Greater Mekong Subregion

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EPF Discussion Series Theme: Integrating Area Development in Hydropower Projects

Introduction

A session on the integrated area approach to hydropower development was held in the afternoon of the second day of the Fifth Meeting of the Subregional Electric Power Forum. A Bank staff and representatives from E71 and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) were invited as resource persons for the session.

In his introduction, Mr. James Rockett, Manager, Energy Division - West informed the Meeting that ADB fully supports the integrated area development approach in hydropower projects. He emphasized that the projects’ viability is determined by looking at both the economic and financial aspects, and the social implications of the projects to the affected areas.

Highlights of the Presentations

The speakers and their respective topics were:

• Lessons in Basin Development Involving Hydropower Plants: The Experience of Tennessee Valley Authority — Mr. Sidney Gibson, Manager for International Projects, Resource Management and Ms. Janet Herrin, Vice-President of Water Management, Tennessee Valley Authority;
• E7 Experience on the Role of Hydropower in Integrated River Basin Development — Messrs. Gaétan Guertin, Hydro-Québec and Édouard Bauer, Électricité de France; and
• Nam Ngum Watershed Management — Mr. Robert Dobias, Senior Environment Specialist, Environment Division, ADB

Prior to his presentation, Mr. Gibson thanked the ADB for the invitation extended to TVA. He presented an overview of the TVA in terms of its role in river basin development, financing sources, and power generation. A short video presentation provided a view of the conditions and importance of the Tennessee River Basins, and the activities of the TVA towards integrated area development and management.

Ms. Herrin focused her presentation on the lessons learned in basin development involving hydropower projects with TVA’s 65 years of experience. These lessons are: (a) value of a shared regional vision; (b) optimized benefits out of an integrated approach to river and resource management; (c) consideration of every activity as a means, not an end in itself; (d) importance of involving the public – the people who use the river and the reservoir system – in decision making; and (e) importance of factoring in environmental issues on the front-end. She expressed confidence that the principles which have worked for TVA – especially the integrated, multi-purpose approach to river and resource development – could also work for the GMS. She encouraged the meeting to be faithful to the concept of integrated resource development. She encouraged the participants to make the rivers work for the people by managing the resource for the full range of its potential benefits – hydropower, navigation, flood control, water supply, recreation, and water quality.

In the presentation by Messrs. Guertin and Bauer, they described the concept of integrated river basin development. They presented the Canadian and French experiences, and provided feedback on the social and ecological impacts resulting from the implementation of several projects in a water basin. They called for the adoption of the precaution principle, which provides an approach to the mitigation of damaging impacts, and ultimately results to less expensive and more environmentally sound projects.

In this context, Messrs. Guertin and Bauer highlighted how it is important to set up and implement an environmental policy based on the following points that have to be adequately planned:

• For the same investment, a global environmental approach looking at all interrelationships is better to implement, facing a lot of limited actions;
• The training of human resources is to be prioritized through the whole decision chain, so that the decision makers can efficiently take into account technical, economic, social and environmental targets;
• The procedures leading to decisions need to be familiar to the public, and the public needs to trust the authorities to follow these procedures;
• Very early in the project development, a good knowledge of the site ecosystems and their mechanisms has to be researched to optimize the location and the sizing of the projects, particularly the hydroelectric ones, to mitigate their damaging consequences and promote the best economic and social development of populations; and
• It is also necessary to keep more and more efficient a wide partnership between all the stakeholders to address complex questions such as common management of international rivers.

With their experience and expertise, they proposed that E7 participate, on a cooperative and free of charge basis, in the preparation and implementation of a regional approach to the sustainable hydropower development of the Mekong River. They indicated their willingness to contribute: (a) their knowledge in various fields through training sessions which could be gradual and thematic (e.g., energy policy, regulation, technical management of projects, environment impacts, public participation, etc.); and (b) their capabilities to study and analyze the potential evolutions of the environment in the framework of a project (e.g., hydrology, sedimentology, hydrobiology, etc.).

The WGE representative from Thailand appreciated the E7's training course and emphasized the importance of continuing such training.

Mr. Dobias provided a snapshot of the Nam Ngum watershed before going into his presentation on the Management Fund for Sustainable Economic Growth and Environmental Management. He gave an introduction of why the fund exists and identified the goals of integrated watershed management. A discussion of the characteristics and problems of the Nam Ngum watershed followed.

Based on the initial conditions of the watershed, a management and development strategy was presented by Mr. Dobias focusing on a land management zoning strategy. The strategy involves land management based on erosion protection and sustainable practices and the integration of agriculture, agro-forestry, and conservation in a sustainable natural resource management system.

There are, however, several critical needs to ensure the proper development of the Nam Ngum watershed. Among these are: (a) watershed management financing; (b) intensified line of communication upgrading; (c) intensified farming systems development and marketable cash cropping; and (d) reforestation of highland areas with greater than 45-degree slopes.

1 The E7 is an international group comprising some of the world's leading electric utilities formed in 1992 to cooperate on global issues with an emphasis on global warming. There are currently eight members of the E7 from six of the G7 nations: Hydro-Québec and Ontario Hydro (Canada), Électricité de France, RWE AG (Germany), ENEL S.p.a. (Italy), Kansai Electric Power Company and Tokyo Electric Power Company (Japan), and Southern California Edison (USA).

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