeholders’ perspectives on International Water Law in the Mekong

October 2016: International rivers, such as the Mekong, are crucial arteries carrying the lifeblood of freshwater that sustains human existence and ecosystems around the world. It is estimated that there are 276 transboundary river basins (TRB) and 200 transboundary aquifers around the world but 60% of the world’s transboundary basins lack any type of cooperative management framework. To ensure the protection of freshwater ecosystems and to promote transboundary cooperation, effective international water legislation needs to be in place.

A shared Mekong: towards better cooperation

June 2016: The boom in hydropower development in the Mekong basin could affect food security – something IUCN is working to counter by facilitating dialogue in the region, writes Raphaël Glémet, Senior Water and Wetlands Programme Officer at IUCN Asia.

IUCN and Oxfam collaborate to enhance gender integration in the lower Mekong

July 2016: Gender integration in water governance policies received a boost in the Lower Mekong Region through a recent workshop co-organised by Oxfam and IUCN. Held from July 11 to 12 in Phnom Penh, the workshop provided a platform for knowledge-sharing and dialogue for over 50 representatives from government and civil society organizations (CSOs) across Cambodia, Viet Nam, Myanmar and Lao PDR.

Publications

Advancing Women's Leadership in Water Resource Governance

Advancing Women's Leadership in Water Resource Governance

Stakeholder Engagement on Transboundary Water Management in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam

In this section

BRIDGE Areas of Work