10 December 2012: US water planners from the International Center for Integrated Water Resources Management (ICIWaRM) led a three-day workshop on collaborative scenario planning for the Nam Kam sub-basin in Thailand. ICIWaRM staff presented the workshop jointly with staff of the Conflict Resolution and Public Participation Center (CPC) Center of Expertise at the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).

The workshop, organized on the principles of integrated water resource management (IWRM), brought together over 30 stakeholders representing irrigation and hydropower interests, academics, and local, national and regional public sector authorities, including the Nam Kam Watershed Council, the Mekong River Commission (MRC) and the Thailand National Mekong Committee.

The event, which was organized as part of the US Government’s technical assistance for the Mekong Basin, was funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), coordinating with the US Pacific Command and the MRC. Participants requested further technical assistance from USACE. ICIWaRM reported that further support would be provided for a new phase of the MRC’s Basin Development Plan.

The Nam Kam sub-basin is part of the Lower Mekong River Basin. The following four Southeast Asian countries share the Lower Mekong Basin: Cambodia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Thailand and Viet Nam.

The US Army Institute for Water Resources Management (IWR) established ICIWaRM in 2007 to advance the science and practice of IWRM around the world, in collaboration with other US institutions. ICIWaRM works closely with the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), as a “category 2” UNESCO water center. [ICIWaRM Press Release] [Fact Sheet on USACE support for the Mekong] [MRC Website]