The evolution of an international water resources management regime in the Mekong River Basin

Natural Resources Journal

Volumn 40, Issue 3, 2000, Pages 495-529

  Browder, Greg ^a   Ortolano, Leonard ^b  

^a WORLD BANK   (United States)

^b Stanford University   (United States)

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[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 23044522296     PISSN: 00280739     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (256)

1. The significance of water as an opportunity for cooperation and the importance of international commissions were highlighted in the "1998 Petersburg Declaration" and the 1998 "Berlin Recommendations." See German Found. for Int'l Dev., Transboundary Water Management: Experience of International River and Lake Commissions 5-21 (1998) (unpublished manuscript, on file with the German Found, for Int'l Dev.) (available at 〈http://www.africanwater.org/berlinrecom.htm〉).
2. See ROBIN CLARKE, WATER: THE INTERNATIONAL CRISIS 91 (1993).
3. See SANDRA POSTEL, PILLAR OF SAND: CAN THE IRRIGATION MIRACLE LAST? 133-63 (1999).
4. See German Found. for Int'I Dev., supra note 1, at 3.
5. See id. at 8.
6. See Greg Browder, Negotiating an International Regime for Water Allocation in the Mekong River Basin 10-11 (1998) (Ph.D. dissertation, Stanford University).
7. See ELINOR OSTROM ET AL., RULES, GAMES AND COMMON-POOL RESOURCES 46-49 (1993).
8. See Browder, supra note 6, at 10-11.
9. See Agreement on the Cooperation for the Sustainable Development of the Mekong River Basin, Apr. 5, 1995, Cambodia-Laos-Thailand-Vietnam, art. IV, 34 I.L.M. 864 (1995) [hereinafter 1995 Mekong Agreement] (available at Browder, supra note 6, at 334, 343).
10. Int'l Law Comm'n, The Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses, in REPORT OF THE INTERNATIONAL LAW COMMISSION ON THE WORK OF ITS FORTY-SIXTY SESSION 195-396 ch. III (United Nations, Supplement No. 10 (A/49/10), 1994). Although the Convention had not yet been adopted by the U.N. during the negotiations for the Mekong Agreement (1993-1995), the basic principles in the draft convention had essentially already been formulated. See id.
11. See 1995 Mekong Agreement, supra note 9, at art. 26.
12. See Mekong River Comm'n, Records of the Fourth Meeting of the Donor Consultative Group (DCG) 1 (MRC Secretariat Attachment No. 5, Oct. 19, 1999) (unpublished document, on file with MRC Secretariat) [hereinafter Fourth Meeting Record].
13. See Browder, supra note 6, at 35 tbl.2-2, 93 tbl.3-3.
14. See id. at 35.
15. See WATER IN CRISIS: A GUIDE TO THE WORLD'S FRESH WATER RESOURCES 157-58 tbl.B-6 (Peter Gleick ed., 1993).
16. See Browder, supra note 6, at 36-38.
17. See id. at 37, fig.2-1.
18. See id. at 38.
19. See id. at 36.
20. See id. at 38.
21. See id.
22. See Jorgen G. Jensen, 1,000,000 Tonnes of Fish from the Mekong?, MEKONG FISHERIES NETWORK NEWSL., Aug. 1996, at 1, 1.
23. See id. at 12.
24. See Browder, supra note 6, at 36.
25. See id.
26. See id.
27. See id.
28. See id.
29. See id.
30. See id.
31. See id. at 33.
32. See id. at 33-34. Vietnam's relationship with China slowly deteriorated during the 1960s and 1970s, paralleling the tensions in the Soviet-Chinese relationship. See BUI TIN, FROM CADRE TO EXILE: THE MEMOIRS OF A NORTH VIETNAMESE JOURNALIST 44-45, 112 (1995).
33. See FRANKLIN P. HUDDLE, U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES COMM. ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS, THE MEKONG PROJECT: OPPORTUNITIES AND PROBLEMS OF REGIONALISM 4-5 (1972); Browder, supra note 6, at 33-34.
34. See ELLIOT KULICK & DICK WILSON, THAILAND'S TURN: PROFILE OF A NEW DRAGON 163-70 (1992).
35. See MARTIN STUART-FOX, BUDDHIST KINGDOM, MARXIST STATE: THE MAKING OF MODERN LAOS 58-64 (1996).
36. See DAVID CHANDLER, THE TRAGEDY OF CAMBODIAN HISTORY: POLITICS, WAR, AND REVOLUTION SINCE 1945 122-92 (1991).
37. See Browder, supra note 6, at 38.
38. See id.
39. See id.
40. See id.
41. See HUDDLE, supra note 33, at 5.
42. See Browder, supra note 6, at 39.
43. See MEKONG SECRETARIAT, THE MEKONG COMMITTEE: A HISTORICAL ACCOUNT (1957-1989) 10-11 (1989).
44. See id.
45. See Statute for the Committee for Co-Ordination of Investigations of the Lower Mekong Basin, Sept. 17, 1957, amended Oct. 31, 1957, Aug. 2, 1962, Mar. 1972, Cambodia-Laos-Thailand-Republic of Vietnam,
46. reprinted in LEGISLATIVE TEXTS AND TREATY PROVISIONS CONCERNING THE UTILIZATION OF INTERNATIONAL RIVERS FOR OTHER PURPOSES THAN NAVIGATION 267, U.N. Doc. ST/LEG/SER.B/12 (1963) [hereinafter 1957 Mekong Statute] (available at Browder, supra note 6, at 300).
47. Id. at art. 4.
48. See Browder, supra note 6, at 39-40.
49. See MEKONG SECRETARIAT, supra note 43, at 16.
50. See HUDDLE, supra note 33, at 52 tbl.4.
51. See MEKONG SECRETARIAT, supra note 43, at 20-21.
52. See id.
53. See id.
54. PRACHOOM CHOMCHAI, INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT OF THE LOWER MEKONG BASIN 9 (1990).
55. See also MEKONG SECRETARIAT, PREPARATORY ORGANIZATIONAL AND LEGAL STUDIES (BASINWIDE): INTRODUCNON TO STUDY ON PRINCIPLES AND CRITERIA FOR EQUITABLE ALLOCATION, USE, CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNATIONAL WATER RESOURCES 7 (1993) [hereinafter PRINCIPLES & CRITERIA].
56. CHOMCHAI, supra note 53, at 9.
57. See Browder, supra note 6, at 168.
58. See id.
59. See id. at 45-49, 56, 62 fig.2-3.
60. See id. at 47; HUDDLE, supra note 33, at 3-5.
61. See Browder, supra note 6, at 47; HUDDLE, supra note 33, at 5.
62. See MEKONG SECRETARIAT, supra note 43, at 3.
63. See HUDDLE, supra note 33, at 52 tbl.4.
64. See id.
65. See id.
66. See MEKONG SECRETARIAT, supra note 43, at 42-47; U.S. DEP'T OF INTERIOR, BUREAU OF RECLAMATION, PA MONG PROJECT: AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE BUREAU OF RECLAMATION'S STAGE ONE FEASIBILITY AND PHASE II STUDIES INTO THE VIABILITY OF ESTABLISHING A DAM, RESERVOIR, AND POWER GENERATING FACILITIES ON THE MEKONG RIVER IN SOUTHEAST ASIA 1 (1973) [hereinafter PA MONG PROJECT].
67. See Browder, supra note 6, at 50.
68. See PA MONG PROJECT, supra note 64, at 8-9.
69. See Browder, supra note 6, at 50; MEKONG SECRETARIAT, supra note 43, at 32-33.
70. See Browder, supra note 6, at 50.
71. See Joint Declaration of Principles for Utilization of the Waters of the Lower Mekong Basin, Jan. 31, 1975, Cambodia-Laos-Thailand-Republic of Vietnam [hereinafter 1975 Joint Declaration] (available at Browder, supra note 6, at 308).
72. See generally Letter from Northcutt Ely, attorney appointed for drafting 1975 Joint Declaration, United Nations, to Greg Browder, author (Apr. 16, 1997) (on file with author).
73. See 1975 Joint Declaration, supra note 69, at art. I(12).
74. Id. at art XVII.
75. See id. at arts. XX, XXI.
76. See id. at art. XVIII.
77. Id. at art. X.
78. See Browder, supra note 6, at 52-54.
79. See id. at 54.
80. See id. at 154-55.
81. See id.
82. See TIN, supra note 32, at 197-98.
83. See STUART-Fox, supra note 35, at 58-64.
84. See KULICK & WILSON, supra note 34, at 153-54.
85. See MEKONG SECRETARIAT, supra note 43, at 49.
86. See Anuraj Manibhandu et al., Cultural Cooperation Ushers in New Era, BANGKOK POST, Aug, 6, 1996.
87. See Declaration Concerning the Interim Mekong Committee for Coordination of Investigations of the Lower Mekong Basin, Jan. 5, 1978, Laos-Thailand-Vietnam [hereinafter 1978 IMC Declaration] (available in Browder supra note 6, at 324).
88. See CHANDLER, supra note 36, at 236-73.
89. See Browder, supra note 6, at 59.
90. See id.
91. See MEKONG SECRETARIAT, supra note 43, at 49.
92. See Interview with Dr. Prathes Sutabutr, Dir. Gen. Thai Dep't of Energy Dev. & Planning, in Bangkok, Thail. (Apr. 10, 1996).
93. 1978 IMC Declaration, supra note 85, at art. 4.
94. 1957 Mekong Statute, supra note 45, at art. 4.
95. See 1975 Joint Declaration, supra note 69, at arts. XV-XXI, XXVII.
96. See 1978 IMC Declaration, supra note 85, at 14.
97. Id. at ¶ 3.
98. See Browder, supra note 6, at 101-02.
99. See id. at 60; TIN, supra note 32, at 198.
100. See TIN, supra note 32, at 116-18.
101. See KULICK & WILSON, supra note 34, at 154-55.
102. See id.
103. See id. at 153.
104. See Interview with Dr. Prathes Sutabutr, supra note 90.
105. See MEKONG SECRETARIAT, supra note 43, at 51, 72.
106. See PACHOOM CHOMCHAI, THE UNITED STATES, THE MEKONG COMMITTEE AND THAILAND: A STUDY OF AMERICAN MULTILATERAL AND BILATERAL ASSISTANCE TO NORTH-EAST THAILAND SINCE THE 1950s 140 (Asian Studies Monograph No. 051, 1994).
107. See MEKONG SECRETARIAT, supra note 43, at 52.
108. See Browder, supra note 6, at 62.
109. See id. at 76-81.
110. See id. at 86-91.
111. See id. at 51.
112. See CHOMCHAI, supra note 104, at 86-87.
113. See id. at 89-91, 93-94.
114. See Browder, supra note 6, at 78.
115. See id.
116. See Tawatchai Tingsanchali & Purushottam Raj Singh, Optimum Water Resources Allocation for Mekong-Chi-Mun Transbasin Irrigation Project, Northeast Thailand, 21 WATER INT'L 20, 27 tbl.4 (1996).
117. See id. at 22.
118. See Murray Hiebert, Muddy Waters: Conflict Needs Threaten Cooperation over Water Use, FAR E. ECON. REV., Feb. 21, 1991, at 28, 28.
119. Browder, supra note 6, at 76.
120. See NEDECO, MASTER PLAN FOR THE MEKONG DELTA IN VIET NAM, SUMMARY REPORT 3 (1993).
121. See id. at 13.
122. See WORLD BANK ET. AL., VIETNAM WATER RESOURCES SECTOR REVIEW 78 (1996).
123. See NEDECO, MEKONG DELTA MASTER PLAN, 1 THEMATIC STUDY ON MANAGEMENT OF WATER RESOURCES: OPTIMAL USE OF WATER RESOURCES 20, 42 tbl.10.01 (1993).
124. See WORLD BANK, supra note 120, at 78.
125. See NEDECO, supra note 121, at xi ¶ S.21.
126. See Hiebert, supra note 116, at 28.
127. See He Daming, Facilitating Regional Sustainable Development through Integrated Multi-Objective Utilization, Management of Water Resources in the Lancang-Mekong River Basin 4 (1995) (unpublished manuscript, on file with the author) (presented at the International Crane Foundation Conference on "Opportunities for Sustainable Development through Cooperation," Washington D.C., Nov. 28-Dec. 2, 1995).
128. See MEKONG RIVER COMM'N MEKONG RIVER BASIN DIAGNOSTIC STUDY 5-22 exh.5-10 (1997).
129. See E.G. Chapman & He Daming, Downstream Implications of China's Dams on the Lancang Jiang (Upper Mekong) and Their Potential Significance for Greater Regional Cooperation, Basin-Wide, in DEVELOPMENT DILEMMAS IN THE MEKONG SUBREGION 16, 16 (Bob Stensholt ed., 1996).
130. See id.
131. See id.; Boonsong Kositchotethana, EGAT Reassures Chinese about Purchases, BANGKOK POST, Mar. 6, 1998.
132. See Browder, supra note 6, at 74 tbl.3-1.
133. See Daming, supra note 125, at 15-17.
134. See id. at 17.
135. See Murray Hiebert, The Common Stream, FARE. ECON. REV., Feb. 21, 1991, at 24, 25-26 [hereinafter Common Stream].
136. See id. at 25.
137. See id.
138. See Bertil Lintner, Add Wafer: Laos' Hydroelectric Plans Seem Overambitious, FAR E. ECON. REV., Oct. 13, 1994, at 70, 70-71.
139. See Common Stream, supra note 133, at 25-26.
140. See Hiebert, supra note 116, at 28.
141. 3/s. See Daming, supra note 125, at 16-17.
142. See Chapman & Daming, supra note 127, at 16.
143. See KULICK & WILSON, supra note 34, at 155-61.
144. See id. at 155.
145. See Murray Hiebert, Cambodia Seeks Foreign Aid for Irrigation Projects: Fertile Imagination, FARE. ECON. REV., Feb. 21, 1991, at 26, 27.
146. See id. at 26-27.
147. See Paul Handley & Murray Hiebert, Hostile Undercurrents: Dispute Deepens over Use of Mekong River Water, FAR E. ECON. REV., Apr. 2, 1992, at 16, 16.
148. See id.
149. See Browder, supra note 6, at 101, 103.
150. See Handley & Hiebeit, supra note 145, at 16.
151. See Browder, supra note 6, at 90-91.
152. See Kulachada Chaipipat, Strong Distrust Delays Cooperation on Mekong, NATION NEWSPAPER (BANGKOK), Mar. 27, 1992.
153. See Browder, supra note 6, at 114.
154. See id.
155. See id. at 208-17.
156. See Interview with Hoang Trong Quang, Secretary Gen. Vietnam Nat'l Mekong Comm., in Hanoi, Viet Nam (May 14, 1996).
157. See Interview with Mohar Singh, Former Deputy Dir. Gen. Thai Dep't Energy Promotion & Dev., in Bangkok, Thail. (May 23, 1996).
158. See Interview with anonymous Lao Senior Official, in Bangkok, Thail. (Mar. 13, 1996).
159. For a discussion of the difficulties and tensions inherent in applying the international water law principles of "reasonable and equitable use" and "no harm," see Stephen McCaffrey, The UN Convention on the law of Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses: Prospects and Pitfalls, in INTERNATIONAL WATERCOURSES: ENHANCING COOPERATION AND MANAGING CONFLICT 17, 20-22 (Salman M.A. Salman & Laurence Boisson de Chazournes eds., World Bank Technical Paper No. 414, 1998).
160. See Browder, supra note 6, at 203-04.
161. See Mekong Secretariat, Record of the Mekong Consultation Meeting, Dec. 17-18, 1992, Kuala Lumpur Annex III (1992) (unpublished manuscript, on file with MRC Secretariat) (Opening Remarks of Mr. Krishan G. Singh).
162. See Browder, supra note 6, at 201.
163. Chaipipat, supra note 150.
164. 1995 Mekong Agreement, supra note 9.
165. See id. at arts. 11-33.
166. See Browder, supra note 6, at 130.
167. See id. at 171.
168. See id.
169. PRINCIPLES & CRITERIA, supra note 53, at 7.
170. 1995 Mekong Agreement, supra note 9, at art. 6(A).
171. See CHOMCHAI, supra note 53, at 9.
172. It is estimated that the dry season flow in the Mekong River has increased approximately 10-15% over natural flows due to tributary storage reservoirs in Laos and Thailand. See INST. OF HYDROLOGY AT WALLINGFORD UNIV., INTERIM COMM. FOR COORDINATION OF INVESTIGATIONS OF THE LOWER MEKONG BASIN, WATER BALANCE STUDY, PHASE 3 REPORT: INVESTIGATION OF DRY SEASON FLOWS 38 (1987).
173. 1995 Mekong Agreement, supra note 9, at art. 6(B).
174. INST. OF HYDROLOGY AT WALLINGFORD UNIV., supra note 170, at 55.
175. The hydraulic relationship between flows in the Mekong River and the Tonle Sap is complex and has not been fully quantified yet. See id. at 55-61. The basic concept is that flow into the Tonle Sap is a function of the flow in the Mekong River: the higher the flow in the Mekong River the greater the reverse flow into the Tonle Sap. See id. However, below a certain flow level in the Mekong River, the flow will be out of the Tonle Sap into the Mekong River. See id.
176. See Browder, supra note 6, at 38.
177. See 1995 Mekong Agreement, supra note 9, at art. 26.
178. See id. at art. 6.
179. See Environment News Service, Four Mekong River Basin Governments Funded to Cooperate (Feb. 14, 2000) 〈http://www.ens.lycos.com/ens/feb2000/20001%2DO2% 2D14%2D05.html〉.
180. Dr. George E. Radosevich, Draft Commentary and History of the Mekong Agreement 11 (Oct. 22, 1993) (unpublished manuscript, on file with the author).
181. See id. at 10-13.
182. See id. at 13.
183. See Handley & Hiebert, supra note 145, at 16.
184. See id.
185. 1995 Mekong Agreement, supra note 9, at art. 5.
186. See Handley & Hiebert, supra note 145, at 16.
187. See id.
188. See id.
189. 1995 Mekong Agreement, supra note 9, at art. 5.
190. See id. at art. 26.
191. See id.
192. See Browder, supra note 6, at 172-91.
193. See Interview with Krit Kraichitti, Dir.Treaty Div.Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Bangkok, Thail. (May 2 1996).
194. See id.
195. As of 1999, the project has not yet been approved by the Thai government. See Kamol Sukin, RID Warns of Failure to Implement Project. NATION NEWSPAPER (BANGKOK), Feb. 21, 1997.
196. See Make Traiswasdichai, The Mekong River Engineers: Four Perspectives on Developing the Mainstream, NATION NEWSPAPER (BANGKOK), Dec. 29, 1995, at A11, A11.
197. Make Traiswasdichai, The Mekong River Engineers: Four Perspectives on Developing the Mainstream, N1995, at A11, A11. Id.
198. 1995 Mekong Agreement, supra note 9, at art. 2.
199. 1957 Mekong Statute, supra note 45, at art. 4
200. 1978 IMC Declaration, supra note 85, at art. 4.
201. 1995 Mekong Agreement, supra note 9, at art. 2.
202. See MEKONG SECRETARIAT, supra note 43, at 42, 72.
203. See id.
204. See Browder, supra note 6, at 249-55.
205. See id.
206. See id. at 43.
207. 1957 Mekong Statute, supra note 45, at art. 8(1) (refers only to "technical matters," not policy matters).
208. See CHOMCHAI, supra note 53, at 10.
209. See 1995 Mekong Agreement, supra note 9, at art. 15.
210. See id. at art. 12.
211. See id. at art. 15.
212. See id. at arts. 21-24.
213. See id. at arts. 28-30. The Secretariat has a staff of approximately 100 people, composed of two groups, riparian staff and external staff. See Browder, supra note 6, at 229. Riparian staff members are drawn from national government agencies in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. See id. at 231. External staff comes from countries outside of the Mekong region and is usually funded by the respective governments or an international organization such as UNDP. See id. at 231. Most of the Secretariat's projects are actually implemented by international consultants working in conjunction with government agencies in the Mekong region. See id. International donor agencies, such as bilateral donor agencies or international organizations, fund essentially all of the Mekong regime's projects. See MEKONG RIVER COMMISSION, 1 MRC WORK PROGRAMME 2000: ACTIVITIES AND RESOURCES REQUIRED 6, 11-14 (1999) [hereinafter 1 MRC WORK PROGRAMME 2000].
214. 1995 Mekong Agreement, supra note 9, at art. 15.
215. See PRINCIPLES & CRITERIA, supra note 53, at 25.
216. See id.
217. See Interview with Roy Morey, Vietnam Country Resident Representative, UNDP, in Hanoi, Vietnam (May 11, 1996).
218. See Somporn Sangchai, The Mekong Committee: A New Genus of International Organization 93-94 (1967) (Ph.D dissertation, Indiana University).
219. See id.
220. 1995 Mekong Agreement, supra note 9, at art 31.
221. See Interview with Roy Morey, supra note 215.
222. See 1995 Mekong Agreement, supra note 9, at art. 31.
223. See Interview with Roy Morey, supra note 215.
224. See Sangchai, supra note 216, at 94.
225. See id.
226. See Handley & Hiebert, supra note 145, at 16.
227. See id.
228. See Supapohn Kanwerayotin, The Mekong: More of a Liability than an Asset? BANGKOK POST, Mar. 2, 1992.
229. See id.
230. See Interview with Krit Kraichitti, supra note 191.
231. See Don Pathan, Burma Wins MRC Entry with China, NATION NEWSPAPER (BANGKOK), Nov. 1, 1996.
232. See id.
233. See Browder, supra note 6, at 232.
234. See Kulachada Chaipipat, Mekong River Pact to Be Signed Today, NATION NEWSPAPER (BANGKOK), Apr. 20, 2000.
235. See Academic: China Will Not Join Mekong Body, BANGKOK POST, Apr. 24, 1996.
236. See id.
237. See United Nations: Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses, 36 I.L.M. 700, 700 (1997) ("On May 21, 1997, by Resolution 51/229, the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Law of Nonnavigational Uses of International Watercourses, by a vote of 103 in favor to 3 against (Burundi, China, Turkey), with 27 abstentions...").
238. The Mekong Agreement is more comprehensive than the Convention for the following reasons: The Convention does not require basin states to establish a management organization, nor does it require a basin state to notify other basin states of proposed water uses in all situations, nor does it require the basin to cooperate for mutual benefit. The minimum standard of behavior in the Convention is to try to avoid harm to other basin states and when harm may or does occur to negotiate a mutually acceptable solution. See generally McCaffrey, supra note 157 (for an overview of the Convention).
239. See Don Pathan, China Balks at Taking the Plunge, BANGKOK POST, Apr. 11 1996.
240. See Browder, supra note 6, at 225.
241. See id. at 35, 93 tbl.3-3.
242. See Browder, supra note 6, at 249-55.
243. See id.
244. See 1 MRC WORK PROGRAMME 2000, supra note 211, at 6.
245. See Interview with anonymous senior Danish aid officials, in Bangkok, Thail. (Dec. 3, 1999).
246. Browder, supra note 6, at 234.
247. See Malee Traisawasdichai & Don Pathan, Water Quality No Worry for UN Agency, BANGKOK POST, Apr. 21, 1996.
248. See Browder, supra note 6, at 249.
249. See Fourth Meeting Record, supra note 12, at 1.
250. See Environment News Service, supra note 177.
251. See id.
252. See 1 MRC WORK PROGRAMME 2000, supra note 211, at 11-14.
253. See id.
254. See id.
255. See MEKONG RIVER COMMISSION, 2 MRC WORK PROGRAMME 2000: PROGRAMME/ PROJECT PROFILES 4 (1999).
256. See Environment News Service, supra note 177.