Environmental Considerations for Sustainable Hydropower Development in the Mekong Region-a Joint ADB, MRC and WWF Initiative

摘要

The significant hydroelectric potential of the Mekong and its tributaries remains largely untapped despite the various discussions in the past 40 years. To date, about 10% out of an estimated potential of 30,000 MW has been developed in the Lower Mekong Basin (LMB). Over the next 10—15 years, a significant proportion of this potential is likely to be realized. The opportunities and potential risks of such interventions have been well documented in past years. In response, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Mekong River Commission (MRC) and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) started formulating a joint project on Environmental Considerations for Sustainable Hydropower Development (ECSHD) in 2006. The overall objective is to ensure that hydropower development in the Mekong Region is sustainable, which will require minimal adverse social and environmental impacts, while remaining a viable, profitable and source of renewable energy supporting the region's economic development. The aim of the ECSHD initiative is to develop a sustainability assessment tool for hydropower development that can be integrated into existing planning procedures and processes and move the input of sustainability considerations to earlier stages of the development cycle. The initiative will assist in energy master planning, water resources planning, economic development planning. Prominent examples of such tools are the Sustainability Guidelines and Sustainability Assessment Protocol of the International Hydropower Association (IHA). Development of ECSHD and its pilot testing will be closely coordinated with IHA's ongoing global process to improve their guidelines though a Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Forum with the ultimate goal of developing a uniform approach that incorporates issues specific to transboundary water resources projects and basin - wide assessments that can be integrated into country systems and processes, including Strategic Environmental Assessment.