advancing sustainability in the mekong region role of assessment tools and standards
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3rd Mekong Forum on Water, Food & Energy. Presentation from Session 19: Advancing Sustainability in the Mekong Region: the role of Assessment Tools, Standards and Safeguards.TRANSCRIPT
advancing sustainability in
the Mekong region: role of
assessment tools and standards
Kate LazarusSenior
Operations Officer
Sustainable Business Advisory
Vientiane, Lao PDR
Efforts to advance sustainability of the hydro sector
• Build a constituency for improved hydropower governance and wider testing of hydropower assessment tools (e.g the Protocol e.g. IFC standards)
• Support changes in the way hydropower companies design, construct and operate their hydropower projects, to take into account social and environmental factors
• Contribution by developers to wider Mekong discussions on hydropower, the ways in which it can be improved and environmental and social impacts minimised.
• Provide space for dialogue and discussion on hydropower governance - upstream/downstream
Bu
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Key message 1: Creation of knowledge is essential to building awareness and
understanding
Key message 2: Fostering neutral multi-stakeholder dialogue spaces on critical aspects
of sustainable hydropower is fundamental
• Vietnam
• Cambodia
• Lao PDR
• Thailand
• China
• Sustainability Assessment of Electricity Planning: Using Section 1 of the 2009 Hydropower
Sustainability Assessment Protocol in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam
Key message 3: Pilot testing and using unofficially contributes to greater understanding
of multiple uses of Protocol (China and Laos)
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Key message 4: Building constituents for improved hydropower governance in Mekong Region gets the word out and
more likely to lead to greater use
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Key message 5: In rivers with cascades of
hydro or in transboundary
situations, taking a basin-wide approach is
necessary to addressing cumulative
impacts and identifying
management options
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Key message 6: No need to compare apples to oranges: Protocol & IFC
Performance StandardsProtocol Performance Standards
Assessment Tool Standard
Industry specific voluntary scoring tool
Cross-cutting risk management framework
Wider application including governance, political risk, financial viability
Focus on environmental and social (IFC’s overall credit/investment assessment covers all)
E&S issues
Principle of avoid, minimize, mitigate, compensate
Stakeholder engagement at core
Cross-cutting issues: climate change, human rights
Recognition of need to focus in integrated manner
www.ifc.org/EHSguidelineswww.ifc.org/sustainability
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Session questions
• What have been the Mekong’s experiences with sustainability assessment tools (e.g. HSAP and RSAT), and how do they contribute to sustainability?
• How do the methods and approaches employed in these assessment tools along with internationally accepted environmental and social standards contribute to advancing sustainability of the hydropower sector in the Mekong region…or not?
Practical applications or efforts to use the tools and standards and explore options for advancing sustainability will be shared.
Thank you
Kate Lazarus, [email protected]
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Bus Stop Discussion
• Group 1: Defining sustainability and its meaning in the Mekong region
How is hydropower sustainability defined? Are their examples of how sustainability has been addressed or assessed by your organisation? How can sustainability assessments be improved?
• Group 2: Considering risk management How can we manage risks of hydropower development in a
sustainable manner? What are the various values (e.g. business/economic) needed to manage risks in the long-term?
• Group 3: Challenges to adopting a sustainable approach to hydropower development in the Mekong region
What are the barriers to ensuring hydropower development in the Mekong is sustainable? Do the sustainability tools and approaches make a contribution and what are the challenges to their application?