A poverty free, ecological rich Greater Mekong Subregion Duncan Mcleod Outreach specialist

Sanath Ranawana, Senior Natural Resources Management SpecialistAsian Development Bank

Building Resilient Cities: The role of the Greater Mekong Subregion Core Environment Program1Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS)Six countries:

CambodiaPeople's Republic of China (PRC)Yunnan ProvinceGuangxi Zhuang Autonomous RegionLao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) MyanmarThailand Viet Nam

Connected by: The Mekong RiverNine economic corridorsSocial and cultural links

2Rich in natural capital Land: 2.6 million sq. kmMekong: 4,350 km - 12th longest river in the worldExtensive coastland and marine resourceRich wetlands and other inland water bodiesExtensive forest area - 118 million ha.

Natural capitals contribution to the total and per capital wealth of selected GMS countries, 2005Source: World Bank Wealth of Nations Database3Diverse Society 332 million people

More than 70 ethnic groups

Around 67% of total population live in rural areas

Largely agrarian and dependent on natural resources for subsistence and livelihoods

High poverty in rural areas

4 rapidly urbanizingUrbanization levels are currently low

Between 2010 to 2050, GMS urban areas will grow 7 times faster than total population

This trend will result in 92.6 million more people living in urban areas by 2050

Rural areas will lose more than 62 million people.

5And increasingly connected through infrastructure

Infrastructure Development in GMS (1992)RoadsTelecommunicationsPower Transmission Line

Infrastructure Development in GMS (2010)

Infrastructure Development in GMS (2015-2020)6

Which is fragmenting ecosystemsBiodiversity landscapes intersected with economic corridors7

Causing loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services

Source: WWFMap Source: WWF8Affecting human well being

9Highly vulnerable to natural disasters and climate changeE.g. Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) highly vulnerable to sea level rise.

2011 Bangkok flood - costs $46 billion; ranked among top ten costliest natural disasters since 1980s (the Economist)Viet Nam, 1m rise in sea level would inundate a quarter of HCMC, home to more than 6 million people, and submerge 11,000 km of roads

The cost of climate change could reach nearly 7% of GDP per year by 2100 in Thailand and Viet Nam, significantly higher than the global average

10GMS Economic Cooperation Program and Regional Investment Framework

$51.5 billion pipeline of potential projectsRIF endorsed by the 19th GMS Ministerial Conference in Dec 2013$30.0 billion RIF Implementation Plan (2014-2018)Recognized by the 5th GMS Summit in Dec 201411Priority Investment Projects by Sector under the RIF Implementation Plan (2014 2018)Transport: 90.2%Energy: 4.0%Agriculture: 1.5%Environment: 0.3%HRD: 0.7%Urban: 1.1%Tourism: 1.5%TTF: 0.1%ICT: 0.0%Multisector & CBEZs: 0.6%12Priority Technical Assistance Projects by Sector under the RIF Implementation PlanTransport: 12.0%Energy: 10.8%Agriculture: 8.3%Environment: 14.3%HRD: 6.6%Urban: 5.8%Tourism: 4.0%TTF: 15.1%ICT: 16.6%Multisector & CBEZs: 6.6%13Phase I: 2006-2011Phase II: 2012-2016Regional: environment ministries of Cambodia, PRC, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam Secretariat: GMS Environment Operations CenterMulti-donor: $28.4 million from the Governments of Finland and Sweden, Nordic Development Fund, ADB, GEF, and PRCF

Vision: poverty free and ecologically rich GMSThe Core Environment Program in the GMSCore Environment Program (CEP)

Output Map of the SMCA, at 1km resolution. Low values ( 0) indicate high accumulated risk, while high values ( 1) indicate low accumulated risk.Application of a decision-making tool: Spatial Multi-Criteria AnalysisCriteria Tree15

Example 1: Assessment of Corridor Towns Development Project 1

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Example 2: Corridor Towns Development Project II

17Other Assessments under CEPEconomic assessment of ecosystem servicesMultisector planning to assess trade-offsClimate vulnerability assessments to support climate resilient communities and landscapes 18 Environment Operations CenterRepository of knowledge and informationProviding baseline social, economic and environmental data, and technical know how

GIS Data and GMS Atlas

http://www.gms-eoc.org

GMS Development Map Tool Climate Change Projection

GMS Statistics19Bid for enhanced partnership to promote investment in natural capital in the GMSfrom the recently concluded EMM4

20Next steps21

THANK YOU!2222