VZCZCXRO5212
RR RUEHAST RUEHCHI RUEHDH RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHNH RUEHPB
RUEHPOD RUEHSL RUEHTM RUEHTRO
DE RUEHPF #0474/01 1940103
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 130103Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 2741
RUEHHI/AMEMBASSY HANOI 4096
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0922
RUEHC/DEPT OF INTERIOR WASHINGTON DC
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 0009
RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA 0006
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 2566
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 0022

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PHNOM PENH 000474 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS AND OES 
COMMERCE FOR NOAA 
INTERIOR FOR USGS 
USDA FOR FAS 
STATE PLEASE PASS TO EPA 
BANGKOK FOR REO/HHOWARD 
BANGKOK FOR USAID/RDMA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV EAGR ENRG EAID EIND CB
SUBJECT: DRAGON ASIA SUMMIT ENCOURAGES SCIENTIFIC COLLABORATION AND 
DIALOGUE 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000474  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
REF: A) 08 HANOI 1370, B) 08 PHNOM PENH 1003 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY AND COMMENT.  More than 130 scientists, educators, 
activists, and policymakers from the U.S. and around Southeast Asia 
discussed river basin management and climate change at the U.S. 
Geological Survey (USGS) sponsored Delta Research and Global 
Observation Network (DRAGON) Asia Summit June 22-25 in Siem Reap. 
In addition to connecting scientists working on ecologically similar 
river and lake systems, the Summit attempted to bridge the gap 
between scientific research and policy development.  The Summit also 
provided a forum through which participants could openly debate 
contentious issues such as regional hydropower development.  The 
Summit recommendations building formal partnerships between the 
Mekong and Mississippi River Commissions and working with member 
country governments to secure studies on the forecasted impacts of 
climate change to the Mekong basin as a whole.  Regional 
coordination and partnerships can help the Mekong countries tackle 
common challenges from climate change and unchecked riparian 
development.  However, Post recommends that the USG build any new 
regional partnerships by securing the buy-in and support of the 
individual Mekong governments.  Otherwise, a new regional 
partnership may face the same issue as the Mekong River Commission, 
being ignored in trans-boundary riparian management decisions.  END 
SUMMARY AND COMMENT. 
 
BRINGING SCIENTISTS AND POLICYMAKERS TOGETHER 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) More than 130 scientists, educators, activists, and 
policymakers from the U.S. and around Southeast Asia discussed river 
bain management and climate change at the USGS-sponsored DRAGON 
Asia Summit June 22-25 in Siem Reap, the theme of which was 
"Connecting Great Deltas, Great Lakes, and Great Rivers".  Launched 
following USGS' studies on the impacts of Hurricane Katrina on the 
Mississippi River delta system, the DRAGON Partnership seeks to 
foster collaboration between stakeholders researching and managing 
large delta systems around the world, such as the Mekong, to 
increase understanding of the common potential effects of factors 
such as weather events, climate change, engineering projects, land 
use, and other variables on major rivers.  USGS and the Government 
of Vietnam (GOV) established a DRAGON Mekong Institute at Can Tho 
University in Vietnam in November 2008 (Ref A) to formalize the 
Partnership in Asia, and to cooperate on training and research to 
promote healthy ecosystems and sustainable deltas. 
 
¶3. (U) Ambassador Rodley opened the DRAGON Asia Summit and 
highlighted the importance of connecting scientific research and 
collaboration to policy-making and education.  During her 
presentation, the Ambassador unveiled a brief demonstration of 
"Forecast Cambodia", a smaller-scale version of the USGS tool 
"Forecast Mekong" that graphically displayed the current 
interactions of the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers and showed how 
modeling tools could help policymakers analyze the effects of 
climate change on those systems.  Senior Royal Government of 
Cambodia (RGC) officials were highly interested in the themes of the 
Summit; the Ministers of Environment and Education and the Chairman 
of the Tonle Sap Authority attended the opening day activities and 
delivered remarks.  Ambassador Michalak from the U.S. Embassy in 
Hanoi spoke on the Mekong Delta perspective and the importance of 
the DRAGON Mekong Institute. 
 
HYDROPOWER SPARKS DEBATE AMONG PARTICIPANTS 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) The DRAGON Summit attracted two prominent Chinese 
scientists from Yunan University who presented on the effects of 
existing Chinese mainstream Mekong Dams.  The Chinese presenters 
argued that two existing Mekong dams in China have not resulted in 
significant changes in water flow to the lower Mekong countries. 
Other session participants argued that the possible truth of that 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000474  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
assertion ignores the likely much greater effect of the additional 
eight Chinese dams that are planned for the upper Mekong.  (NOTE: 
Researchers calculate that each Mekong basin country contributes to 
the average river flow as follows:  China, 16%; Burma, 2%; Lao PDR, 
35%; Thailand, 17%; Cambodia, 19%; and Vietnam, 11%.  A 2004 report 
on the Mekong's hydrology noted that although only about a fifth of 
the river's annual flow comes from china, the proportion normally 
reaches between 50 and 70% in the dry season.  END NOTE.) 
 
¶5. (SBU) COMMENT:  The Mekong River Commission, consisting of 
representatives from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, has been 
trying to engage China in research and policy discussion regarding 
the effects of Chinese Mekong dams and water delivery to the four 
lower Mekong countries.  The Mekong River Commission and the 
International Centre for Environmental Management are currently 
preparing a social and environmental impact assessment of the 11 
planned main-stem Mekong dams in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and 
Vietnam.  The study will reportedly not include the Chinese dams. 
USGS and DRAGON counted a great coup in bringing Chinese scientists 
to the table to participate in the network.  USGS and ESTHoffs plan 
to continue networking with Chinese scientists.  END COMMENT. 
 
GREAT LAKES FOCUS 
----------------- 
 
¶6. (U) The DRAGON Asia Summit expanded the Partnership's focus to 
include development considerations and trans-boundary management of 
large lake systems.  The twin foci of the Summit were the Great 
Lakes of North America and Cambodia's Tonle Sap Lake, which feeds 
into the Mekong in the dry season and draws from the Mekong in the 
rainy season.  A representative of central Africa's Lake Victoria 
Basin Commission added perspective on trans-boundary lake management 
as well.  Although not straddling a border, the Tonle Sap relies on 
the trans-boundary Mekong flows and has an enormous importance for 
spawning about 60 percent of the total inland fisheries in Cambodia. 
 These fisheries provide livelihoods for millions of Cambodians 
alone and nearly 80% of the animal protein in the Cambodian diet. 
The Tonle Sap Lake also serves a trans-boundary role in the dry 
season, draining through the Tonle Sap River into the Mekong, 
maintaining reliable water levels for irrigation in Vietnam and 
preventing saltwater intrusion into the Mekong Delta. 
 
SUMMIT OUTPUT AND RECOMMENDATIONS 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (U) The Summit participants identified several recommendations 
for follow-up through DRAGON, including:  1) forming a twinning 
partnership between the Mekong and Mississippi River Commissions; 2) 
building cooperation between the Great Lakes Fishery Commission and 
the Tonle Sap Authority in a "sister lakes" relationship; and 3) 
supporting the Mekong governments to petition the Intergovernmental 
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to conduct a comprehensive study of 
the predicted impacts of climate change on the Mekong region. 
 
¶8. (U) Upcoming DRAGON projects include developing modeling systems 
with demonstration DVDs for the Lao and Thai portions of the greater 
Mekong basin.  State and USGS plan to unveil the modeling tool for 
the Mekong River in general, "Forecast Mekong," at the Secretary's 
July 22/23 meeting with the Foreign Ministers of Cambodia, Laos, 
Vietnam, and Thailand as an example of how the U.S. can engage 
productively with the lower Mekong nations to further environmental 
and economic development goals.  A formal proposal for a "sister 
lakes" relationship between the Great Lakes and Tonle Sap 
commissions may also be ready in time for the ministerial. 
 
¶9. (U) Points of contact:  For the DRAGON network, including planned 
networks of other large river and lake systems around the world: 
Greg Smith, USGS, smithg@usgs.gov.  For the DRAGON Mekong Institute, 
Greg Smith, USGS, or State Regional ESTH Hub officer Hal Howard, 
howardhh@state.gov.  All DRAGON scientific papers, as well as 
Forecast Mekong, Forecast Cambodia and modeling software for 
analyzing the Mekong and Mississippi rivers, will be available on 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000474  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
the DRAGON website:  http://deltas.usgs.gov. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) The DRAGON Asia Summit was well received by local and 
regional counterparts and forms a solid foundation for future 
scientific collaboration between the U.S. and countries in the 
Mekong Basin.  Coordinating this collaboration at the regional level 
will undoubtedly help the Mekong countries tackle the common impacts 
they will face from climate change and unchecked basin development. 
USGS's DRAGON represents a USG effort to help by aligning science 
and scientists worldwide to inform policy decisions.  However, Post 
recommends that the USG consider approaching regional partnership 
with the Mekong countries from the bottom-up, securing buy-in and 
support from the individual governments involved, rather than 
top-down through a regional body. 
 
¶11. (SBU) For example, the Mekong River Commission (MRC) has been 
lauded as the first trans-border water structure to include a 
mechanism for collective management, which is important for a river 
that flows by or through six countries.  However, the MRC has failed 
to exert a major influence on trans-boundary river management and 
has been criticized for not effectively engaging China.  Although 
Cambodia is a member of the MRC, the RGC has traditionally dealt 
with trans-border riparian issues bilaterally with its neighbors, 
rather than through the Commission.  Ensuring the RGC's active 
engagement in a regional partnership will require demonstrating how 
that partnership benefits Cambodia specifically, rather than the 
region at large.  END COMMENT. 
 
 
RODLEY