Ian C. Campbell

Understanding the impact of hydropower developments in the context of upstream–downstream relations in the Mekong river basin

Hydropower developments along the main stem of the Mekong River and its tributaries cause transboundary effects within the Mekong Basin Region, which comprises parts of six countries. On the one hand, the provision of hydropower triggers economic development and helps to meet the rising energy demand of the Mekong riparian countries, especially China, Thailand, and Vietnam. On the other hand, the negative impact of dam construction, mainly altered water flow and sediment load, has severe impacts on the environment and the livelihoods of the rural Mekong population. Several discrepancies exist in the needs, demands, and challenges of upstream versus downstream countries. Against the common apprehension that downstream countries are powerlessly exposed to mainly negative impacts whereas upstream countries unilaterally benefit from hydropower, the authors argue that upstream–downstream relations are not really clear-cut. This conclusion is based on a consideration of the complex power play between Mekong riparians, with a focus on recent power trade interactions. The article investigates the consequences of hydropower dams for the Mekong region as well as the role of supranational players, such as the Mekong River Commission and the Greater Mekong Subregion Initiative, on the hydropower debate. It is not nations that are the winners or losers in the hydropower schemes in the Mekong, but rather parts of the riparian population: a few influential and powerful elites versus the large mass of rural poor.

Australian water quality guidelines: a new approach for protecting ecosystem health

The Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council (ANZECC) and the Australian Water Resources Council (AWRC) have developed a National Water Quality Management Strategy which seeks to ensure that the nations water resources are managed on a sustainable basis. An important element of this strategy are the Australian Water Quality Guidelines which focus on the protection of Australian freshwater and marine ecosystems. Here the aim is to protect biodiversity and maintain the ecological integrity of each marine and freshwater resource. Specific guidelines have been formulated in terms of key indicators of quality, with a single reference value or ranges of reference values provided for guidance. For those indicators where ranges are provided, it is the expectation that State environmental and resource management agencies will undertake local, site-specific investigations of their own systems to define the specific levels to be adopted. For the first time, specific and quantitative biological indicators have been introduced; these are species richness, species composition, primary production, and ecosystem function.As Australia progresses towards broader, more holistic, ecologically-based management of the nations water resources, the present water quality guidelines must be extended to ecosystem or environmental guidelines, where the maintenance of adequate water quality is seen as only one (albeit important) component. Other considerations must include habitat protection, sediment quality, and stream flow maintenance. This increased emphasis on more ecologically-focused management of Australias inland and coastal waters will present a number of challenges for the three major groups involved: the community, the managers, and the researchers. These challenges are discussed.

A Revision of the Australian Ephemeroptera Genus Atalomicria Harker (Leptophlebiidae: Atalophlebiinae)

The Australian leptophlebiid genus Atalomicria Harker is redescribed and nymphal characters are incorporated. The nymph of Atalomicria sexfasciata is described for the first time, together with four new species, one from Victoria and three from southern Queensland. Atalophlebia yugana Harker is transferred to Atalomicria. A key to male imagines and nymphs of the genus is provided.

Biogeography of some rheophilous aquatic insects in the Australian region

Abstract Data on the distribution of rheophilous aquatic insects from southeastern Australia (including Tasmania) and New Zealand indicate two unusual features in the Tasmanian fauna: there is a higher level of endemism in Tasmania than would be expected—both from its present geographical location with respect to the Australian mainland, and current knowledge of its geological history ‐and a number of rheophilous insects groups which could reasonably have been expected to occur in Tasmania are absent. Possible reasons for these apparent Zoogeographic anomalies are discussed, but none seem entirely satisfactory.

Chapter 17 – The Challenges for Mekong River Management

Publisher Summary The Mekong River basin faces a multitude of problems. Some of these are historical, but even with the welcome cessation of armed conflict in the region, there is increasing conflict over resource development. Changes to natural flow regimes are recognized as a major human impact to rivers throughout the world. The changes to the flow regime are the single greatest environmental change confronting the lower Mekong. Alterations to mainstream flows as a consequence of dams under construction, planned, or under consideration in China, Cambodia, and Thailand, and changes to tributary flows cause by dams under construction or planned in Lao and Viet Nam, could have widespread ecological and social impacts. After alteration to the flow regime, alienation of the floodplain is one of the most serious environmental changes confronting the people of the lower Mekong. Although the building of elevated roads has incidental impact, the creation of levees is of major concern. One negative consequence of flood plain alienation is exacerbated flooding elsewhere in the basin. Within the Mekong, there have been growing concerns about the impact of levee banks in the delta and on the border between Cambodia and Viet Nam.

Integrated Management in Large River Basins: 12 Lessons from the Mekong and Murray-Darling Rivers

Although every large river basin is unique, we identify 12 broadly applicable lessons related to integrated management which river basin managers should bear in mind. These are: the size of a river basin has an important infl uence on the complexities of management; decision makers tend to give priority to stakeholders seeking to gain short term personal benefi t; river basin managers often fail to learn from the experience of others, or even from past mistakes in their own river basin; preventing river basin degradation is far cheaper than repairing damage; a basin plan does not replace a basin planning process; basin plans and their implementation must strike an appropriate bal- ance between stakeholders; sound knowledge is essential in evidence-based decision making, but decisions are ultimately political and involve value judgments; technical work must be peer reviewed to ensure quality; the em- phasis on the fi shery in basin planning is often unrelated to the importance of the fi sh to human subsistence; asset- based management approaches are very complex in large river basins; large scale developments attract a lot of planning attention, but basins are often degraded through numerous small scale impacts.

Development Scenarios and Mekong River Flows

Publisher Summary The Mekong is a large predictable flood pulse river. The Basin Development Plan Group at the Mekong River Commission (MRC) Secretariat devised a range of development scenarios that could be used to test the possible impacts of development on Mekong River flows. The scenarios were intended to be realistic, but not real. They were based on estimates of maximum development possible within a 20-year time frame within a series of sectors that impinge directly on water resources, including hydropower and irrigation. The scenarios were not intended as development plans, but were intended to allow testing of the sensitivity of river discharge and discharge patterns to various types of development within the basin. Dry season discharges were a hydrological indicator because of their potential importance to irrigation, and salinity issues, but they also have ecological significance. It is during the dry season that farmers have most need for irrigation water, and low water levels require greater pumping costs; if levels are too low; there may be insufficient water to meet requirements. In addition if flows were very low, there may be insufficient water to dilute saline runoff known to occur in parts of northeast Thailand.

Chapter 13 – The Development and Application of Biomonitoring in the Lower Mekong River System

Publisher Summary This chapter provides an introduction to the Mekong River Commission (MRC) biological monitoring program. From the outset, the MRC biological monitoring program had three objectives. First, it was intended to allow the Commission to demonstrate efficiently whether or not it was fulfilling its mandate to protect the aquatic life and ecological condition of the river. Second, it was intended to operate as a basin-wide program applying, as far as technically possible, a uniform suite of indicators, sampling methods, and techniques for data analysis and interpretation to sites in all four member countries. Third, it was intended to operate as a long-term program, conducted by nationals from the four countries. Sites were selected on several criteria. First, it was necessary to evaluate sites that might be subject to particular stress, and so sites were selected downstream of major cities such as Vientiane and Phnom Penh, and on dammed tributaries such as the Se San and Nam Ngum. Second, it was necessary to establish some reference sites on streams expected to be in a near-natural ecological condition and likely to remain in that condition, such as the Nam Ou in Lao PDR. Third, sites were selected in places that may be impacted by future development, such as the Sre Pok and the main stream near the border between Lao PDR and China.

A new genus and species of leptophlebiid mayfly (Ephemeroptera: Leptophlebiidae: Atalophlebiinae) from tropical Australia

A new monotypic genus, Kalbaybaria gen. n. (Ephemeroptera: Leptophlebiidae: Atalophlebiinae), and species, Kalbaybaria doantrangae sp. n., are described from tropical streams in northern Queensland, Australia. The genus is unusual among the Atalophlebiinae in that the nymphs possess large mandibular jaws, a feature previously known only from the subfamily Leptophlebiinae.

Biodiversity of the Mekong Delta

Although the Mekong Delta has been substantially modified by humans, primarily to support rice-based agriculture, it still supports a diverse biota, albeit a small fraction of what must have been there prior to human settlement. While there only two mammals of conservation significance, the Hairy-nosed Otter and the Dugong, remaining in the delta there are at least 37 species of birds of conservation significance and 470 species of fish have been recorded, of which 28 are endemic to the Mekong and 4 are known only from the delta. The delta also contains a number of distinct vegetation communities although most are now reduced to small remnants. The aquatic invertebrate fauna of the delta has been substantially impacted by humans, with the littoral fauna of the main channels particularly species poor, probably reflecting the intensity of human impact in those locations. National Parks and conservation reserves in the Delta are very small, but they play an extremely important role in maintaining biodiversity. Threats to the biodiversity of the delta include growing human populations and intensification of agriculture, with increasing use of fertilizers and pesticides and poldering altering flood water levels during the high flow season. Water quality is poor and will probably decline further, almost entirely due to human activities in Viet Nam rather than impacts from upstream countries. Fishing is intense in the Delta, as it is elsewhere in the Mekong Basin and the pressure will grow in future. Dams on the Mekong will alter flow patterns within the delta, increasing dry season flows and decreasing wet season flows, blocking fish passage and probably decreasing sediment delivery, which in turn may lead to shoreline erosion. Finally, the greatest long term threat to the Mekong Delta is undoubtedly climate change. An increase in sea level of 65 cm would lead to a loss of about 5,200 km2 or 13% of land area within the Delta, with very serious consequences not only for the biodiversity of the Delta, but also for the economy of Viet Nam.