AUSTRALIA: New funding announced for Mekong River Basin
Updated
The Australian Government has announced new funding for the Mekong River Basin, home to many of Asia's poorest people. An extra $US140 million is to go to new roads, rural electricity and water management programs.
SNOWDON: The Mekong region is a priority area for Australia's aid program.
The Government has announced a new five year strategy with funding of 140 million US dollars over four years to help promote economic development and cooperation.
The Mekong River - one of the world's largest, provides the livelihoods for 60 million people as it passes through six countries.
Four of those - Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Lao - are members of the donor funded Mekong River Commission. Five million dollars of the aid package will go to the commission.
The Commission aims to foster cooperation and sustainable, pro-poor and environmentally responsible development of the region's considerable resources.
The Commission's Chairman is Nguyen Hong Toan from Vietnam's National Mekong Committee.
He welcomes Australia's suggestions included in its new plan which call for greater transparency and local community involvement in the Commission's work.
TOAN: I think that's very good because of a transparent policy of the Australian government to the Mekong River Commission and also we talk about how to involve all the partnership, all the stakeholders.
SNOWDON: Vietnam's Nguyen Hong Toan speaking at an international conference organised by the Australian Government's Ausaid and Sydney University.
The critics were out in force at the conference. The Asian Development Bank and other donors, Australia included, came in for critiicsm over their emphasis on market based development projects and infrastructure.
Like the proliferation of dams, many for hydro-power projects now in construction or on the drawing board across the region.
China alone is planning eight large dams on the Mekong.
Witoon Permpongsacharoen is from the Bangkok based NGO, Foundation for Ecological Recovery.
WITOON: What's going on is so extreme. We think that the planning process for energy should be looking at all options, and looking at the, go to the more sustainability way, so in that sense dams should be built if that is the best site. But if they want to build wherever they can build dams, I think that is unacceptable.
SNOWDON: China is not a member of the Mekong River Commission.
Commission Chairman Nguyen Hong Toan would like to see China join up, but says China's interest in economic development poses a challenge to the Commission's main goals.
TOAN: From the beginning also we invited China and Myanmar but they hesitated about the full membership of the Mekong River Commission. But I'm considering how to involve them to be full members, it depends on the benefit of China because now China would like to have more development. But in the Mekong River Commission we pay attention to only environmental directions, setting up management and development. Therefore I think if we want to involve China into the Mekong River Commission we have to promote development.
SNOWDON: China prefers bilateral dealings or working through the Greater Mekong Subregion group.
Professor Lu Xing is the Director of the Mekong Studies Centre at China's Yunan University.
He's not a spokeman for the Chinese government but says there's a lot of debate on the issue.
LU: There is a lot of debate China should join or not, but any organisations they should negotiate to join, not just come join, but join with what conditions. Join or not it's really hard to say.
Presenter: Karon Snowdon
Speakers: Professor Lu Xing, Director of the Mekong Studies Centre at Yunan University; Witoon Permpongsacharoen, Director, Foundation for Ecological Recovery; Nguyen Hong Toan, Mekong River Commission's Chairman
