18 Million DKK To The Mekong River

New Danish grant to the Mekong River Commission Fisheries Programme enables the MRC to fast-track work on assessing impacts to fisheries of hydro power projects which currently threatens the survival of the fisheries resources in the Mekong and the livelihoods of millions of people.

     The Danish Ambassador on Friday 7 November signed an 18 million Danish Kroner (USD 3.3 million) funding agreement over a two-year period to support the work of the Fisheries Programme of the Mekong River Commission (MRC).

     “At a time when fisheries in the Mekong is increasingly under pressure from impacts of water management projects for irrigation, hydro power and water supply, the work of the MRC in this field becomes ever more important”, he said. “Our new grant will enable the MRC to fast-track work on assessing such impacts and ensure that decision-makers in the Basin are aware of the consequences to fisheries of such planned projects.”

     The agreement was signed in Vientiane, Lao PDR and Mr. Jeremy Bird, Chief Executive Officer of the Mekong River Commission Secretariat.

     Denmark has been supporting the MRC in its main areas of work for many years, focusing in particular on the Environment Programme, the Basin Development Plan, the Fisheries Programme, the Flood Management and Mitigation Programme and on the implementation of the recommendations of the Organisational Review of the MRC Secretariat and National Mekong Committee. This new support the MRC Fisheries Programme, Phase II for 2009-2010, follows on from a previous grant of 30 million DKK (USD 5.5 million) to the Fisheries Programme in 2005-2008.

     Mr Jeremy Bird, CEO of the MRC Secretariat, thanked the Danish Government for its continued and generous support of the MRC’s work and said the new funding would be of great assistance in helping the MRC achieve the goals set out in its 2006-2010 Strategic Plan.

     “We have set ourselves an ambitious five-year plan, with the overall goal of promoting sustainable development within the basin to alleviate poverty,” he said. “From the perspectives of nutrition, employment, and economic well-being of the rural fishers, management of the productive Mekong fisheries so as to sustain their high yield and economic output is well justified as an integral part of the development of the Lower Mekong Basin.”

The funding to the MRC is particularly in line with Denmark’s policy to encourage promotion of environmentally sustainable and productive use of natural resources and will directly contribute to sustainable development by ensuring that the MRC, riparian organisations and users implement sustainable fisheries management and development at local, national and regional levels.

    More information about the MRC Fisheries Programme can be found here:

http://www.mrcmekong.org/programmes/fisheries.htm: