Summary Report of Flood management Program in Mekong River

Mekong River Commission
Flood Management Program
(FMP)
Summary Report
Draft
30 September 2002
Contents

1 INTRODUCTION *
2 JUSTIFICATION *
3 Rationale and development of the FMP *
3.1 FMP Rationale and Structure *
3.2 Principles for FMP Formulation *
3.3 Cross Cutting Issues *
3.4 The FMP Formulation Process *
4 Short description of fmp components *
4.1 Establishment of a Regional FMM Center *
4.2 Land Use Management *
4.3 Structural Measures *
4.4 Flood Proofing Measures *
4.5 Flood Risk and Flood Impact Analysis *
4.6 Flood Forecasting, Warning and Dissemination *
4.7 Transboundary Flood Management and Mediation *
4.8 Flood Emergency Management Strengthening *
4.9 Capacity Building for FMM *
Appendix 1: Acronyms and Abbreviations *
Appendix 2: Index of Proposed FMP Components and Outputs *
Appendix 3: Budget Summary *
Appendix 4: National Support *
1. INTRODUCTION
Flooding and flood damages in the Lower Mekong Basin remain present-

day problems. It is well known that people have increased the risk of river
flooding due to hydraulic interventions, intensive building activities, and
the use of all flood prone areas. Improved flood management and
mitigation remain indispensable and will in the future be more in demand
than ever. The complex flood problems of the Lower Mekong Basin not
only require an integrated floodplain management (holistic) approach but
also require a significant attention to the transboundary and regional
issues. The Mekong River Commission (MRC) has since long initiated and
implemented flood management and mitigation activities. It has recently
been decided that FMM will become a permanent MRC program, the
components of which will be revised from time to time to assist the
member countries to cope with flood issues in a timely manner.
The MRC FMM Strategy was passed by the MRC Council in November
2001. The overall development objective of the Strategy is stated as
"people’s suffering and economic losses due to floods are prevented,
minimized, or mitigated, while preserving the environmental benefits of
floods."
In order to implement the strategy, the Council requested MRCS to
formulate a FMM Strategy Implementation Program (FMMSIP). The
FMMSIP will provide a framework for the new MRC Flood Management
Program (FMP) by identifying and describing components for
implementation.
A first outline of proposed FMP components was circulated to the NMCs
and various national line agencies. It was briefly discussed at a series of
initial national consultations in July and August 2002, and reviewed in
more depth during national workshops held in August and September
2002.
The dialogue has clearly confirmed the commitment of the member
countries to the FMP, its usefulness, its compliance with national flood
management requirements, and the imminent need of its outputs.

The purpose of the present document is to summarize the FMP
components as they appear by late September, 2002.
2. JUSTIFICATION
There is a growing awareness that the magnitude of the floods is
increasing; in part as a result of man-made intervention. There is also an
emerging knowledge of ways and means to influence the impact of the
floods and thereby to limit the related social and economic losses. At the
same time, the environmental benefits of floods become continuously
better understood and documented, in terms of environmental
conservation, as well as in terms of fisheries and other natural resources.
The value of improved flood management and mitigation is reflected by
the recurrent flood damage in the Lower Mekong Basin. In 2000, more
than 800 people died, and the economic damage was assessed at more
than 400 million USD. In 2001, more than 300 people died, and the
economic damage was assessed at more than 100 million USD. In 2002,
by end of August (before the high risk period in September), the flood
damage in Cambodia alone was assessed at more than 40 million USD. In
each of these years, between 1 and 8 million people were affected by
floods, either by a need of evacuation, or by loss of crops and livestock, or
by being prevented from going to work or to school.
The flood damage (for a given flood event) will increase in parallel with the
ongoing economic and infrastructural development and intensified land
use in the Lower Mekong Basin; and it is imperative that the physical
development proceeds in a way that in itself minimizes the flood risk.
At the same time, new opportunities are available for improved
management and mitigation. MRC is already pursuing such opportunities,
with its recently implemented real-time water level monitoring (covering
both its member countries and Yunnan), and the MRC flood predictions
published daily on the Internet are widely applied. Also, MRC supplies
boundary data for more detailed flood predictions for sub-basins that are

undertaken by national agencies.
There is an attractive potential for further development. New forecasting
and risk and impact assessment technologies have been implemented in
other large river basins, in Southeast Asia and elsewhere, with proven
advantages. The MRC member countries have accumulated a vast
expertise in flood management, which can be consolidated, disseminated,
and further developed by a continuous dialogue.
During the recent national consultations and workshops, the MRC
member countries have confirmed their commitment and interest in
collaborating within flood management, on the basis of the agreed MRC
FMM Strategy. The large floods on the Mekong are regional in their
character, and MRC is in a unique position to contribute effectively to
improved flood management at the regional level.
3. Rationale and development of the FMP
3.1. FMP Rationale and Structure
The FMP is directly based on the MRC FMM Strategy (November
2001) as agreed between the member countries. During its
preparation, the need and the usefulness of this strategy has been
confirmed by all parties, and no changes have been made or
indicated.
All FMP components share the development objective of the
Strategy, which is
"people’s suffering and economic losses due to floods are
prevented, minimized, or mitigated, while preserving the
environmental benefits of floods."
Each component has its own immediate objective, as described in
Chapter 4.
Between them, the proposed FMP components are intended to
cover the key (high or medium) priorities identified in the FMM
Strategy.

The components have been delineated in such a way that they are
self-supporting in relation to the development objective of each
component. Functionally, the components do not depend on each
other, but they are related (and in some cases closely related), and
they will highly enhance the value and impact of each other. In the
same way, most components have interfaces with several of the
ongoing MRC programs, with which they will interact in a mutually
beneficial way.
Due to the potential for this positive nteraction, MRC is in a unique
position to contribute effectively to continued improvement of flood
management and mitigation in the Lower Mekong Basin.
3.2. Principles for FMP Formulation
Guiding principles for the FMP formulation are: (i) Basin-wide
significance: The benefits generated must relate to all member
countries; (ii) involve upstream partners: Seek a continued dialogue
with PRC and Myanmar where feasible; (iii) poverty alleviation and
gender issues: Focus on impact on livelihood of the poor, target
beneficiaries clearly and ensure mainstreaming of gender issues;
(iv) sustainability: Assessment of real long term beneficiary effects;
(v) participatory approach: Ensure involvement and create
ownership; (vi) integrated action and avoidance of duplication:
Coordination with national policies and with national and regional
organizations and initiatives is crucial; (vii) ecological benefits: Take
a holistic approach to ecosystems and natural resources; and,
finally, (viii) feasibility: Assess viability and cost effectiveness and
ensure that the activity is within the mandate and management
capability of MRC.
3.3. Cross Cutting Issues
This section deals with some of the most common cross-cutting
issues of flood management and mitigation, which are related to

one or more of the FMP Components. Table 3.1 summarises the
compliance with and relevance to the four cross-cutting issues,
namely: the spirit of sustainability , relevance to environmental
governance , poverty alleviation, and gender issues.
Table 3.1 Compliance / Relevance of the FMP Components with
sustainability, environmental governance, poverty alleviation and
gender issue
FMP component
Compliance with
sustainability
Relevance to
environmental
governance
Relevance to
poverty alleviation
issues
Relevance to gender
issues
#1: RFMMC
M to H H L M
#2: Land Use
H H M M
#3: Structural
L to M M L to M L
#4: Flood Proofing
M to H M to H M to H M to H
#5: Flood Analysis
H M to H L L
#6: Flood Forecasting
H H M to H L to M

#7: Transboundary
M H L L
#8: Emergency Management
H H M L to M
#9: Capacity Building
H H M H
Notation: H=: High; M = Medium; L= Low
3.3.1. Flood Management and Sustainable Development
While carrying out an in-depth analysis of the requirements of
sustainability in relation to flood management and mitigation
projects, one comes across with the following questions:
• Can sustainable development along with the international
instruments aiming at poverty reduction and environmental
protection, be successful without taking into account the risk
of flood hazards and their impacts?
• Can we afford the increasing costs and losses due to so-
called natural disasters?
In river basins, where finding a solution to the recurrent flooding
problem tops the list of socio-economic development agenda, the
answer to both the above questions is a firm "no". Floods are
natural events and will continue to occur in the future – one can
never achieve complete safety. Yet, the flood risk can be seriously
restricted if an appropriate preparedness system is built. Recent
literature (e.g., Kundzewicz, 2002; Takeuchi et al., 1998; UK
Environment Agency, 1998; Kundzewicz, 1999) provide excellent
discussions on "flood protection and sustainability".
It is worthwhile to view flood management and mitigation in a
broader context, as part of a sustainable development strategy in
the Mekong Basin. Some large structural flood protection measures
often called as "hard measures" have been criticised in the context

of sustainable development for closing options for future
generations and introducing disturbances in the ecosystems. All
other measures proposed in the FMP which fall under the general
category of "non-structural" flood mitigation measures are fully in
compliance with the "spirit of sustainability". A common
interpretation of sustainable development is that civilisation, wealth
(human and natural capital), and environment (built and natural)
should be relayed to future generations in a non-depleted condition.
That is civilisation and wealth should be protected from devastating
floods, which destroy cultural landscapes and undermine
sustainable development by breaking continuity.
Another aspect of definition of sustainable development is that,
while flood protection is necessary for the present generation to
attain a fair degree of freedom from disastrous events, it must be
done in such a way that future generations are not adversely
affected.
Soft measures, as adopted in the FMP, which do not involve large
structural components, can be rated as more flexible, less
committing, and more sustainable than hard measures; yet the
latter may be indispensable in particular circumstances. Indeed,
non-structural measures alone cannot provide a satisfactory
solution in some flood-vulnerable areas of the Lower Mekong
Basin. Some examples are: upland settlements prone to flash
floods and land slides, urban settlements close to river banks prone
to erosion from rivers, rural and urban settlements in the delta and
low lands. Strategies for these areas include protection by some
kind of structural means like dykes, river bank protection, erosion
control works, etc. Structural measures are also needed to
safeguard and upgrade existing development/infrastructure, in
particular in urban areas. On the other hand, small-scale structural

measures, such as those covered under flood proofing, building
codes, flood plain land management, watershed land use planning,
ect., are regarded as sustainable.
In order to assess sustainability of a flood mitigation programme,
four criteria are commonly used: reversibility, fairness, risk, and
consensus. One could add to these criteria a measure of efficiency
and synergism. For example, a multi-purpose reservoir may also
have a number of functions related to sustainability: flood peak
modulation, water supply, hydro-power, navigation, etc.
Examples of quality indices which could be used for comparing
flood mitigation measures in the sustainability context may relate to
socio-economic and financial feasibility, related investment and
operational costs, degree of intervention in the natural regime,
stress to ecosystem and humans, use of energy and raw materials,
safety, risk and reliability issues, and opportunities for reversibility
(flexibility) and rehabilitation.
Provision of adequate and reliable information related to all aspects
of floods and flood management is a fundamental requirement
leading to compliance with sustainability while designing and
implementing a flood management and mitigation programme. This
has been adequately addressed in the formulation of the FMP.
3.3.2. Flood Management and Environmental Governance
The issues and importance of environmental governance in the
Mekong Region have recently been explained by Nathan Badenoch
, World Research Institute (2001, 2002) in the two publications –
Transboundary Environmental Governance: principles and
practices in mainland and south east Asia", and "Mekong Regional
Environmental Governance: perspectives on Opportunities and
challenges".
"Environmental governance has been defined as the manner in

which people exercise authority over nature. It concerns the actors
– within each level of government, between elected and appointed
officals, and among public, private, and non-governmental bodies –
and the powers that they exercise to make decisions about the
disposition of natural resources and the benefits that flow from the
environment. "
In the context of the Lower Mekong Basin, flow of information and
data, institutional capacity and transparent decision making
involving all stakeholders and cooperators have been identified as
among the key indicators of enhanced transboundary
environmental governance. The present FMP addresses these key
issues adequately.
The most common issues of environmental governance that need
to be addressed while implementing a flood management and
mitigation programme are:
• Global environment (resilience to climate change, energy
efficiency, biodiversity)
• Natural resources (quantity and quality of surface water and
ground water, wetland ecosystem, wild life habitat, etc.)
• Local environment quality (morphological stability, landscape
and open land, recreation, amenity and enhancement of
river environment
• Local competence (formulation of policy/guidelines and
implementation of environmental governance), in human
resource and institutional capabilities
• Local awareness (information about floods and flood
mitigation, informed stakeholders’ involvement, removal of
myths and mis-conceptions)
• Living with floods (building a flood risk-conscious society,
public health, safety and well being)

• Recognising the benefits of floods (soil fertility, fisheries,
irrigation, etc.)
• Zoning and relocation ( striking a balance between risk of
living in endangered flood plains and socio-cultural stress
management)
3.3.3. Flood Management and Poverty Alleviation
It is a painful fact that poor people are the most adversely affected
by floods. Even in economically advanced societies with
appropriate schemes of insurance, the lower strata of society does
not get compensated for the flood losses. It is therefore, necessary,
to build a mechanism to help poor flood victims recover from losses
as quickly as possible. Post-flood recovery is often less spectacular
than actions during floods, as national leaders and the media who
have left the flood catastrophe area become disinterested. Disaster
aid, based on contributions, national assistance, and international
help is essential to restore livelihood and employment of flood
victims.
Some of the proposed FMP components, notably, the flood proofing
measures, and the emergency flood management strengthening,
address the poverty alleviation issues as their activities are directly
relevant to the issues. Provision of a reliable and timely information
on an upcoming flood and warning of its consequences may play
an indirect, yet a contributing role in poverty alleviation.
3.3.4. Flood Management and Gender Issues
As the main aim of flood management and mitigation is enhanced
quality of life and safety of society, men and women who are equal
partners of the society, play equally important roles in the FMM
process. However, roles of women in flood management and
mitigation in the Mekong Basin is different from country to country
and from place to place. While men seem to take up leadership

roles in large scale FMM activities, there is a strong role for women
to play in house-hold and community level decision making in flood
management and mitigation. As a verification, it was pointed out in
the Thai national consultation workshop that women make many
decisions in Thai societies.
Gender issues are highly relevant and are considered directly in at
least four components: Land use management, flood proofing, flood
emergency management, and capacity building. It is a widely
recognised fact that women can play very effective roles in
disseminating flood warning information and motivating
communities in taking preventive actions before and during floods.
However, it is necessary to consider gender sensitivity during
evacuations, in the provision of accommodation and sanitation
facilities.
In a different, yet related context, gender issues in terms of
providing equal opportunities to women in the institutional and
technological components of FMM (e.g., FMM Centre, flood
forecasting, modelling and analysis) are highly relevant. This is In
line with MRC’s gender policy. Women need to be encouraged to
choose and participate in the information processing and modelling
related activities of FMM in all the member countries.
3.3.5. Flood Management and Climate Impact Assessment
Since flood management and mitigation requires thinking about
future (also from the sustainability point of view), the climate
change issue becomes important. The FMM measures presented in
the FMP, in particular the measures focussing on the analysis and
provision of hydro-meteorological information lend themselves well
to considerations in climate change and its impact.
Whatever climate change brings, it will bring increasing uncertainty.
As uncertainty in the assessment of climate change impacts is high,

flexibility of adaptation of the FMM Strategy is particularly
advantageous. Therefore, the processes and models to be
developed under the FMP will need continuous review and
updating as regards to climate change impacts.
3.4. The FMP Formulation Process
The FMP is being prepared in a close dialogue with stakeholders
and FMM practitioners. The dialogue has involved a number of
major steps:
o The formulation process of the underlying FMM Strategy itself (in
2001)
o The First Annual Flood Forum (in April 2002)
o National consultations and workshops (in July - September 2002).
Other (outstanding) steps are a regional workshop, scheduled for
21-22 October, 2002, and the high-level review of the draft FMP by
the MRC Council in November 2002.
Formulation of the MRC FMM Strategy
The formulation of MRC's FMM Strategy in 2001 involved
preparation of national FMM working papers (in August 2001) and a
series of national consultations and workshops. This dialogue
pointed at a shortlist of possible MRC FMM policy roles as follows:
o Flood forecasting services
o Center of flood data and information
o Flood analytical services and setting of standards
o Neutral mediator, assessor and arbiter of transboundary issues
o Capacity building and technology transfer
o Coordination of floodplain management of national and MRC
programs
o Forum on floodplain management and flood preparedness
The Strategy identifies 'Fields of MRC Intervention' as shown in the
figure below.

The First Annual Flood Forum (April 2002)
As one of high priority activities determined by the Strategy, the
Annual Mekong Flood Forum was organized by MRC in April 2002
with participation by the riparian countries and many international
and civil society organizations. The objective of the Forum was to
communicate and coordinate policies and action plans towards a
better regional integration of flood preparedness. The four riparian
countries as well as the MRC detailed lists of "lessons learned" and
also itemized activities for the short and medium term to mitigate
flood disasters.

Important lessons learned during the floods of 2000 and 2001
• Disaster preparedness is a pre-condition for any serious poverty reduction and sustainable development in each of
the riparian countries in the basin
• Regional efforts should be in place to cope with all flood issues in the Mekong River Basin
• More and better cooperation between MRC member countries is a fundamental need for flood management and
mitigation in the basin
• Immediate implementation of the Regional MRC Strategy for Flood Management and Mitigation is needed
• Poor coordination among line agencies and lack of community preparedness caused excessive suffering of people
• Infrastructure should be designed and constructed not only to withstand floods but also to serve broader
humanitarian needs in times of floods
The summary from national working group discussions included a
number of conclusions relevant to the FMP:

Recommended regional and balanced approaches
• More and better exchange of information and experience between riparian countries is needed
• Good project formulations are needed to give a regional and balanced approach to flood management and mitigation
• Improvement is required for reliable data collection, analysis and communication for accurate flood forecasting and
warning systems among riparian countries
• Training programs on disaster awareness are required for local administrative officers

• MRC should assist in strengthening bilateral communications between countries
• MRC should seek synergies with existing (national and regional) disaster management institutions
The participants identified a great number of additional activities.
The list of high priority activities of which implementation would be
attributed to MRCS reads as follows:

• Preparation of a compilation of existing and planned infrastructure works in the LMB
• Adjustment and/or production of appropriate hydrologic and hydraulic models for the LMB
• Formulation of guidelines on flood proofing for specific areas (for building and development control)
• Ensure accurate forecasting with indicated levels of certainty
• Support dissemination and understanding of forecasts
• Develop procedures and instructions for use of forecasts
• Support collection and transmission of reliable and accurate real time data
• Support a regional flood warning system
• Establish a regional flood information center
• Support flood mapping at community level
National consultations and workshops (July - September 2002)
Initial consultations were held from 31 July to 13 August 2002 with
the NMCs and selected national line agencies and organizations.
They were based on the Draft Inception Report, in some cases
supplemented with initial versions of individual component
descriptions. Their objective was to agree on the FMP formulation
process, and to obtain initial comments on the usefulness, scope
and structure of the FMP as a whole, as well as of its individual
components. Also, information was received about ongoing and
planned activities related to the FMP.
National workshops were held from to 6 September, on the basis of
the (revised draft) Inception Report and the (preliminary draft)
Outline of FMP Components . The workshops were organized by
the NMCs. Their objectives were (i) to achieve comments - advice,

suggestions, requirements – to the proposed FMP components.
Particularly, feedback was sought about relevance, usefulness and
adequacy of the proposed outputs and activities; and (ii) to obtain
any supplementary national information that can justify the FMP
and support its development and promotion. Also, the draft
Inception Report was briefly reviewed. In some cases, additional
individual consultations were held on the days before or after the
national workshops.
In Cambodia, the following organizations have been consulted:
CNMC; Ministry of Planning; Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries; Ministry of Environment; Ministry of Public Works and
Transport; Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology; Ministry
of Rural Development; Kampong Speu Province; Kampong Cham
Province; Stung Treng Province; Kratie Province; Kampong Thom
province; Svey Rieng Province; Prey Vieng Province; Kom Pot
Province; National Committee for Disaster Management (Council of
Ministers); and UNDP (Cambodia).
In Laos, the following organizations have been consulted: LNMCS;
Department of Planning (Central Planning Commission); Ministry of
Communication, Transport, Post, and Construction; Ministry of
Agriculture and Forestry; Department of Meteorology and
Hydrology; Department of Forestry; Department of Transport;
Department of Irrigation; Irrigation Engineering Department;
Electricity Department; Waterways Administration Division; National
Economic Research Institute; Urban Research Institute; National
Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute (NAFRI); STEA;
National Disaster Management Office; Department of Irrigation;
Champasak Province; Khammouane Province; UNDP (Laos); and
IUCN (Laos).
In Thailand, the following organizations have been consulted:

TNMC; Department of Meteorology; Royal Irrigation Department;
Office of the National Water Resources Committee; Department of
Fisheries; Royal Forestry Department; Office of the National
Economic and Social Development Board; Department for Energy
Development and Promotion; Department of Accelerated Rural
Development; Land Development Department; Public Works
Department; EGAT; Department of Local Administration;
Hydrographic Department; Pollution Control Department;
Department of Environmental Quality Promotion; Office of
Environmental Policy and Planning; Thai Red Cross Society;
International Federation of Red Cross & Red Crescent Societies;
AIT; Rangsit University; UNDP (Bangkok); UNEP; ESCAP; and
ADPC.
In Vietnam, the following organizations have been consulted:
VNMC; VNMC Representative Office in HCMC; IWRP; Department
of Dyke Management and Flood Control, MARD; Vietnam
Hydrometeorological Services; National Center for Hydro-
Meteorological Forecasting, Hanoi; Southern Region Hydro-
Meteorological Center; Southern Department of Dyke Management
and Flood Control; Sub Forest Institute for Planning and
Investigation; Sub-Institute of Water Resources Planning; and Sub
National Institute for Agricultural Planning and Projection.
The dialogue has clearly confirmed the commitment of the member
countries to the FMP, its usefulness, its compliance with national
flood management requirements, and the imminent need of its
outputs.
While the proposed over-all structure and scope of the FMP were
appreciated, many detailed contributions to scope and approach
were made during the dialogue.
4. SHORT DESCRIPTION OF FMP COMPONENTS

A total of nine components have been identified and are
recommended for implementation within a time frame of 6 years, as
shown in Figure 4.1.
In the following sections, an outline is given of each component,
under the following headings:
o Immediate objective
o Justification
o Relationship to FMM Strategy and other MRC programs
o Priority
o Outputs and activities
o Time frame
o Budget and cost sharing
More comprehensive descriptions of each component are available
as separate (draft) documents.
4.1. Establishment of a Regional FMM Center (for more info please refer
to COMP 1)
Immediate objective
The immediate objective of this FMP Component is 'a regional
FMM Center established, generating and disseminating data &
information related to integrated flood management and river
monitoring in the Lower Mekong Basin'
Justification
The MRC Flood Management and Mitigation (FMM) Strategy
provides the basis for a much stronger future involvement of MRC
in regional flood management. In various national and regional
workshops organized during the FMM Strategy formulation and
during the First Annual Flood Forum held in April 2002, the
establishment of a Regional Flood Management Center was
considered a high priority. The establishment of such a center was
also one of the major recommendations of the International Expert

Meeting organized by MRCS in February 2002.
Flood forecasting and warning has been mainly dealt with on a
national basis. To differing degrees, riparian line agencies do not
share data and information sufficiently well enough to meet even
domestic water management and flood forecasting purposes;
therefore the Regional FMM Center will be the mechanism for
sharing data between agencies within and between the riparian
countries. It will provide on-the-job-training for officials from the
member countries, Moreover, by building consensus among the
riparian countries on a variety of standards such as data collection,
exchange, storage, and quality assurance, RFMMC can assure that
the data are comparable, basin wide. With RFMMC serving as a
center of excellence in flood forecasting and data, and information
archiving it can assist the riparian counterpart line agencies to
achieve a common level of capacity and performance.
An extremely important task of integrated flood management is the
generation and dissemination of information, in particular in relation
to flood forecast and warning. Information in itself does not solve
flood and disaster management problems; how-ever management
problems cannot be properly addressed and solved without
adequate information. Considering the multiple uses of floods, this
project will address new technological development, the use of
information in many aspects of flood management, and issues of
information access and dissemination. Data collection, processing
and dissemination require substantial organization and allocation of
re-sources. By reducing the gaps between information needs and
information availability, a contribution can be made to effective and
more efficient flood management.
Starting in July 2001, MRCS has issued daily flood reports through
the Internet. The reports were compiled from information received

from line agencies in the member countries. In the 2002 flood
season MRC continues to broadcast three-day forecasts with
improved telemetering equipment that can transmit data directly to
computer terminals in the Secretariat in Phnom Penh. The
RFMMC, when operational, will, in cooperation with line agencies in
the member countries, and if possible in all the six riparian
countries, intensify and harmonize data collection and processing,
and assume responsibility for the flood reporting.
During the national FMM workshops held in August-September
2002, all member countries supported the component.
Relationship to FMM Strategy and other MRC programs
The Establishment of the Regional FMM Center is completely
consistent with the Strategic Plan’s objectives as the Center is to
make a major contribution to attainment of the development
objective of the Strategy: e.g., to minimize, prevent or mitigate
peoples suffering and economic losses due to floods.
The Flood Management and Mitigation Strategy attaches a high
priority to flood preparedness and strongly advocates the
establishment of the Regional FMM Center. A ranked summary of
necessary measures drafted and agreed upon during the First
Flood Forum further underscored the need for such a Center.
The component has useful links to MRC’s core programs and can
add value to their achievements in many ways.
Priority
High priority is imposed by the needs of the MRC member
countries as pointed out during the national consultations and
workshops.
Outputs and activities

Outputs, set-up and establishment Activities

1 An operational Regional FMM Center
established under MRC, interacting
with national collaborating centers/focal
points
1.1 Detailed planning (bridging activity)
1.2 Draft and complete the process of
approval of act of establishment,
including the agreement on location of
the Center
1.3 Finalize internal organization and
recruit staff
1.4 Building construction: design,
tender, approval, construction,
furnishing.
1.5 Install equipment and logistics
2 Annual Flood Forums
2.1 Organize and report annual flood
forums
2.2 Build and maintain a professional
network of FMM practitioners and
scientists in the LMB, from NMCs, line
agencies, the scientific community,
international organizations and NGOs
2.3 Facilitate/foster FMM-related
knowledge-sharing, including for
example (i) FF technology and routines;
(ii) flood damage assessment and
damage prediction; (iii) socio-economic
impacts of floods

Outputs, operation/consolidation
stage
Activities
3 Improved flood information
3.1 Improvement of base information
3.2 Improvement of monitoring
3.3 Improvement of forecasting,
warning & dissemination: Reducing
uncertainties; increasing the lead time;
investigate medium and long-term
forecasting techniques; increasing the
accuracy of forecasts; improving the
usefulness of forecasts; and improving
dissemination
4 Strengthened co-operation and
information sharing
4.1 Develop and implement common
standards for data and data transmission
4.2 Establish a network for efficient
dissemination of flood preparedness
information
5 Enhanced competence in FMM
5.1 Maintain international scientific/
professional liaison
5.2 Internal and external capacity
building
Time frame
6 years (2003-2008)
Budget and cost sharing
Total project costs 13.346.000 USD

National inputs (in-kind) 1.022.000 USD
External funds required 12.324.000 USD
Funds sought 12.324.000 USD
4.1. Land Use Management (for more info please refer to COMP 2)
Immediate objective
The immediate objective of this FMP component is institutional,
human resources and technical support being available to
sustainable land management and improved land use planning
integrated into floodplain management and mitigation in member
countries of the LMB.
Justification
A multifold set of legislation, policies and regulations are linked to
national land management and land use planning in the LMB.
However, it is increasingly noted by its stakeholders’ that a serial
nation-by-nation approach is neither sufficient nor effective to
address complex links between aggregated changes in land use
and tributary and thereto related water abstraction schemes and
mainstream flooding at multiple scales. The issue needs to be
addressed by the development of a database and technical
expertise with a regional mandate of operation.
The creation of combination of risk assessment methodologies and
flood-preventive or flood-reducing land management policies and
actions taken are likely to have significant positive socio-economic,
cultural and environmental benefits in the target area. Improved
GIS-based land use planning techniques will include Digital
Elevation Models with a constant resolution and geo-referenced
data on land use categories.
Improved land management and land use planning for flood
reduction and mitigation is one essential ingredient of achieving
sustainable natural resource management as described by various

national cross-sector plans and ambitions (e.g. watershed
management and urban planning). This component will add
complementary benefits to existing national watershed planning
and management tools and not work as a replication.
Relationship to FMM Strategy and other MRC programs
The proposed component is completely consistent with both the
development and immediate objectives of the MRC Strategy on
FMM. Improved information, research, training, co-ordination and
exchange services related to land management and land use
planning in conjunction with main tributary and mainstream sections
in the LMB are conditional to accomplish reduced human and
economic suffering and losses caused by floods while maintaining
environmental benefits.
This component is closely interfaced with component 1 (Regional
FMM Center), component 3 (Structural Measures), component 4
(Flood Proofing Measures), component 5 (Flood Risk and Flood
Analysis) and component 9 (Capacity Building).
It is further identified that this component has strong links to MRC
Core/Sector Programs, such as BDP, WUP, Environment Program
and the WRMP.
Land use assessments at transboundary scales and improved land
management systems are here identified to be in liaison with the
1995 MRC Agreement.
Priority
Initially, the MRC member country representatives gave priority to
this component in relation to MRC’s strategic roles of producing
technical products and services as well as capacity building. In the
following series of National Workshops (August-September, 2002)
this priority was confirmed. Further, it was stressed from all member
countries that this component should not only address the need for

improved land use planning but also engage itself in land
management related to FMM. Thereby, links between this
component and MRC’s strategic role of addressing differences and
facilitation were identified (transboundary and aggregated impacts
of land use changes on river regimes).
Outputs and activities

Outputs Activities
1 Harmonised land management
1.1 Regional coordination of land
management and land use planning in
FMM
1.2● Reviews and studies of existing
terms, definitions and classification
systems
1.3 Development of databases and
risk assessment methodologies at
multiple scales
2 Land use assessments and land
management systems
2.1 Integration of sustainable land
management in FMM
2.2 Wetlands and FMM
2.3 Trans-boundary land use impacts
on FMM
2.4 Geo-referenced GIS and systems
approaches for land use planning and
risk assessments in FMM
2.5 Policies and impacts on land use
and FMM

3 Land use planning tools and land
management case studies
3.1 Case studies of successful land
management systems in FMM
3.2 GIS software for regional and
national land use planning and risk
assessment
4 Land use and land management
institutional capacity
4.1 Training in GIS-based land use
planning and risk assessment in FMM
4.2 Training in urban planning and
flood mitigation
4.3 Guidelines in national languages
4.4 Evaluation
4.5 Training, workshops and seminars
Time frame
3 years (2005-2007)
Budget and cost sharing
Total project costs 3,278,000 USD
National inputs (in-kind) 423,000 USD
External funds required 2,855,000 USD
Funds sought: 2,855,000 USD
4.3. Structural Measures (for more info please refer to COMP 3)
Immediate objective
The immediate objective of this component is a reduced
vulnerability of society to floods, and a reduced risk of flood
disasters caused by failure or inappropriateness of structural
intervention.
This immediate objective implies:

o Identified impacts of reservoirs and other hydraulic structures in the
Mekong basin, including those in China, with regard to implications
for flooding in the LMB.
o An enhanced mechanism of coordination on hydraulic structures
development and operation with all the riparian countries in the
Mekong Basin.
o Established guidance/guidelines on all aspects of structural
measures of flood mitigation in the LMB.
Justification
A large number of dams and other hydraulic structures have been
constructed in the Lower Mekong Basin, with about 20 dams in Lao
PDR, Thailand and Vietnam. China has two large hydroelectric
dams across the Mekong itself, is currently constructing a third, and
apparently has plans for additional reservoirs. For a regional flood
management, it is necessary to know about these structures and
their operation, especially during the flood season.
It is widely recognized that structural means tend to create a false
sense of security in the population protected by the works. It is
necessary to assess the risks and keep the society informed of
potential disaster.
Although, in general, a shift in paradigm from "structural flood
control" to "non-structural flood management" is being noticed in
the LMB, it is unavoidable that many local level flood control
structures will be constructed in the future. There is a need that
member countries receive an unbiased advice and guidance from a
regional river basin organization like MRC, on technical (design
standards, risk assessment, operation rules, etc.) as well as on
policy and cooperation issues
Relationship to FMM Strategy and other MRC programs
The proposed component is completely consistent with the MRC

FMM Strategy. The MRC FMM Strategy assigns a high priority to
"structural measures" as a field of intervention in terms of providing
technical products and services and addressing differences and
facilitation as the strategic roles of MRC. This component has close
interfaces to other proposed FMP components, such as component
4 (Flood proofing), component 5 (flood risk and flood impact
analysis), and component 6 (flood forecasting, warning and
dissemination), and component 9 (capacity building). This
component will have useful links to MRC’s Basin Development Plan
and the Environmental Program.
Priority
High priority is imposed by the needs of the MRC member
countries as indicated during the national consultations and
workshops conducted in July-September 2002.
Outputs and activities
Outputs Activities
1 Overview of infrastructural
1.1 Compile inventory of existing and
planned flood-related infrastructure:
Reservoirs, regulators, embankments,