Drought risks discussed at MRC meeting

The meeting was attended by other MRC members, namely Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, and the countries providing support to projects involving the Mekong River, including Germany, Australia, the Netherlands, US, EU, and Japan.
Participants discussed the development of a strategy to manage drought risks over the five-year period 2020 to 2025. “Japan will support the project financially from next year, which will look at the cause of drought in the Mekong region,” Somkiat said,
The strategy will encompass five key areas, namely, drought index, forecasting and early warning of drought, officer’s core competency development, remedial measures, and information sharing.
The ONWR will preside over the MRC’s joint committee and promote the sharing of information and collaboration in defining measures to cope with the drought.
“Predictions show that the area will suffer severe drought over the next four or five months and this will also affect Thailand’s northeast. The MRC countries, including Thailand, have issued measures to control water consumption to ensure they will be sufficient water during this period,” he added.
The countries supporting the MRC operation requested MRC members to approve principles and guidelines to evaluate and reduce cross-border environmental impacts in accordance with international standards, as well as draw up a strategy for the Mekong River region from 2020 to 2030.
They also agreed to promote a joint action plan for two projects that have already passed the Prior Consultation and Agreement (PNPCA) stage, namely Pak Beng and Pak Lay dams in Laos.