Opening statement by mr. Langsy Sayvisith, Director General of Irrigation Department
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
First of all, I would like to extend sincere appreciation and warm welcome to foreign guest who have just arrived to Vientiane to participate in this Regional Workshop.
Thanks are being addressed to you all for the devotion of your valuable time to take part in this Meeting. This meeting is being held in order to provide the better understand the dynamic of floods in Lao PDR, especially the central and southern regions, and prepare a plan for the prevention of the effects of future floods, and better management of land resources taking into account cost benefits and hazard risks.
Lao PDR constitutes a major part of the Lower Mekong Basin(LMB), which comprises as well Thailand, Viet Nam and Cambodia. The LMB has always been prone to yearly recurrent flooding in the period from June to October. The flooding pattern is never sudden and mainly characterized by slow but steady rising of the water level and inundation of the alluvial plains.
So far, the floods in the LMB recalled as being the most severe for the entire lower basin are the ones from 1961, 66, 71, 78, 95 and 96. Since 1961, LAO PDR experienced 15 severe flooding, of which the ones of the last two consecutive years were considered the most severe.
For a sustainable agricultural development of the alluvial plains of the Mekong River it is a prerequisite that a national strategy and action plan will be developed for Flood Loss Prevention and Flood Management. In view of the tendency of increasing frequencies of flooding and increasing extent and severity of the single floods the government has decided to request the technical assistance of FAO in preparing a flood loss prevention and management plan for its vulnerable agricultural sector.
This meeting is to present and discuss option for flood management and mitigation prepared by FAO project on Flood Loss Prevention and Management plan for the Agricultural sector; to share the regional and international experiences in flood management and river modeling; to develop appropriate recommendations for a national action plan on flood management and flood mitigation in Laos; and to strengthen regional cooperation in the monitoring and flood management of the Mekong river basin.
At the end, I would like to take this opportunity to officially declare that the Regional Workshop on Flood Management and Mitigation of the Mekong River and its Tributaries be opened from this second on.
Opening remarks by mr Peer Hijmans, FAO Representative
Mr. Langsy Sayvisith, Director-General, Department of Irrigation, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Lao PDR, Distinguished participants. Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my pleasure to welcome you, on behalf of FAO, to this Regional Workshop on Flood Management and Mitigation of the Mekong river, organized in co-operation with the Mekong River Commission Secretariat and the Department of Irrigation.
The purpose of this workshop is among others to share with you the experiences of an FAO assisted project (TCP/LAO/6613) on flood loss prevention and management for the agricultural sector, implemented in the framework of FAO's Technical Co-operation Programme (TCP). I thought it may be useful to give you a short overview on how this project was conceived and what has been done since project activities started in June 1996.
As you may be aware, during 1995, a series of typhoons off the coast of Vietnam brought torrential rains causing landslides in upland areas and widespread flooding in the lowlands of Central and Southern Laos, which are the main rice producing areas. Subsequently Government requested assistance from FAO and the World Food Programme (WFP) to assess the crop and food supply situation. The joint FAO/WFP mission estimated that 62 000 hectares of paddy had been totally lost and recommended emergency food aid of 38 000 tons of rice.
Moreover FAO's Service for Special Relief Operations (TCOR) fielded a mission to assess the non-food requirements for the rehabilitation of the agricultural sector. This mission prepared eight project profiles which were presented to the donor community, of which six for immediate assistance and two for medium term disaster preparedness, including the present project on flood management. Upon the request of Government this particular project profile was then fully formulated and funded by the TCP.
The first technical mission was fielded in June 1996, which identified as main follow-up activity a flood extent survey, as the data available were both sketchy and inadequate. Subsequently Vientiane province and municipality were surveyed in the period July-September 1996, and surveys for four southern provinces were conducted in the period January to April 1997. The surveys allowed to delineate the actual areas flooded in 1995 and 1996 on 1:50 000 scale maps. Whilst in the field the survey teams also made an inventory of the losses to agricultural production, including livestock and aquaculture, and damage to rural infrastructure, which were estimated at some US$ 35 million for 1995 and US$ 21 million for 1996.
During 1996, FAO Headquarters also provided a technical support mission in the field of remote sensing and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) for flood evaluation and monitoring.
In 1997 a review was effected of the existing capacity of flood forecasting and recommendations were made on the technical assistance required, including training needs, to upgrade the flood forecasting system. Arrangements were made for the acquisition of satellite images of radar wide beam mode for the beginning and end of September for Bolikhamxay and Champassak provinces. However due to a technical problem with the satellite this exercise “fell into the water”, if I may use this expression.
In the meantime a GIS workstation and Arcview software had been procured and a local contract had been made to digitize the flood survey maps. Project staff also received basic GIS software application training. A detailed topographical survey was conducted for 5 000 hectares of flood prone areas in Bolikhamxay province, which served as the basis for the preparation of a proposal on the feasibility of flood investment works.
The experiences gained from these varied project activities will be presented in detail during this workshop. We will also get reviews of flood management in Viet Nam, Thailand and Cambodia. Moreover further experiences of Bangladesh and the Nile river basin will be presented, as well as tools and techniques available. I trust this will form the sound basis for fruitful discussions which will lead to recommendations and practical results.
To conclude I would like to thank the Mekong River Commission Secretariat, the Secretariat of the Lao National Mekong Committee and the Department of Irrigation, and in particular the National Project Director Mr. Boothian Oondara, for all the assistance in organizing this Workshop.
Last but not least I would like to wish you successful deliberations and a pleasant stay in Vientiane.
Thursday 19 March 1998
TIME | SESSION | TOPIC/ACTIVITIES |
---|---|---|
08:00-08:30 | Registration | - Distribution of Background Materials |
08:30-9:00 | Opening Session | |
Mr. Langsy Sayvisith Director General Department of Irrigation Mr. P. Hijmans FAO Representative | - Opening Statement - Opening Remarks | |
Technical Session I | 1. Introduction to Flood Management | |
9:00-9:30 | Mr. Bouriboun Sanasisane Act. Director Lao National Mekong Committee | - Review of the Laos Mekong River Committee in activities in flood forecasting and flood management |
9:30-10:00 | Mr. Martin Smith FAO Senior Officer | - Options Flood Management and Mitigation and findings of the FAO TCP project |
10:00-10:30 | Coffee Break | - |
10:30-10:50 | Mr. Mao Hak Dir. Gen. Department of Meteorology and Hydrology, Phnom Penh | - Review of Flooding and flood management in Cambodia |
10:50- 11 :10 | Mrs Varunee Chareonsamran DEDP, Bangkok | - Review Flooding and flood management in Thailand |
11:10-11:30 | Mrs Le Thi Tam Thien Center of Hydro- Meteorological Forecasting | - Review Flooding and flood management in Vietnam |
Technical Session II | Flood Surveys, GIS and Remote Sensing Techniques | |
11:30-12:00 | Mr. Boonthian Oondara Chief Flood Management Unit DOI, Vientiane | - Flood surveys and mapping of Flood Prone areas in Laos |
12:00-12:30 | Mr. Victor Gillespie GIS Services MicroTec | - Processing GIS Flood Mapping |
12:40-14:00 | LUNCH provided in Lane Xang Hotel for all participants | |
14:00-14:30 | Mr. John Latham FAO Remote Sensing Specialist | - Remote Sensing Techniques in Flood Assessment |
14:30-15:00 | Mr. Nokeo Ratanavong MRCS, Bangkok | - Remote Sensing application of Inundation Monitoring in cooperation Japanese Institute of Irrigation and Drainage |
15:00-15:30 | Mr.Jeffrey Himmel Aruna Technology Cambodia | - Radar Satellite Interpretation, case study from Cambodia |
15:30-16:00 | TEA BREAK | |
16:00-17:00 | Discussions | Recommendations on: - GIS Applications in flood assessment and management - Flood monitoring by Remote Sensing techniques |
Friday 20 March 1998
TIME | SESSION | TOPIC/ACTIVITIES |
---|---|---|
Technical Session III | Flood Forecasting and River Modelling | |
08:30-09:00 | Mr. Sok Saing Im MRC, Chief Hydrology Unit, Bangkok | - Hydrology Programme of the Mekong River Commission |
09:00-9:30 | Mr. Hideaki Tanaka MRC, Senior Project Officer, Bangkok | - Flood Forecasting for the Mekong River Commission in 1997 |
9:30-10:00 | Boonthian Oondara Irrigation Department, Vientiane | - Flood forecasting on the Mekong River in Lao PDR, |
10:00-10:30 | Coffee Break | |
10:30-11:00 | Mr. Nguyen Xuan Hien Sub-Institute Water Resources Planning, Ho Chi Minh City | - Hydraulic Modelling and Flood Control Planning in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam case study |
11:00-11:30 | Mr. Adri Verwey Delft Hydraulics, Netherlands | - Options in the enhancement of Flood forecasting and river modeling on the Mekong river and its tributaries |
11:30-12:00 | Messrs. Engelbert Oud/ Terence Muir Lahmeyer Consultant Intl, Vientiane | Reservoir Management and Options for flood control |
12:00-12:30 | Mr. M.M. Andjelic CTA FAO Lake Victoria Water Resources Project, Kampala | - Water Resources and Flood monitoring of the Nile Basin |
Lunch provided in Lane Xang Hotel for all participants | ||
14:00-14:30 | Mr. Adri Verwey Delft Hydraulics, Netherlands | - Flood Action Plan in Bangladesh, Flood models and experiences in Bangladesh |
14:30-15:00 | Discussions | - Recommendations on Flood forecasting and river modeling |
15:00-15:30 | Tea Break | |
Technical Session IV | Flood Control Works | |
15:30-16:00 | Mr. Timothy Stephens FAO Consultant, UK | - Pilot Study on Flood Investment Works Bolikhamxai Province |
16:00-16:30 | Mr. R.L. Brown, Engineering Consult, Vientiane | - Vientiane Plain Flood Protection |
16:30-17:00 | Discussions | - Options for flood protection works |
19.30 | Dinner hosted by FAO Representative to all participants |
Saturday 21 March 1998
Conclusions and Recommendations | ||
---|---|---|
8:30-9:00 | Drafting Committee | - Presentation Main Findings and Proposed Actions |
9:00-10:30 | Discussions | - Formulation of recommendations for National Action Plan and Regional Cooperation |
Closing Session | ||
10:30-11:00 | Mr. Langsy Sayvisith DG. Irrigation Department Mr. Boliboun Act.Director LAO MRC | - Framework for National actions in Flood Management - Options for Regional Cooperation on Flood monitoring and flood forecasting |
11:00 | Departure to Airport | Flight to Bangkok TG691 at 12:40 |
Cambodia
Norng Piseth
Staff, Dept. of Hydrology,
General Directorate of Irrigation, Meteorology &
Hydrology (GDIMH), Phnom Penh
Mao Hak
Staff, Dept. of Hydrology,
General Directorate of Irrigation, Meteorology &
Hydrology (GDIMH), Phnom Penh
Lao People's Democratic Republic
Bouriboun Sanasisane
Act. Director
Lao National Mekong Committee Laos
Linseng Douangsavanh
Deputy Director
Lao National Mekong Committee, Vientiane
Lorina Mc Adam
Support Staff
Lao National Mekong Committee, Vientiane
Phokhin Muanghanh
Support Staff
Lao National Mekong Committee, Vientiane
Thanouxai Ounthuang
Deputy Director General
Department of Irrigation
Boonthian Oondara
Head. Flood Management Unit,
Department of Irrigation, Vientiane
Boua Ngeun Oudomchit
Officer
Department of Meteorology & Hydrology,
Vientiane
Vandy Duang Mala
Officer
Department of Meteorology & Hydrology,
Vientiane
Bounthong Saphakdy
National Project Director
Dept., of Fisheries, Vientiane
Bounheuang Phanthasith
National Project Coordinator, MRC/GTZ
Dept. of Forestry, Vientiane
Khonepheth Samounty
Officer
Hydro Power Office
Ministry of Industry & Handcraft, Vientiane
Bouaphanh Theddavanh
Deputy Director,
Inland Water Division, Ministry of Comm.
Transport, Post and Construction, Vientiane
Phetsavang Sounnalath
Nat. Project Director LAO/97/013- National
Disaster Management
Ministry of Labour & Social Welfare, Vientiane
Phouvong Sayalath
Director General, Dept. of Data & Information
Science, Technology and Environment
Organization (STENO), Vientiane
Thailand
Varunee Chareonsamran
Senior Hydrologist, Hydrology Division
Dept. Energy Development and Promotion,
Bangkok
Somsak Lertwongtrakul
Irrigation Engineer 6, Office of Topographical &
Geotechnical Survey,
Royal Irrigation Department, BKK
Tosapol Wongwan
Irrigation Engineer 6, Office of Topographical &
Geotechnical Survey,
Royal Irrigation Department, BKK
Viet Nam
Le Thi Tam Thien
Deputy Chief
Hydro-Met Forecasting & Services Division,
HCMC
Nguyen Ngoc Anh
Deputy Chief, General Technical Division
Sub-Institute of Water Resources Planning,
HCMC
Nguyen Xuan Hien
Deputy Head
Sub-Institute Water Resources Planning, Ho Chi
Minh City
MRC
Sok Saing Im
Chief, Hydrology Unit
Mekong River Commission Secretariat, Bangkok
Hideaki Tanaka
Senior Hydrologist
Mekong River Commission Secretariat, Bangkok
Nokeo Ratanavong
Officer in Charge, Technical Support Unit,
Mekong River Commission Secretariat, Bangkok
International Resource Persons
Jeffrey Himel
ARUNA Technology Ltd., Phnom Penh
Adri Verwey
River Modeling Specialist
Delft Hydraulics, Netherlands
Timothy Stephens
Irrigation Engineer
FAO Consultant, U.K.
R.L. Brown
Engineering Consultant
formerly Mott MacDonald Group, Vientiane
Engelbert Oud
Project Manager
Lahmeyer International, Vientiane
Terence Muir
Senior Hydrologist
Lahmeyer International, Vientiane
Victor Gillespie
GIS Specialist, GPS/GIS Training and Service
MICROTEC, Vientiane
International Agencies
Ki Hee Ryu
Forestry and Natural Resources Division
Asian Development Bank, Bangkok
Patricia Pennetier
ECHO Coordinator
ECHO, European Union
Mr. Heyraud
Counsellor for Disaster Preparedness
ECHO, European Union
Stephen Keller
Emergency Coordinator
World Food Programme
Virachi Vongsak
Programme Officer
United Nations Development Programme
Terri Irvine
Programme Officer
AUSAID
Akira Hashimoto
JIICA Expert
Ole Pederson
Programme Coordinator (Nat Resources &
Environment)
Danish International Development Agency
DANIDA
Tome Wolters
Chief Technical Officer
LAO/97/013 Capacity Building for National
Disaster Management
Colin Haskins
Programme Dev. Coordinator
Concern World Wide
Atsushi Rikimaru
Associate Professor
Hosei University, Japan
Mr. Hirodo
JICA Expert
Martha Teas
VAM Officer, Cambodia
World Food Programme
Mr. Sengkham
GIS Specialist
MICROTECH, Vientiane
Mr. Boivin
President Director
HATFINDO,
Mr. Bruce
Vice President
HATFINDO
FAO
P. Hijmans
FAO Representative
Food and Agriculture Organization, Vientiane
Martin Smith
Senior Officer Irrigation Management
Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome HQ
John Latham
Remote Sensing Specialist
Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome HQ
M.M. Andjelic
Chief Technical Adviser
FAO Lake Victoria Water Resources Project,
Kampala
Dirk Paulus
Land & Water Programme Off. (APO)
FAO Representation, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Kaeo Oudorn
Programme Clerk
FAO Representation, Phnom Penh, Vientiane