SBR- Content.pmd - INBO

State of the Basin Report - 2003By 2025, it is projected that half the population in theAsian and Pacific Region will live in urban centres. 33While urban growth rates will not be as high in the LMB,the relationship between rural and urban areas willchange significantly. The rates of growth in urban areaswill greatly exceed national growth rates, reflectinggovernment policies to promote increasedindustrialisation and economic growth. By 2020, up toone-third of the population in the LMB will be locatedin urban areas.The trends in urbanisation will increase the importanceof the relationship between urban centres and theimmediately surrounding (or peri-urban) areas. In majorcentres such as Phnom Penh, new arrivals tend to settleon the outskirts of the city, converting semi-rural areasto urban areas. This often results in the loss of valuableagricultural land, increased costs to provide servicessuch as water and sanitation, and, in floodplains, toincreased risks and costs associated with flooding.Increased migration from rural areas to small andmedium-sized urban centres will cause them to growand expand also, but will help to relieve the pressureson bigger cities.Although fertility rates are falling in theLMB, the population is expected grow from55 million today to 90 million by 2020Table 4. Projected population growth, LMBAver. annual growth Projected %Urban % UrbanPopulation 2000-2020 (%) population population population2000 (million) Rural Urban Total 2020 (million) 2000 2025Cambodia 13.1 1.2 6.2 2.3 20.5 16 26Lao PDR 5.3 1.8 7.3 2.6 8.1 24 36Thailand 62.8 0 3.7 1.0 75.1 22 33Viet Nam 78.1 0.8 3.9 1.4 100.2 20 28Source: WRI 20022. Social development in the Mekong RegionSocial development is commonly measured by people’s health status, literacy rates and educationalachievement, as well as their access to safe water, sanitation and electricity. These indicators measurethe well-being of people living in the basin and their capacities to lead full and productive lives. Thelevel of social development varies widely among the riparian countries in the Lower Mekong Basin,and is often considerably lower than other regions in Asia. There are, however, some positive trendstowards improvement in general and, particularly, in closing the gap between the opportunities forboth men and women.48