Reports published by AMRC

Lee, G. and Scurrah, N. 2009. Power and Responsibility: The Mekong River Commission and Lower Mekong mainstream dams. A joint report of the Australian Mekong Resource Centre, the University of Sydney, and Oxfam Australia, October 2009.

Through an analysis of the Mekong River Commission's (MRC) governance role and mandate, Power and Responsibility identifies limitations in MRC’s ability to respond directly to community and scientific concerns regarding current development plans, particularly the proposed dams on the Lower Mekong mainstream. On the other hand, the report identifies ways in which MRC’s research on fisheries and modelling can better be used to inform public debate.

The report shows that MRC’s own science highlights the size of the Mekong fishery, its importance to the millions of rural poor in the basin, its vulnerability to impacts from the proposed mainstream dams and the impossibility of mitigation under current technology.

Download full report (PDF 5.5MB); Executive Summary (PDF 3.5MB)
Executive Summary available in Lao (602kB); Thai (655kB); Khmer (628kB); Vietnamese (870kB); and Chinese (243kB)

Hirsch, P., K. M. Jensen, B. with Boer, N. Carrard, S. FitzGerald, and R. Lyster. 2006. National Interests and Transboundary Water Governance in the Mekong. Australian Mekong Resource Centre at The University of Sydney in collaboration with Danish International Development Assistance, Sydney.

This study develops an understanding of how the Mekong River Commission (MRC) and other water governance arrangements in the Mekong mediate transboundary, national government and civil society interests. Accordingly, it identifies ways to improve water governance in the Mekong, particularly in relation to the future role of the MRC.

Executive Summary (PDF 403kB); available in Thai (113kB) and Khmer (84kB)
Main Report (PDF 1.34MB)
Attachment 1: case studies (PDF 911kB)
Attachment 2: key concepts (PDF 296kB)
Attachment 3: law (PDF 2.34MB)
Attachment 4: MRCS staffing data (PDF 343kB)

Hirsch, P., Carrard, N., Miller, F., Wyatt, A. 2005. Water Governance in Context: Lessons for Development Assistance, Volume 1: Overview Report. Australian Water Research Facility, AusAID, and the Australian Mekong Resource Centre, University of Sydney.

This research identifies five key themes defining issues, experience and examples of good practice in water governance. The report highlights the need for official development assistance to work with the internal development of appropriate institutional arrangements and consequently, the need for a diagnostic approach that will allow external interventions to be well tailored to context. Policy analysis, program design and project implementation all require an understanding of contextual aspects of water governance.

Download full report here (PDF 223kB)

More information about this research project, including a second volume consisting of five working papers, is available here.

Philip Hirsch and Gerard Cheong. 1996. Natural Resource Management in the Mekong River Basin: Perspectives for Australian Development Cooperation, Final overview report to AusAID, April 1996.

This report presents the major findings of research commissioned by AusAID on Mekong Basin Natural Resource Management. It presents summaries of the main issues together with selected data, in line with the main project objectives:

I. To establish a perspective of potential Australian assistance in natural resource management projects for the Mekong Basin subregion
II. To identify sectors for Australian involvement with special reference to institutional and jurisdictional issues
III. To identify cross-sectoral issues such as environmental and gender concerns which are important to natural resource management of the Mekong Basin subregion

Download Full Report here (PDF 2.45 MB)