Background

ADB's Managing Water in Asia's River Basins: Charting Progress and Facilitating Investment project aims to support river basin organizations (RBOs) in preparing roadmaps for long-term integrated river basin investment programs. It targets five selected river basins where ADB and other funding agencies will invest in river basin management for integrated water resources management (IWRM). The project is also expected to help RBOs improve their performance and adapt to changes in water management, showcase good practices in IWRM in the Asia-Pacific region, and for the first time present a credible overview of the river basin management achievements of the region to the global water community.

Cambodia 4-Ps Area, referring to the Prek Preah, Prek Krieng, Prek Kampi, and Prek Te river basins, is among the five river basins targeted by the project. Located in the eastern part of Cambodia at the left bank of the Mekong River, the 4-Ps area covers some 12,472 square kilometers and the Kratie and Mondulkiri Provinces, with a total population of about 143,290 people.

The Cambodia National Mekong Committee (CNMC), under its capacity as a national coordinating agency, has recently been working with international partners to promote IWRM process and its implementation in the country. In 2006, CNMC became the host institution of Cambodia Water Partnership. Presently, CNMC is developing an investment roadmap for water-related development in the 4-Ps Area in collaboration with ADB. In January 2010, CNMC organized a consultation workshop to gather various stakeholders to generate inputs for the draft IWRM investment roadmap for the 4-Ps area.

This second consultation workshop built on the results of the first workshop and aimed to elaborate and consolidate the recommendations made on the draft IWRM investment roadmap and 4Ps river basin profile.

Objectives

The workshop aimed to elaborate and consolidate the recommendations made on the draft IWRM investment roadmap and 4Ps river basin profile.

Highlights

The workshop was opened by HE Watt Botkosal and representatives from the two provinces and ADB. The programme included status, background presentations about the draft basin profile and draft IWRM investment roadmap, institutional aspects, presentations from other river basins, and thematic group and plenary discussions. Observations were made on the value of community involvement, the need for livelihood development, including resource-based livelihoods, the attactive potential for tourism development, and the benefis of knowledge-sharing.

A half-day field trip included observation of land use in the upper Prek Te basin, the Busra waterfall and the O'Moleng micro-hydropower station, where the RBO peer advisers from Philippines, Indonesia, and Viet Nam gave comments and shared experiences.

Group discussions and a plenary were held about institutional framework, water resources management, agriculture and fisheries, tourism and hydropower. Many recommendations were made on the draft basin profile and IWRM investment roadmap. The recommendations are being carried forward to the consolidated documents.

Organizers

The consultation workshop was organized by the CNMC and ADB.

Participants

Some 60 participants attended, including representatives from 6 ministries, Kratie and Mondulkiri Provinces and districts, the private sector, WWF, ADB, and guests from the Solo River Basin (Indonesia), Central Cebu River Basin (the Philippines), and the Vu Gia-Thu Bon Basin in Viet Nam.