Sustainable Development of Rice and Water Resources in Mainland Southeast Asia and Mekong River Basin

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tuyet L. Cosslett ◽  
Patrick D. Cosslett
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Southeast Asia ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Mekong River ◽  
Mekong River Basin ◽  
Mainland Southeast Asia

The legal regime of the Mekong River: a look back and some proposals for the way ahead

Water Policy ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 798-821 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bennett L. Bearden
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Lao Pdr ◽  
Mekong River ◽  
Legal Regime ◽  
Mekong River Basin ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Mekong River Commission ◽  
Development Paradigm

In 1957, the four lower Mekong River states jointly organized the development of the basin and established a legal regime that has spanned five decades of cooperation. In 1995, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam concluded the Agreement on the Cooperation for the Sustainable Development of the Mekong River Basin and formed the Mekong River Commission, which has been lauded as the most progressive of river institutions and a model for the world. At the core of the 1995 Mekong Agreement is the concept of sustainable development. Guided by this sustainable development paradigm, the Lower Mekong River Basin states attempt to balance the maintenance of water quantity with protection of water quality, and agree to cooperate and use the Mekong's water resources in a manner in which the river system's environmental conditions and ecological balance are conserved and maintained. However, development of the Mekong and its tributaries has rendered the efficacy of the Mekong legal regime to support holistic water resources management questionable. More than ten years of experience has shown that there are aspects of the 1995 Mekong Agreement that should be strengthened in order to secure the environmental, economic and social benefits that it promises.

scholarly journals Attribution of Long-Term Evapotranspiration Trends in the Mekong River Basin with a Remote Sensing-Based Process Model

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 303
Author(s):  
Shi Hu ◽  
Xingguo Mo
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Solar Radiation ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Mekong Delta ◽  
Mekong River ◽  
Catchment Management ◽  
Mekong River Basin ◽  
Area Index ◽  
Available Water

Using the Global Land Surface Satellite (GLASS) leaf area index (LAI), the actual evapotranspiration (ETa) and available water resources in the Mekong River Basin were estimated with the Remote Sensing-Based Vegetation Interface Processes Model (VIP-RS). The relative contributions of climate variables and vegetation greening to ETa were estimated with numerical experiments. The results show that the average ETa in the entire basin increased at a rate of 1.16 mm year−2 from 1980 to 2012 (36.7% of the area met the 95% significance level). Vegetation greening contributed 54.1% of the annual ETa trend, slightly higher than that of climate change. The contributions of air temperature, precipitation and the LAI were positive, whereas contributions of solar radiation and vapor pressure were negative. The effects of water supply and energy availability were equivalent on the variation of ETa throughout most of the basin, except the upper reach and downstream Mekong Delta. In the upper reach, climate warming played a critical role in the ETa variability, while the warming effect was offset by reduced solar radiation in the Mekong Delta (an energy-limited region). For the entire basin, the available water resources showed an increasing trend due to intensified precipitation; however, in downstream areas, additional pressure on available water resources is exerted due to cropland expansion with enhanced agricultural water consumption. The results provide scientific basis for practices of integrated catchment management and water resources allocation.

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