Mekong River Basin- Regional seminar for exchange of experiences on Integrated Water Resources Management 15, 16 and 17 October - Vientiane - Laos

Organized under the auspices of the Lao Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, with the support of the French Embassy and financial support of the Loire-Brittany Water Agency, the seminar gathered over 100 experts from the Mekong River Basin, representatives of local and national authorities, donors and the civil society.

 

The Lao Vice-Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Mr. Sisavath Vithaxay, the French Ambassador to Laos, Mr. Yves Carmona, and the Chairman of the Loire-Brittany Basin Committee, Mr. Joel Pélicot, opened the seminar.

 

Three thematic sessions allowed the Cambodian, Vietnamese, Burmese, Chinese, Lao, Thai and French delegations to exchange the experiences and good practices in integrated water resources management, developed by the countries of the Mekong River Basin.

 

The first two days of the seminar were an opportunity to discuss recent progresses made in some countries, at the national level and in pilot river basins, to strengthen synergies with the Mekong River Commission (MRC), especially regarding institutional organization, data management and funding.

 

A delegation of young representatives of the countries of the Mekong River Basin also participated in the seminar and presented the Declaration hereafter.

 

During the third day, the participants made a field visit to the Nam Ngum River Basin.

 

INBO, IOWater and the International Secretariat for Water (ISW) provided technical support for the success of this event.

 

All the participants received their “Blue Passport of Basin Citizen”.