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Optimal Water Allocation In The Mekong River Basin

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  • Ringler, Claudia

Abstract

The Mekong River is the dominant geo-hydrological structure in mainland Southeast Asia, originating in China and flowing through or bordering Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Whereas water resources in the wet season are more than adequate to fulfill basin needs, there are regional water shortages during the dry season, when only 1-2% of the annual flow reaches the Delta. Recent rapid agricultural and economic development in the basin has led to increasing competition among the riparian countries for Mekong waters. This development calls for a structured approach to the management of the basin, including efficient, equitable, and environmentally sustainable water allocation mechanisms that support the socioeconomic development in the region. Institutional mechanisms for Mekong cooperation among the riparians in the lower basin have been in place since 1957, and were revived in 1995. However, comprehensive water allocation mechanisms for the (lower) basin have not been developed to date. In this study, multi-country and intersectoral analyses of water allocation and use are carried out for the Mekong River Basin with the objective to determine tradeoffs and complementarities in water usage and strategies for the efficient allocation of water resources. An aggregate economic-hydrologic model for the basin is developed that allows for the analysis of water allocation and use under alternative policy scenarios. Results from the analytical framework indicate that although competition for Mekong water still appears to be very low, there are substantial tradeoffs between instream and off-stream water uses. An analysis of alternative water allocation mechanisms shows that to achieve both equitable and large benefits from water uses across countries and sectors, the ideal strategy would be to strive for optimal basin water use benefits and then to redistribute these benefits instead of the water resource. The development of such an integrated framework of analysis can be a critical first step to overcome some of the obstacles to effective management and joint cooperation in the Mekong River Basin. It could also facilitate the upcoming negotiations of water allocation rules in the lower basin and thus contribute to the reasonable and equitable utilization of Mekong River waters, as envisioned in the 1995 Mekong Agreement.

Suggested Citation

  • Ringler, Claudia, 2001. "Optimal Water Allocation In The Mekong River Basin," Discussion Papers 18745, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:ubzefd:18745
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.18745
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    Cited by:

    1. Unknown, 2006. "Despite Katrina, Overall Food Prices Stable," Amber Waves:The Economics of Food, Farming, Natural Resources, and Rural America, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, pages 1-1, September.
    2. Gohar, Abdelaziz A. & Cashman, Adrian, 2016. "A methodology to assess the impact of climate variability and change on water resources, food security and economic welfare," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 51-64.
    3. Robyn Johnston & Vladimir Smakhtin, 2014. "Hydrological Modeling of Large river Basins: How Much is Enough?," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 28(10), pages 2695-2730, August.
    4. Deng, Xiaohong & Xu, Zhongmin & Song, Xiaoyu & Zhou, Jian, 2017. "Transaction costs associated with agricultural water trading in the Heihe River Basin, Northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 186(C), pages 29-39.
    5. Houba, Harold & Pham Do, Kim Hang & Zhu, Xueqin, 2011. "Saving the Mekong River Basin," MPRA Paper 37407, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Patrick Webb, 2002. "The Dynamics of Food, Nutrition and Poverty in SE Asia," Working Papers in Food Policy and Nutrition 09, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.
    7. Kirby, Mac & Mainuddin, Mohammed & Gao, Lei & Connor, Jeffery D. & Ahmad, Mobin-ud-Din, 2012. "Integrated, dynamic economic – hydrology model of the Murray-Darling Basin," 2012 Conference (56th), February 7-10, 2012, Fremantle, Australia 124487, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.
    8. repec:ags:ubzefd:148054 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Bekchanov, Maksud & Bhaduri, Anik & Ringler, Claudia, 2013. "How market-based water allocation can improve water use efficiency in the Aral Sea basin?," Discussion Papers 155504, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).
    10. Márcia G. Alcoforado de Moraes & Yony Sampaio & José Almir Cirilo, 2006. "Integraçãoo dos Componentes Econômico e Hidrológico na Modelagem de Alocação Ótima de Água para Apoio a Gestão de Recursos Hídricos: Uma Aplicação na Bacia do Rio Pirapama," Economia, ANPEC - Associação Nacional dos Centros de Pós-Graduação em Economia [Brazilian Association of Graduate Programs in Economics], vol. 7(2), pages 331-364.
    11. Walter, Teresa & Kloos, Julia & Tsegai, Daniel W., 2010. "Improving water use efficiency under worsening scarcity: Evidence from the Middle Olifants sub-basin in South Africa," Discussion Papers 97035, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).
    12. Ijaz Ahmad & Fan Zhang & Junguo Liu & Muhammad Naveed Anjum & Muhammad Zaman & Muhammad Tayyab & Muhammad Waseem & Hafiz Umar Farid, 2018. "A linear bi-level multi-objective program for optimal allocation of water resources," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(2), pages 1-25, February.
    13. Robyn Johnston & Matti Kummu, 2012. "Water Resource Models in the Mekong Basin: A Review," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 26(2), pages 429-455, January.
    14. Kirby, M., 2010. "Water-use accounts in CPWF basins: simple water-use accounting of the Mekong Basin," IWMI Working Papers H042840, International Water Management Institute.
    15. Ekasingh, B. & Letcher, R.A., 2008. "Successes and failures to embed socioeconomic dimensions in integrated natural resource management modeling: Lessons from Thailand," Mathematics and Computers in Simulation (MATCOM), Elsevier, vol. 78(2), pages 137-145.
    16. Gohar, Abdelaziz A. & Ward, Frank A., 2010. "Gains from expanded irrigation water trading in Egypt: An integrated basin approach," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(12), pages 2535-2548, October.
    17. Bekchanov, Maksud & Bhaduri, Anik & Ringler, Claudia, 2015. "Potential gains from water rights trading in the Aral Sea Basin," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 41-56.
    18. Houba, Harold & Pham Do, Kim Hang & Zhu, Xueqin, 2012. "Transboundary Water Management: A joint management approach to the Mekong River Basin," 2012 Conference (56th), February 7-10, 2012, Fremantle, Australia 125063, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.
    19. Marshall, Elizabeth P. & Weinberg, Marca, 2012. "Baselines in Environmental Markets: Tradeoffs Between Cost and Additionality," Economic Brief 138922, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.

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