1. General The Mekong River Basin (MRB) is a large potential area of development, with its various ecological systems of plant, animal and water resources and, with diversified groups of people and culture. Its total drainage area is 795,000 km2, ranking 21st in the world. The length of the River (more than 4000 kms.) and the volume of its annual runoff (475,000 million m3) are ranked 12th and 8th of the world, respectively. Its water is used for waterway transportation, hydropower generation, fishery, tourism and peoples’ living, as a source of food. The River supplies fresh water for agriculture, urban and industry to countries in the Basin. Similar to many other rivers in the region, the water supply by this River is a limited resource, though the present demand for water consumption is still at about 10% of the flow. Without proper planning, the freshwater resources could be over exploited and, cause environmental problems

2. The Lower Mekong River (LMB) comprises of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam, with a total area of 606,000 km2. Figure 1.1-1 illustrates the LMB and its sub-basins. Large sub-basins are located generally in northeast Thailand. During the last few decades, the riparian countries have constructed a large number of structures to obtain water from the River and its tributaries and therefore, many irrigation systems for agricultural development are operational at the present. Multi-purpose dams have also been constructed for electricity and water supply and a large volume of water has been used for these purposes. However, water-use efficiency is considered not high due to poor management level. The water and land resources of the LMB have been producing food and employment for about 62 million inhabitants who live within the basin. So far, there is neither national nor regional program that was prepared to improve seriously.

3. The focal organization Thailand called “The Thai national Mekong Committee (TNMC) comprises of 22 line agencies representatives including senior specialists, and chaired by the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Ministry of which the Director-General of Department of Water Resources (DWR) is a secretary and Cooperation and Foreign Relations Bureau, DWR, supports as a Secretariat.

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