Mekong Institute (MI) and Cambodia’s Ministry of Water and Resource Meteorology (MOWRM) hosted a meeting to launch the “Capacity Building for Sustainable and Climate Change Resilient Water Resource Management in the Mekong River Basin”project on March 28, 2023 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Funded by Mekong – Republic of Korea Cooperation Fund (MKCF), the project provides capacity building to relevant stakeholders geared towards sustainable and climate-resilient water resource management in the Lower Mekong Basin.
To this end, mid-level officials involved in water management and the development of an integrated water resource management policy will be targeted. Activities and support will look into enhancing their skills through action plans and tangible results.
The challenges faced by the Mekong River basin were discussed during the meeting, among them the ongoing capacity development efforts of the Cambodian government in addressing the topic of climate-resilient water resource management in cooperation with Thailand, Lao PDR, Viet Nam, and Myanmar.
Agreements reached during the meeting included:
- Addressing regional water challenges in the project to provide comprehensive solutions for all Mekong regional counterparts
- Increased capacity building and regional participation in all aspects of the project
- Strengthening cooperation between the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Mekong countries across all departments to address the challenges of water resource management
- Selecting individual consultants for topics related to water resources management, including flood and drought mitigation.
Mr. Madhurjya K. Dutta, MI Director of Trade and Investment Facilitation and MKCF Coordinator,emphasized the importance of addressing regional challenges through the collaboration with K-water and developing mechanisms to tackle challenges from both ends. He also provided guidance to the project team on ensuring effective program implementation to achieve the best outcomes for targeted communities.
H.E Ponh Sachak, Secretary of State, drew attention to Cambodia’s unpredictable climate and highlighted the significant role of MOWRAM in adopting a civil engineering approach to river basin development, water security, flood mitigation during the rainy session, and drought mitigation during the dry season. He is confident that the project will achieve the desired outcomes and provide benefits to the Lower Mekong Basin or Mekong delta.
For more information om this project, write to:
Madhurjya K Dutta, Director of TIF and Coordinator of MKCF at [email protected]
Ashutosh Kuma, Project Finance Coordinator, at [email protected]
