[NA]

The inaugural ceremony for the Mekong hydro-geological stations took place in the presence of the French Ambassador to Vietnam, the Director-General of the Mekong River Commission, the AFD Director in Hanoi, and representatives from the Vietnamese Ministries for the Environment and Transport and the Can Tho local authorities.

Why has the Mekong Commission set up the Mekong-HYCOS hydrological system?

The project’s overarching goal is to promote sustainable development in the Lower Mekong basin, under an international cooperation agreement signed in 1995 between the four Mekong countries (Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam), which established the Mekong River Commission (MRC).

The specific target is to establish a reliable hydrological observation system for the region (virtually real time data collection and distribution) to be shared by all four member countries to monitor water resources in the Mekong Basin.

 
View of the Mekong at Can Tho (photo AFD - J.C. Pires)

The outcome will be:

• a functional and reliable system for real-time collection and transmission of hydro-meteorological data (rainfall, water levels) that will improve hydrological monitoring and forecasting along the Mekong River and its main tributaries
• improved data processing and archiving systems in each country
• shared databases and communication networks at regional level
• supply and distribution of hydrological information to users
• strengthened capacities for sustainable use of the water system in the long term.

The project therefore contributes to the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and in particular to Target 1 of Goal 7 to ensure environmental sustainability: “to integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and reverse the loss of environmental”.

A sophisticated network for collecting and analysing data on water
Under the project, the Mekong Commission and its member countries selected 32 hydro-meteorological stations along the main tributaries of the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers and in the Mekong delta.

 
A HYCOS hydro-meteorological station  (photo AFD - M. Parent)

The stations have been upgraded with:

• automated devices for measuring water levels and rainfall  
• a data storage platform
• a telemetry system for transmitting as much of the data collected as possible by satellite or other suitable means.

 
An unprecedented collaborative effort to share information between the four countries  

Each of the four national hydrogeological services as well as the Mekong River Commission’s regional centre in Phnom Penh have been equipped with computer terminals to receive, process and archive the data transmitted by the measurement stations. All the receiving terminals have simultaneous access to all of the raw data.

This is the first time that the member countries (Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia) have agreed to share data to such an extent.  Real-time quality control of the raw data, acquired in virtually real time, ensures that they can be reliably used for flood forecasting by the Mekong River Commission and by the relevant national agencies: each country will be able to incorporate the data from upstream countries directly into their own forecasting system.
 
Transferring the know-how

A great many training activities were organised for the hydrological agencies in each country. These mainly followed the paired in-service training model, which is the most appropriate and effective system for the type of equipment installed.
Training was organised whenever an international expert was present in the region, at national level with local experts during each site visit and when the receiving stations (terminals) were being set up. Conventional training sessions and workshops were also organised to supplement the continuing training programme.

In Vietnam, the project financed 12 hydro-meteorological measurement stations and provided support on a diminishing scale to operations and maintenance.

Financing and implementation agencies

This 3M € Mekong-HYCOS project for the region is financed by the AFD (2 M€) and the French Global Environment facility (1 M€). It is implemented by the  Mekong River Commission and the technical ministries in each of the four member countries, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. It is supported by scientific and technical expertise from the Institute for Development Research IRD) and the Compagnie Nationale du Rhône (CNR), and has received the scientific endorsement of the World Meteorological Organisation.

Entering the final project phase

The final project phase, now about to begin, will maintain the training effort for the stakeholders, introduce a regional policy for maintenance and processing of hydrological data and build up a stock of spare parts.

The postponement of project completion to the end of 2012 will enable the MRC to organise an event on the hydrology of the Mekong Basin, which will illustrate the project’s results (film, brochures, reports from users, etc.) and draw the attention of policy-makers to the issue of sustainable water supplies in the sub-region.

This 3 M€ project is financed by the AFD (2 M€) and the FGEF (1 M€).

To find out more on this regional project, go to the  Mekong River Commission website

Around a hundred personalities from different embassies (Japan, Luxembourg, United States, etc.), development partners (notably European Cooperation, Asian Development Bank and United Nations agencies) and ministries (Prime Minister’s Office and Ministry of Science and Technologies) attended the inauguration of the Institut Pasteur in Lao PDR by the Lao Minister of Health, in the presence of the President of the Institut Pasteur in Paris and the Director of AFD Vientiane.

Filling an existing “epidemiological gap”

The decision to create this establishment in Lao PDR came in response to the observation that an “epidemiological gap” existed when, between 2003 and 2005, there were outbreaks of SARS and avian flu and all the countries in the sub-region were mobilizing for the surveillance and control of these emerging and re-emerging diseases. At the time, this highlighted the lack of human, material and financial resources in terms of surveillance, the capacity to address current and emerging public health problems and research.

Health insurance and improving maternal and infant healthcare

The Lao Government therefore called on the Institut Pasteur in Paris and AFD’s support to finance the premises of the Institut under its project to support the Lao health sector. This project was financed by a €7 million grant to extend the national health insurance program, improve maternal and infant healthcare and support the fight against AIDS. This Institut Pasteur is part of the Institut Pasteur network in Southeast Asia (3 in Vietnam, one in Cambodia and now one in Lao PDR).
 

Promoting research and training

The two challenges now facing this institute are to promote a scientific and medical research program, along with the associated high-level training, and to generate and mobilize the financial resources required to make it sustainable. This will allow it to effectively fight against poverty and vulnerabilities and to contribute to socioeconomic development in the country.

The Ministry of Health is planning to set up a scientific hub comprising the Institut Pasteur in Lao PDR, Fondation Mérieux, the National Centre of Laboratories and Epidemiology, Wellcom Trust and the National Center of Malariology, Parasitology and Entomology. It also aims to gradually develop a research activity related to regional public health issues, develop training for students and researchers and promote local and regional partnerships.

"A very important moment in the history of Franco-Lao medical cooperation”

For the former Ambassador of France, Mr. Sénémaud, “This inauguration is a very important moment in the history of Franco-Lao medical cooperation, which has developed considerably in recent years thanks to the operations of a number of public and private stakeholders (...) Agence Française de Développement,  the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is financing an ambitious support program for higher education, as well as the Mérieux and Pierre Fabre Foundations, the Rhône-Alpes Region, the ESTHER Public Interest Group and several NGOs, such as Médecins du Monde, which are doing outstanding work here. We have thus built a cooperation hub around the University of Health Sciences. The Institut Pasteur is its latest component.”

€4.7m of financing secured:

AFD: (construction): €1.6m
Institut Pasteur in Paris (mainly salaries for IP Paris consultants):  €1.1m
French Ministry of Health (microbiology equipment):  €0.3m
Luxembourg (unearmarked use): €1.0m
Private foundations (Nam Theun 2 Health Program): €0.5m
Asian Development Bank (equipment): €0.2m

► Collectivités locales :

• Présentation générale
• Planification urbaine : Plaquette / Programme
• Stratégie financière : Plaquette / Programme
• Gestion des services urbains : Plaquette / Programme

► Master Maitrise d’ouvrage publique et privée :

• Présentation générale
• Plaquette
• Dossier de candidature

The main goal of this operation is to accompany the Lao government to carry out its 7th five-year plan 2011-2015 (NSEDP 2011-2015).

Beyond grants, which are limited and whose volumes cannot satisfy companies and local authorities to fulfill important investment needs, the objective was to present loan attribution conditions, directly or through the banking system, guarantee procedures and equity. This set of tools may be completed with support in capacity building, training, expertise and selective studies. Dozens of participants from different Ministries, Lao and European Chambers of Commerce and Industry, donors, banking and microfinance institutions as well as public and private companies were present in the workshop.

The AFD group has thus shown its complete availability for contributing to Lao social and economic development by paying a special attention to environmental and social responsibility issues.

Click on the following links to download the presentations of the seminar :

►  AFD Missions & financial tools

►  Promoting Sustainable Development in Emerging & Developing Countries via Non Sovereign Financing

► PROPARCO in Lao Promoting Sustainable Private Sector Development - Financing Tools Presentation

► Promoting Sustainable Development via Non Sovereign Financing to State-Owned Enterprises & Private Companies