SBR- Content.pmd - INBO

State of the Basin Report - 2003included in this report. Others, such as concern about hydrological change, remain important butare now seen as long-term rather than short-term issues. Some issues such as the impacts of floodsand how those impacts can be mitigated, received relatively little attention in the 1997 report, butare now seen as high priority, particularly by Cambodia and Viet Nam.The environment and society in the Mekong Basin are both still poorly understood. Data essentialto understanding them are often absent, patchy or unreliable. The priorities and aspirations of thepeople within the basin may also change with time. It is therefore important that we take time andmake the effort to regularly take stock of the information we have. As data accumulate, what does ittell us about the basin and how the basin is changing? Does it confirm our opinions or cast doubt onthem? Do governments and communities still have the same goals and aspirations they had tenyears ago? Are there new ways of achieving these goals?This report tries to provide a brief introduction to the Lower Mekong Basin and its people. Itthen provides reviews of a number of key environmental issues in the basin in sectors such asfisheries, agriculture, forestry, hydropower and navigation. In keeping with the mandate of theMekong River Commission, the emphasis is on issues that relate directly to the river and itsmanagement.In 1995, the four lower Mekong countries, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam signedan agreement to cooperate in using, managing and conserving the water and related resourcesof the Mekong River Basin. This report should be considered as one step in the process ofreviewing the condition of the basin and how it is changing. We hope that it will assist inpromoting better informed dialogue between the stakeholders who will determine the future ofthe Mekong River Basin.4