Daming He of the Asian International Rivers Center (AIRC) presented on the Lancang- Mekong Cooperation Mechanism.

1. Prof. Daming He
Asian International Rivers Center, Yunnan University
From MRC to LMCM towards health economy
and health river in GMS: the core mechanism-
the transboundary compensative mechanism
for water benefit-sharing
2016 Greater Mekong Forum，9-11 November 2016 Bangkok, Thailand，
Prince Palace Hotel

2. 1. Challenges of Transboundary River Basin
Management under the global Change
The utilization and
management of
transboundary rivers
between China and its
downstream countries
are strongly linked with
the water security, food
security, energy
security, and eco-
security in Asia.
Daming He, et al, 2014-07

3. The health of these transboundary rivers have been
influenced by a multitude of drivers, such as climate
change, land use, cascade dams, road systems, navigation
and oil/gas pipes development, sloping land cultivation,
mineral exploration, and urbanization since 1990s.

4. l The rivers are typically large, highly variable and
unpredictable systems (including severe drought and flood
risk),
l with high populations and population densities;
l likely particularly susceptible to climate change;
l political complexity (typically having multiple riparian
states with unstable relationships); and
l the transbouncary water issues influenced by a multitude
of drivers.
Many ‘world class’ challenges under the global change
The key and crital challenge: Transboundary Compensative
Mechanism at basin-wide level has been missed.

5. The geographic loca-on decides the distribu-on of
member states for the UN Watercourses Conven-on.
Map of State Parties to the UN Watercourses Convention, 2014.05
Of the 35 ratifications: the vast majority are from either Africa
(12) or Europe (16); only two from Asia, None from the Middle
East region, none from American.
All the ratifications are almost
from the downstream
countries and quite few from
upstream countries.
The two ratifications in Asia,
Vietnam and Turkemenistan,
for example, are the absolute
downstream countries (In
Mekong and Arad).

6. Why do the transboundary geo-issues control the world
wide implementation of UN Watercourses Convention?
Why do the upstream countries, the vast majority of
more than 150 co-riparian countries of trasboundary
waters in the world, refuse to sign the treaty and to
cooperate at a basin-wide level?
The transboundary compensative mechanism
(TCM) has been missed among the co-riparian
countries, especially between the upstream
countries and the downstream countries.

7. 2. From MRC to LMCM: A new comprehensive
mechanism for river basin-region cooperaFon

8. The fragmentation of
Lancang-Mekong river
system and its fragmented
environmental governance
among the riparian
countries have been the key
challenge of GMS
sustainability since 1990s.

9. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang: The Lancang-Mekong Cooperation
Mechanism comes as a natural result of our existing cooperation, and
will take full advantage of our close geographic proximity, traditional
friendship and complementary economies (Chinadaily, 2016.03.23).
The LMCM, established in 2016, is the first whole river
basin cooperation mechanism initiated by the six riparian
countries in the basin.

10. l connectivity
l production capacity
l cross-border economic
cooperation
l water resources
l Agriculture and poverty
alleviation
The five priority areas
LMCM covers much more broad
cooperative areas than MRC’s.
l political and security
issues
l economic and sustainable
development
l social, cultural and
people-to-people
exchanges
The three cooperation pillars

11. In LMCM, China will be a major driver to facilitate
the upstream-downstream cooperation for the
regional transboundary water security.

12. 3. Transboundary CompensaFve
Mechanism for Water Benefit Sharing

13. The water resources collaboration was arranged as
a flagship filed in the LMCM. It is clear that the
LMCM offers a new opportunity to develop the
Transboundary Compensative Mechanism
(TCM) for water benefit-sharing towards
health economy and health river, basin-wide, to
motivate the riparian countries for sustainable
cooperation.

14. We do not know how and where the LMCM
and MRC to go, but we really hope:
LMCM Improving
Platforms: Great Mekong Forum, Mekong Wetland Network, FAIR
(Forum of Asian International Rivers), WSP, …..
TWSP: Transboundary Watershed Sharing Partnership
MRC Reforming
Platforms Integrating
Cooperation
Coordination
A River
Council
A S&T
Committee
A TWSP

15. If so, we will have the cooperative conditions to develop
the TCM of water benefit sharing among co-riparian
countries towards the health river and health economy in
GMS, under the LMCM.
(1) Establishing the new mechanism of water governance;
(2) Developing the transboundary eco-compensative
mechanism related to water utilization and
conservation;
(3) Establishing the mechanism of integrated operating
system of cascade dams in the river basin
(4) Expanding the sharing mechanism of data,
information, knowledge and technologies; … … .

16. Thank You!