ABSTRACT
The Mekong development project was initiated in 1957 by the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE), which was renamed the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP)2 in 1974. One of
* I would like to express deep gratitude to Prof. Patricia W. Birnie for her long compassionate support over the last four years, to Prof. Surya. P. Subedi for his encouragement and opportunity to present an earlier version of this Chapter at the conference and to Mr. Jethro F. Marsh and my family for their faith in me. 1 The Mekong Secretariat The Mekong Committee: A Historical Account (1957-1989) (The Mekong Committee Secretariat Bangkok 1989) [3]. In terms of annual discharge, its ranks the tenth as it release water at about 475,000 million m3. Its drainage basin covers 795,000km2. However, the starting point of the lower Mekong basin is at Km 2,382 at the confluence of the Nam Ruak (a Mekong tributary between Thailand and Myanmar) and the Mekong where the Golden Triangle is located. 2 After World War II, there was a concern within the UN to restore social and economic conditions in the countries, which had suffered economically from the War. The UN therefore created the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (ECAFE) as a subsidiary organ to be responsible for restructuring and reforming the economic situation of these countries. Five sub-commissions were further established to be responsible for this matter in five different regions worldwide. They included the Economic Commission for
its mandates3 was to assist the countries in the Asian and Pacific regions, which suffered economically from World War II in the restoration and development of their economic situation. It implemented its mandate by originating many development programmes, one of which was a study of international rivers and flood control. This was aimed at re-establishing the economic development of the states concerned by developing their water resources. For this purpose, the Bureau of Flood Control was established in order to be responsible for conducting research on international rivers. The Bureau selected the Mekong River as a case study rather than elsewhere4 because the flooding there was so severe and the riparian states were very supportive of the project and willing to co-operate fully with ECAFE.5 The first study, prepared by the Bureau in 1952, discovered that the Mekong River basin had potential for resource development, particularly in irrigation and generating hydropower.6 The Bureau also suggested the four riparian
Europe (both headquarters located in Switzerland, see www.unece.org), the Economic Commission for Africa (head office situated in Ethiopia, see www.un.org/Depts/eca), the Economic Commission for Latin American and Caribbean (headquarters based in Chile, see www.eclac.cl), the Economic Commission for Western Asia (head office located in Lebanon, see www.escwa.org.lb), and the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (its headquarters are situated in Thailand, see www.unescap.org). ECAFE originally comprised four regional and six non-regional members, namely China, the Philippines, India and Siam (Thailand), Australia, France, the Netherlands, USSR, the UK and the USA respectively. Initially, full membership was restricted to full members of the UN. The first four states, as full members of the UN in that region, therefore, became members of the Commission. France, the UK, and the Netherlands became members by virtue of their colonial possessions in the region. Due to their interest in the region’s problems, Australia as well as the USA and USSR, became members of ECAFE. ECAFE has currently 51 member states and nine associate members and was renamed the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific or ESCAP in 1974 in order to reflect both the economic and social aspects of development and the geographic location of its member countries. For further details of ESCAP, see www.unescap.org. 3 Full details of the mandates of ESCAP, ibid. 4 This was because the political situations in the riparian states of other international rivers would not be supportive of such research. For example, in the Indus and Ganges regimes, the states concerned were in dispute. The Yangtze River is located in China, which at that time did not have the open door policy to open itself to the world and outsiders; therefore, it was not possible to conduct research within its territory. 5 The four riparian states supported this project since they expected to benefit from it. Economically, this project would improve the flow of money into the region because a large sum of money would be invested and spent on many local projects, labour, and equipment. Politically, this project would bring the Mekong region to international attention, which would give a positive impression of the regime. At the very least, this would provide an opportunity for the four riparian states to be known by international community. 6 The Bureau of Flood Control ‘Preliminary Report on Technical Problems Relating to Flood Control and Water Resources Development of the Mekong – an International River’ (1952). ECAFE was initially interested in the water resources’ problem, in particular flood control. The Bureau of Flood Control was therefore called upon in 1951 to do further study on the Mekong River. According to the Preliminary Report on Technical Problems Relating to Flood Control and Water Resources Development of the Mekong – an International
states jointly evolve their resources under a co-operative regime.7 The same conclusion was also reached when the Bureau of Reclamation of the US Development of Interior conducted research on the Mekong basin and suggested that the four riparian states should however develop their potential resources individually (not jointly as recommended by ECAFE).8
