Fisheries and Hydropower as Main Parts of the

Water – Energy – Food Nexus in the Mekong Basin

MRC Workshop on “Fish and Hydropower: Research on Fish Passage through Large Dams and

Review of Existing Knowledge on the Effectiveness and Economics of Fish-Friendly Turbines and its Applicability to Mekong Mainstream Dams in the Mekong Region”

OSV, 16-17 June 2015

So Nam MRC Fisheries Programme Coordinator

OUTLINE

5. Water-Energy-Food Nexus Approach and Perspective in the

Mekong River Basin

1. Fish species diversity in the Mekong River Basin

2. Importance of the Diverse Capture Fisheries in the Mekong River Basin

3. Hydropower Development in the Mekong River Basin

4. An Example: Finding Balance between Energy and Fisheries in

Sustainable Hydropower Development in the Mekong basin

Fish species diversity in the Mekong River Basin

The group of Mekong basin countries stand out as the region of the world with the highest freshwater fish species diversity per square kilometer. On other continents, only French Guiana and Suriname in South America feature a higher or similar fish species diversity per unit area of land.

Amazon1217

Mekong781

Zaïre624 Orinoco

549Paraná

438 Rio Negro330

ChaoPhraya

318 Niger261

Paraguay257

Uruguay228

Amazon1217

Amazon1217

Mekong781

Mekong781

Zaïre624

Zaïre624 Orinoco

549Orinoco

549Paraná

438Paraná

438 Rio Negro330

Rio Negro330

ChaoPhraya

318

ChaoPhraya

318 Niger261

Niger261

Paraguay257

Paraguay257

Uruguay228

Uruguay228

Fish species richness of the top ten rivers in the world

850 Mekong

- The Mekong River has the highest fish biodiversity in the world after the Amazon River.

- 850 freshwater fish species recorded from the Mekong River Basin

- With a total estimate of about 1,100 fish species if the possible coastal or marine visitors are included.

- A significant proportion of endemic fish species, approx. 20%

151 species (12% endemics)

HIGH MOUNTAINS

140 species (18% endemics)

LOW MOUNTAINS

PLATEAU ISLANDS, WETLANDS

328 species (11% endemics)

FLOODPLAINS

484 species (6% endemics)

DELTA

267 species (16% endemics)

191 species

(14% endemics)

Fish species diversity in the 6 main hydro-ecological zones

of the Mekong River

The Mekong River mainstream is characterized by a gradient of increasing species richness from the headwaters down to the sea

The fish species diversity of the Tonle Sap lake in Cambodia is ranked third (i.e. 296 species) in the world after the East-African lakes Malawi and Tanganyika. It the largest lake in the SE Asia and the most productive lake in the world.

Malawi438

Tanganyika316

Victoria225 Tonle Sap

197

Biwa69

Baikal64

Taal63

Turkana60

Rukwa59

172

Chad/Chari

Malawi438

Malawi438

Tanganyika316

Tanganyika316

Victoria225

Victoria225 Tonle Sap

197Tonle Sap

197

Biwa69

Biwa69

Baikal64

Baikal64

Taal63

Taal63

Turkana60

Turkana60

Rukwa59

Rukwa59

172

Chad/Chari

172

Chad/Chari

Fish species richness of the top ten lakes in the world

Tonle Sap 296 Victoria

226

Importance of the Diverse Capture Fisheries in the Mekong Basin

Balancing fish consumption and fish yield

from 3 key habitats

The BASIN-WIDE fish yield is the same as the basin-wide fish consumption:

2.3 million tones/Year

Comparison with other regions

LMB fisheries production =

2% of World fisheries production 43% of Africa fisheries production 19% of America fisheries production 4% of Asia fisheries production 12% of SE Asia fisheries production 24% of Europe fisheries production

• However, LMB fish production represents about 20% of the world inland capture fish production.

• The LMB capture fisheries production is higher than anywhere else in the world.

Social Access

…….via political, communal, familial “non-market” mechanisms

Subsistence fisheries Cambodia and Lao PDR: 70% of rural households depend

on fisheries Mostly small-scale nature only Cambodia partly large scale

Women and children play important role (ensuring food supply to frequently food insecure groups) Community fisheries Large participation throughout value chains

Economic Access

…….via market mechanisms, purchasing power

A least 40 Million people in LMB (approx. 70%) involved in fisheries (at least part-time or seasonally)

High employment factor throughout value chains

High income generating factor throughout value chains

Affordable, especially for poor people

Economic Value of the LMB fisheries • Total first-sale value is up to US$7.0 billion per year. • But most of the catches are consumed directly by households, as part of rural

subsistence economy, which does not appear in national accounts. • Inland fisheries make significant contributions to the monetized economies of

all four riparian countries. • Fisheries accounts for nearly 12% of

Cambodia’s GDP, and fisheries value in Lao PDR is equivalent to 7% of the country’s GDP.

• Although proportionally less important, the Mekong fishery sectors in Thailand and Viet Nam add well over US$750 million to the economies of each country annually.

0102030405060kg/person/year

Consumption inland

capture fish • Per capita consumption does

not vary much, the regional average is about 46 kg/person/year with national figures varying by about 20%

• The main determinant of consumption is population size, we can see here the close match between population and consumption.

• > 60 million live in the LM watershed (100 million by 2025)

Fish Food Security Value

Consumption

inland capture

fish

• In Average > 50% of the total animal protein intake of the people in the Lower Mekong Basin come from fish

> > > the world intake of 17%

• Cambodia rate: > 75%

• This LMB figure is similar to the SE Asian rate of 51 kg per person per year and significantly higher than the Asia rate of 21 kg per capita and the world rate of about 19 kg capita.

• Interestingly, the Tonle Sap Lake rate is 60-80 kg per capita.

• Fish is more than just a source of animal protein. • Fish contains several essential amino acids, especially lysine and

methionine (protective effects against diseases such pancreatic cancer or rectal disease)

• The lipid composition of fish, with the presence of long-chain, poly-unsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs), is unique, with beneficial effects for child development and adult health by providing protective effects against diseases such as stroke, high blood pressures or heart disease.

• Fish is also an important source of essential micronutrients – vitamins D, A and B, and minerals (calcium, phosphorus, iodine, zinc, iron and selenium), which makes it particularly attractive in the current fight against malnutrition in low income and food deficient countries. For instance, the high level of iodine found in fish can help prevent iodine deficiency which is known to cause cretinism (stunted growth or mental retardation)

Fish Nutrition Value

Environmental Value

>61

<30

41-50 31-40

51-60

Consumption of freshwater fish and other aquatic animals in the Lower Mekong River Basin (kg/capita/year) • Provinces

surrounding the Tonle Sap have the highest fish consumption rate.

From Mekong to Global Figures

Fish Pig

Chicken

Cattle

Sheep

• The world production (t) of cattle, chicken, pig, sheep and fish over the period of 40 years (1960-2010)

• The graph show Fish is the largest source of animal protein, overshadowing most other sources.

• In 2010, Fish represented 2 times larger than chicken and 3 times larger than cattle.

Bené et al. 2015: Feeding 9 billion by 2050 – Putting fish back on the menu

Hydropower Development in the Mekong Basin

• The Mekong countries’ policy priorities for growth and infrastructure development are clear, as are their priorities for protection of fisheries and aquatic environments and sustainable rural livelihoods. Balancing these priorities involves conscious trade-offs.

• Hydropower dams bring potential opportunities for economic development, mainly with improved electricity supply, foreign exchange earnings to support governments’ development goals and improved navigation.

• However, the projects would inevitably be accompanied by major risks to existing uses and benefits of water and related resources of the Mekong basin.

• The question the Mekong countries are now assessing is whether the impacts can be adequately mitigated.

• Nearly 150 existing and planned hydropower projects create fish migration barriers between important habitats through the LMB, posing a direct challenge to regional fish productivity, hydrologic regime and water quality.

• It is argued that a transparent process of IWRM, which balances the demands for water, energy and food to reduce poverty regionally, can achieve direct and indirect synergies and ensure availability and access to inexpensive fisheries products for the future.

How can we find balance between energy and fisheries in sustainable hydropower development in

the Mekong basin?

Our question and our role and responsibility to answer the question below!

• A recent paper by Dr. Jeff Opperman and 31 Co-authors or scientists published in May 2015: The Power of Rivers may help us to work together to answer the above question.

• This paper addresses the global expansion of hydropower dams and the need to find development scenarios that provide energy, but also work for communities and nature, including fisheries. Designed as a resource for hydropower companies, governments, financiers and other organizations, they used a global database of dams currently planned or under construction to demonstrate how Hydropower by Design and System-Scale Approaches can produce more-balanced outcomes for rivers, energy and fisheries or fish food.

300,000 km of rivers fragmented or river flow patterns changed

Better outcomes for hydropower development are possible—outcomes that are more balanced across social, environmental and economic values.

More-balanced outcomes can occur at the scale of individual dams (design and operation), as well as in the planning and siting of new dams. They call the integration of these scales to pursue balanced outcomes “Hydropower by Design,” which strives to: • Avoid the most damaging sites and direct development toward sites that will

have lower impacts; • Minimize impacts and restore key processes through better design and

operation of individual dams; and • Offset those impacts that cannot be avoided, minimized, or restored by

investing in compensation such as protection and management of nearby rivers that provide similar values.

This Approach is used to identify spatial arrangements of dams that can maximize the length of connected river channels for a given level of development. Here they use connected channels as a proxy for rivers that can still support natural functions.

Hydropower by Design Approach

300,000 km of rivers fragmented or river flow patterns changed

Length of river channel with potential for improved outcomes from Hydropower by Design

and other environmental best practices

Nexus Approach

identify cross-sector impacts (externalities),

explore feasible trade-offs, help policy makers achieve

greater policy coherence, move development pathways

which are resource efficient, equitable and sustainable.

Nexus Perspective in LMB Issue

– Segmented sector planning and decision making is likely to lead to unsustainable development pathways: Limited communication and joint planning between

Hydropower and Fisheries sectors Hydropower agenda more prominently represented than

fisheries sector – fishers are not organized to represent their stakes

– Risk of inefficiencies in the development of resources and their allocation between uses and users Efficiency assessments of fisheries management and

hydropower development are not undertaken and discussed together

Nexus Perspective in LMB Need to

– promote greater co-ordination between inter-linked resource producing and consuming sectors: Fisheries authorities, Energy authorities and Hydropower

Developers need to talk to each other They need to discuss their management and

development plans with each other and engage in transparent and honest dialogue

– clearly recognize the consequences of decisions made in one sector for the other sectors: Ensure the application of scientific tools and standards in

the assessment of environmental and social impacts of hydropower development on fish and fisheries Further refine and strictly apply MRC PDG

Thank You!