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WLE Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Focal Region Research and

Development Opportunities

Dec 10, 2013

Elements of WLE research in GMS

• Work both in countries and across countries

• Ensure that benefits to countries/ agriculture of ecosystem (service)-based approaches are obvious as rapid economic development (and not the environment) are at the center of interest

• Capacity building

• Build on the network platform that CPWF II has already developed for the Mekong

Potential entry points for WLE• Irrigation policies and investments• Food security and trade policies, relation to ASEAN • Land investments and resulting land use change in

Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia, driven by upstream China, but also Thailand and to some extent by Vietnam

• Energy policies and hydropower investment• Link with **AAS work on fisheries in Cambodia• Link with **Humid Tropics work on land use change

impacts on Mekong flows• Link with **PIM on land and water rights work

Framework for research for development

Over-riding research for development questions

• Ecosystem service proofing of investments across the Water-Energy-Land-Food nexus

• Benefit sharing from large scale developments

Sustainable Water and Land Security & Development

How can we balance the benefits of intensification and commercialization with non-marketed ES and their functions that are threatened by these developments?

What are the cumulative impacts of land use change and water resources development on water availability and water related ecosystems in the GMS?

– How does flow regulation affect ecosystem services– How to make investments in land and water work

for the poor and women in the GMS• Assessment of systematic impacts of land acquisitions

on water, energy and food systems in the region

Food and Nutrition Security

• How can we balance food and nutrition security for the Mekong poor, the Mekong region (economic drivers), and global food security?

• Maintaining fisheries production and the wild capture fishery

Energy Security

• What are regional energy markets’ impacts on water, land, local energy, and food?

• What are energy sources beyond hydropower – what are the trade-offs of different sources of energy (biofuels, coal, solar, etc)

• Can we optimize benefits and uses from cascades of dams and share them equitably?

Water Governance

• What and how do policies and institutions affect decisions on water, land and energy?

• How to create political incentives for “sustainability”, as most politicians are motivated by other interests, such as economic growth, social cohesion and political stability.

• Land tenure and water rights as entry points for sustainable and equitable development.

GMS Working Group

Storyline

• Ecosystem service proofing of investments across the Water-Energy-Land-Food nexus, reformulated as: “Ensuring that investments in water, energy, land and food are sustainable and meet national growth and poverty goals”– Green investments and associated incentives

related to water, land, food and energy security– Investments with widespread benefits, including

for women and the poor

Research Activities

1. Sharing the benefits of water infrastructure, including gender [river bank gardens]

2. Mitigation of dam impacts for better food security outcomes

3. Land governance [river bank gardens]

4. Impacts of investments on food, water and energy security (tradeoff analysis)

5. Impact of sediment reduction following dam development on agricultural and river productivity and social consequences [river bank gardens]

HLIs—High-Level Individuals1. Jeremy Bird (to take it to MRCS)

2. Min of Planning and Investment; EVN, MONRE (V/L)—Parisak (MAF/L), VV (MEM/L); Chantameth [sp?/L], Buntong, Mak Soen (Dep ag ext C), Ohmnar Khaing (Food security WG -M)

3. Committee against discrimination of women (Cedaw)

4. Relate to agencies where CPWF & centers have MOUs

5. Center for Dev and Environment —Lao decide info, coming up in VN, (Swiss funded)

6. Asia RESAKKS

Next steps/ road testing1. Develop a flyer, circulate with WLE partners

2. Send focal point designee to visit key government stakeholders and donors (ADB/WB/SDC/EU/ USAID/AUSAID/LIFT--Myanmar)

3. Check ideas with key CPWFII ambassadors (Tu in VN;

4. Summary

5. Send back to WLE partners

6. Complete by Feb 20