ThispolicybriefisanoutcomeofaPolicyForumon
'RegionalCooperationfortheIntegratedWaterResource Management:LookingtowardstheFuture',
whichwasorganizedby AsianResearchCenterforInternationalDevelopment on22March2022
EditedbyNuttawadeeJensiripon,TaridaBaikasameandThanikunChantra
"We must engage all stakeholders in particular academic institutions like Mae Fah Luang University, civil society, and local communities to dialogue and interact "
“The voice of the stakeholders in water resources management must be an integral and indispensable part of the policy planning process to address key water level issues"
"Water crises demand collaborative actions, integrated approaches to secure our water resources and sustain global society."
"We must work together in partnership with governments, international organizations, academia, civil society, and communities "
"If you do not respond to the challenges quickly enough, the problem will get worse "
Vice President, Mae Fah Luang University
"The specialists who work on water resources management may also consider the necessary approaches to make the plan more sustainable. " "
"
Well integrated and cross-sectoral plan could be helpful in managing common resources and improving water resource governance "
"Whether you want to or not, every country, sooner or later, has to get a little bit more organized in the way it shares a scarce resource."
"The obstacles or difficulty we have in collaboration is when everybody thinks they are right.
Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
"Information technology plays an important role in promoting nature-based solutions and infrastructure." . "
"All countries could have common vision, at least. Then, we can share good practices."
Graduate School of Law and Politics
Osaka University
"It is very important factor to materialize Integrated Water Resource Management in any part of the world "
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
anage water resources, countries need to be monitoring those resources in a systematic and accurate way as a permanent government activity "
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
Policy Forum 2022 on Regional Cooperation for the Integrated Water Resource Management: Looking towards the Future
"Many projects are trying to force new approach. However, there are also many challenges.
First, comprehensive data collection into each analysis is a key. However, it is difficult, for example, to estimate the water retention capacity of a forest.
Second, the construction of the new huge reservoirs takes a long time to coordinate land use and to build consensus.
Third, therefore, priority is given to coordination with relevant governmental agencies and private operators with large-scale facilities This hinders effective public participation, especially in policy-making such as land use policy."
"Despite such challenges, experiences from the Yodo River give us some useful suggestions.
First of all, it is essential to share vision of a sound water cycle in order to facilitate a multi-stakeholder approach.
Second, early public participation into transparency can increase the feasibility of policy implementation.
Third, Information technology plays an important role in promoting nature-based solutions and infrastructure.
Finally, adaptive management is required."
Prof. Dr. Noriko Okubo Graduate School of Law and Politics Osaka University
"Our entire program rests on the fact that to better manage water resources, countries need to be monitoring those resources in a systematic and accurate way as a permanent government activity. Then, they have to link this water resource monitoring to transparent enforceable water allocation frameworks. So, once governments understand what sustainable water resource use is, then farmer’s irrigation scheme managers and water user associations can be supported to increase their productivity under this sustainable water resource limit."
"We do have a sustainable diversion limit and we are trying to operate under that limit.
Regional cooperation is a really core element of the program. Our philosophy is that when countries better understand the water resources that they have within their borders, they are then in a better position to discuss the shared water resources within neighboring countries.
Now, the regional cooperative platform will not in its initial stages focus on transboundary water sharing. Instead, it will focus on bringing countries together around this shared water scarcity challenges. Because we think that bringing countries together to discuss what is working, what is not, and what lessons are we learning around these challenges that are shared, is a really good way to start to facilitate the necessary dialogues around water. It's also important to note that the regional cooperation will also work in at minister level.
We want to work from the bottom up and the top down o make sure that there is strong policy buy in and commitment from the very highest levels of politics."
Ms. Louise Whiting Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
"If we even just use that word “participation. ” There's a real spectrum of what participation is and what is the promise of participation. Are you being informed? Are you being consulted? Do you actually have an opportunity to influence?"
"To me, we are trying to normalize the liberation. We are trying to normalize a high-quality conversation between lots of different actors that have a right to be involved. Why are we doing that? Because that's better than just leaving it to someone to make the call, or the minister, or someone else. So, we're trying to create a constructive engagement environment so that we can have informed negotiations. "
"Compared to 20 years ago, I think the understanding of the system is much greater than it was. But often it has been a different universe between water governance and electricity governance in the
Mekong Region."
The Policy Forum
Regional Cooperation for the Integrated Water Resource Management
Looking towards the Future
An increasing seasonal water scarcity in Southeast Asia, frequency and intensity of drought, and also rampant pollution is making water scarce. People cannot use water for wash purposes or growing food.
There is a global network to promote every participation in the world. However, there is no such strong global network inAsia,especiallyinthefieldofdeep-watermanagement.
No country in Asia systematically and regularly conducts wateraccounting.
Due to technical issues, it is more difficult for ordinary peopletoparticipateinthedecision-makingprocess.
The Mekong provides a foundation for developments in our regions. But, at the same time, the Mekong is obviously facing global issues in terms of the environmental sustainability, impacts of the climate changes, and irreversible changes.
Water issue is quite social, ecological, and political issue. It is a really important area to step back and hear the different views. There are more effective ways to negotiate on this issue.
Many projects are trying to force new approach. However, there are also many challenges such as comprehensive data collection into each analysis, coordination with relevant governmental agencies and private operators with large-scale facilities, and to build consensus on land use.
Stakeholders need to genuinely engage in the water issue. An engagement process needs data and information that they trust In many cases, we will have stakeholder engagement processes where people have their own data and they believe different sets of data. There is a lot of support that is needed in this region to get to position where everybody trusts the same set of data.
Data sharing or how to use the data is also important, yet possible. It is very difficult to integrate data as open data not only for the public, but also for intergovernmental organizations.
Data sharing is actually a really critical point and a very politically sensitive issue and very hard to achieve. An area where we really need to start working is trying to get ministries to come to an agreement where they share data and they do not charge each other costs for that data where they share it for the good of natural resource management for the country
Countries need to monitor resources in a systematic and accurate way as a permanent government activity.
The authorities should link water resource monitoring to transparentenforceablewaterallocationframeworks.
Theregionalcooperationisareallycoreelementofthewater cooperation. It should work at the ministerial level to make sure that there is a strong policy buy in and commitment fromtheveryhighestlevelsofpolitics.
Providing neutral platform with the data for countries to come together and discuss issues is very important.
Strategies addressing water scarcity must be based on a thorough understanding of the water balance, including water supply and demand, and all its spatial and temporal dimensions.
There are various indicators to estimate current situation with each country. Therefore, making official authority indicators is needed.
ARCID is a research-intensive institution focusing on policyrelevantresearch,especiallypolitical,economicandsocio-cultural issues of East Asia-Southeast Asian relations It aims to foster an internationalnetworkoflike-mindedresearchcenters.Itwouldalso institute people-to-people exchanges between the two regions to furtherunderstanding,bilateralandmultilateralcooperation
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