Mississippi-Mekong Partnership: Improving Policy Decision-Making Processes

Click here for a printable copy of the Project Profile, pdf, 78 KB

Project Profile

The Mekong River Basin is growing rapidly in population, which is expected to reach 90 million by 2025. As the region grows, Mekong River countries are expanding economic and industrial development - building urban infrastructure and constructing dams, dikes, irrigation and navigation projects - all of which have a significant impact on the river system’s ecology. The challenge for Mekong River countries is to adopt policies and practices that enable collaborative planning and development processes that will protect vital ecosystems and promote prosperity on a long-term sustainable basis.

The Mississippi River Basin watershed system flows through the heartland of the United States, covering almost 2/3 of the contiguous land surface of the country. The development of the Mississippi River Basin has had tremendous influence on the prosperity of the region and the growth of the nation, but it has also caused costly environmental damage and complex long-term environmental problems.

A fundamental goal of this project is to examine the lessons learned in the Mississippi River Basin and transfer the knowledge and technical expertise acquired to help Mekong River Basin countries make informed and balanced development decisions. Another important goal is to bring local, state and national decision-makers from the Mississippi and Mekong Basins together to discuss stakeholder participation in public policy-making, effective resource management strategies and long-term partnership opportunities.

This project is supported by a grant award from the Council of State Government's State Environmental Initiative (CSG/SEI) which is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) through the US-Asia Environmental Partnership (US-AEP) program. The SEI links American expertise in environmental management, policy and technology with Asian demand for environmental improvements.

Project Goals

Developing and adopting participatory planning processes that will increase the participation of civil society in Mekong River Basin policy planning and implementation decisions
Establishing training programs and providing educational resources on consensus building and conflict resolution approaches to overcome jurisdictional, economic and cultural barriers to cooperative planning and comprehensive resource management
Sharing information, technical expertise, resource management strategies and real-world experiences to help decision-makers in both basins make informed development decisions and avoid costly mistakes
Building long-term partnership relationships between Mekong and Mississippi River Basin agencies, institutions and NGOs to ensure continual exchanges of information, resources and expertise

Principal Project Activities

An observation and partnership planning trip to the Mississippi River Basin for a delegation of senior-level decision-makers from each of the four Mekong River Commission (MRC) member countries (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam) and key MRC staff focused on issues of stakeholder participation in public policy formulation and implementation; approaches to balancing social, economic and environmental interests; conflict resolution; and ecosystem management and restoration policies (October 2003)

An observation and partnership planning trip to the Mekong River Basin for a delegation of MRBA and WRC partner organizations to plan future partnership activities and participate in a regional workshop focusing on sustainable development and water resource conservation (March 2004)

The Mississippi-Mekong Partners

The University of Minnesota Water Resources Center (WRC) brings together the University’s diverse water community in the spirit of collaboration and synergy. WRC coordinates outreach and research within the University, enabling more effective delivery of research results to decision-makers and citizens and opening new avenues for multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary partnerships. WRC provides an essential link between students and water professionals, allowing students maximum access to University water programs. The University of Minnesota is one of the largest and most comprehensive land-grant universities in the U.S. in an economy based on agricultural and natural resources.

Contact: James L. Anderson, Professor and Co-director
Water Resources Center
University of Minnesota
173 McNeal Hall
1985 Buford Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55108
Telephone: 612-624-9282
Email: ander045@umn.edu

The Mississippi River Basin Alliance (MRBA) is a coalition of over 130diverse grassroots organizations whose purpose is to protect and restore the ecological, economic, cultural, historical and recreational resources in the Mississippi River Basin. MRBA’s goal is to link decision-makers and communities, mobilize community resources to comprehensively engage water quality and environmental health problems, and preserve the ecological integrity of the river system as a whole. MRBA’s headquarters office is in Minneapolis, and the organization has field offices and staff in St. Louis and New Orleans.

Contact : Cynthia Pansing, Executive Director
Mississippi River Basin Alliance
708 North First Street, #238
Minneapolis, MN 55401
Telephone: 612-334-9460
Email: cynthiapansing@mrba.org

The Mississippi River Institute for Global Cooperation (MRI) is a newly created Minnesota-based NGO that serves as the international arm of MRBA. The purpose of MRI is facilitate the exchange of information, resources and real world experiences concerning the development and management of large river and estuarine systems; and to empower both policy decision makers and stakeholders in their efforts to protect water resources and improve quality of life through responsible stewardship, balanced decision making and respect for human rights.

Contact: Timothy Sullivan, President and CEO
Mississippi River Institute for Global Cooperation
642 Grace Street
Redwing, MN 55066
Telephone: 651-388-3282
Email: timsullivan1@charter.net

The Mekong River Commission (MRC) is an inter-governmental organization established by Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam to implement the Agreement on Cooperation for the Sustainable Development of the Mekong River Basin signed in April 1995. The MRC also maintains regular dialogue with Myanmar and China on the upper reaches of the Mekong River Basin. The MRC member countries agree to co-operate in all fields of sustainable development, utilization, management and conservation of the water and related resources of the Mekong River Basin, such as navigation, flood control, fisheries, agriculture, hydropower and environmental protection. The MRC consists of three permanent bodies: The Council, the Joint Committee (JC) and the Secretariat (MRCS). The MRC Secretariat is currently based in Vientiane, Lao PDR, and provides technical and administrative services to the Council and JC as well as to each country’s National Mekong Committee.

Contact : Dr. Olivier Cogels, CEO
Mekong River Commission Secretariat
P.O. Box 6101
Vientiane, Lao PDR
Telephone: (856) (21) 263-263
Email: Cogels@mrcmekong.org

Mekong-Mississippi Partnership