The World Bank announced Monday that it has approved a Global
Environment Facility grant of 11 million U.S. dollars to support the
Mekong River Commission ( MRC) in promoting and improving
sustainable water management in the Mekong River Basin, as well as protecting
the environment, aquatic life, and the ecological balance of the region.

The MRC is an inter-governmental organization of the four lower
Mekong Basin states: Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The Water Utilization Project aims to support the MRC in developing
an integrated and comprehensive Basin hydrologic modeling package
and a functional and integrated knowledge base on water and related
resources and use these tools to establish " Rules," one of MRC's five
major goals.

The rules, or obligations, of the member states will establish
guidelines for water utilization and ecological protection, primarily
the sensitive ecological systems including wetlands and flooded
forests.

"The Mekong Basin possesses a large portion of the region's
potential water sources. These water sources have the ability to support
economic growth through irrigation, hydropower, navigation, water
supply, and tourism," said Mei Xie, water resources management
specialist for the World Bank. "This grant will support MRC and the
member states to ensure that development of the water resources is
carried out in a sustainable manner that preservers the environment."

The project will be implemented by the MRC who will work through
a Secretariat located in Phnom Penh and through the National Mekong
Committees, with national line agencies, local communities, and other
stakeholders such as the private sector and non-governmental
organizations to enhance the project's sustainability.

While this project has a seven-year span, it should be seen as a step
on a long road, aiming to provide an opportunity to bring
governments together for meaningful and successful interactions on improved and
sustainable basin management, the World Bank said.