AMRC. Australian Mekong Resource Centre. Annual Report Jan-Dec The University of Sydney

Transcription

1 AMRC Australian Mekong Resource Centre Annual Report Jan-Dec 2000 The University of Sydney This report has been prepared by AMRC staff. Photographs supplied by AMRC staff and associates.

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD... 3 REPORT OF THE STEERING COMMITTEE OF THE AMRC 3 DIRECTOR S REPORT... 4 INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND TO THE AMRC... 6 ACTIVITIES OF THE AMRC FOR CORE ACTIVITIES 9 Information Source and Dissemination 9 Reference Library Website Newsletter Media Activities Databases 11 Reference Database Contacts Database Maps Database Resource Tenure Database Policy Oriented Research Activities. 11 Networking Activities 12 Mekong Discussion Group ADB Accounting for Development Conference Conference and Seminar Participation 2. PROJECT ACTIVITIES Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Small-scale Wetland Indigenous Fisheries Management Strategic Regional Capacity-building (Infrastructure Development) GIS for Lao Staff Natural Resources Management Program for Thai Officers Underlying Causes of Deforestation in the Mekong Region Shrimp-mangrove Farming Project in Ca Mau Province, Vietnam Research Training at NUOL 3. ACTIVITIES OF AMRC ASSOCIATES AND POSTGRADUATE RESEARCH 19 1

3 AMRC Annual Report 2000 CENTRE ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENT STAFFING 24 ACADEMIC ADVISORY PANEL 24 STEERING COMMITTEE 24 NEW ADMINISTRATORS 24 VISITORS TO THE CENTRE 25 VISITING RESEARCHERS 25 FINANCIAL STATEMENT & SUPPORTERS OF THE AMRC FINANCIAL STATEMENT 26 PUBLICATIONS AND RESOURCES PUBLICATIONS 27 Mekong Update & Dialogue 27 AMRC Working Papers 28 AMRC Mekong Briefs Series 28 PUBLICATIONS & CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS OF AMRC ASSOCIATES 28 Maps 28 RESOURCES 29 Website Development 29 DIRECTIONS FOR CONTACT DETAILS 30 Postal Address 30 Visiting Address 30 2

4 REPORT OF THE STEERING COMMITTEE FOREWORD REPORT OF THE STEERING COMMITTEE OF THE AMRC The Australian Mekong Resource Centre Steering Committee, in conjunction with staff and associates of the Centre, has had a very busy and active year. The Committee comprises a small group of individuals from different organisations and sectors, both government and non-government, who share a common interest in development processes and issues in the Mekong region, and who support the aims and work of the AMRC. The Steering Committee s role at the AMRC is to provide a source of support, dialogue and guidance on strategies and activities of the Centre. The broad experience, work areas and networks of the Steering Committee also assist the Centre in promotion and networking throughout Australia and overseas. The AMRC has had another dynamic year, and the growing number of current and past AMRC associates has meant that the reach of the Centre s skills and resources is ever growing. The linkages and learning exchange, which are being generated through personal experience and individual work placements of associates and visitors to the Centre, is generating a growing diversity of analysis of the key issues playing out in the Mekong region. For the Steering Committee and for many at the AMRC, the year 2000 was dominated by preparations for the conference Accounting For Development: Australia and the Asian Development Bank in the Mekong Region, held in Sydney on June The conference, which was hosted by the AMRC and supported by a range of organisations including Oxfam Community Aid Abroad, the Australian Council for Overseas Aid, the ACT Mekong Group, AID/ WATCH and Jubilee 2000 Australia, was one of the most ambitious activities undertaken so far by the Centre. Members of the AMRC s Steering Committee played a key role in the organisation and coordination of the event and in post conference follow-up activities and advocacy. The different organisational affiliations and perspectives assisted in maximising outreach, facilitating networking and strategic linkages, and in providing a forum for critical analysis from a range of viewpoints. The conference itself was a watershed activity in terms of international advocacy on the Mekong and the Asian Development Bank. A follow-up conference was held in Japan, building on the dialogue and critique generated in Sydney. The Steering Committee would like to note the generous support of funding bodies to the conference, and commend the Centre on its management of this major event. The AMRC has also been active in providing academic rigour, and extensive research and resources, for advocacy and outreach purposes in Australia and overseas. Future planned collaborations will see the Centre further develop its links to academic, government and non-government institutions throughout the region. Associates from the AMRC have also maintained an active role in networks within Australia, bringing forward their academic and home country experience into the developing debate and dialogue here. The AMRC has continued to expand its resources - of particular note is the revamped Mekong Update and Dialogue newsletter, the distribution lists, the regular Mekong Discussion Group, databases and the reference library. The AMRC has also published further in 2000, and its ongoing website development is a key source of information for students and others interested in the Mekong Region. The AMRC and associates have also been involved in a number of specific project activities, and in representation of the Centre and its work overseas. The Centre has also further developed its financial base, and through provision of training and projects has been able to develop its program and outreach into exciting new areas. The Steering Committee would like to thank and congratulate the AMRC for all its hard work and successes of the past year. We look forward to continuing the relationship and building on the growing number of AMRC associates and strengthening networks throughout the Mekong and beyond. *Kate Colvin, *Andrew Nette, *Charlie Pahlman, *Liam Phelan, *Lee Rhiannon, *Michael Simon * 3

5 AMRC Annual Report 2000 DIRECTOR S REPORT A note from the AMRC Director At the academic level, AMRC s 2000 started with the completion of Premrudee (Eang) Daoroung s MSc thesis on community forestry in Lao PDR. Eang has gone back to her work with TERRA, which means that she has not really left us as we continue to work in close partnership with that organisation. Olivia Dun and Lilian Ip also completed their Honours theses on community forestry in Thailand, and implications of Kyoto mechanisms for local politics of environment in Thailand respectively. Olivia was selected as an Australian Youth Ambassador for Development and will be spending 2001 helping the National University of Laos set up a documentation centre on natural resource management as part of an AMRC collaboration. Meanwhile we have several new Associates. Takayuki Namura, a researcher at University of Tokyo, spent several months as a visitor to AMRC to work on his research on forest land allocation in Laos. Simon Bush started PhD work on fisheries management in the Mekong Region, while Georgina Houghton has returned from several years in Vietnam to start a PhD on co-management of forest resources in that country. AMRC was also pleased to welcome Keat Sukun, former Minister for Women s Affairs in Cambodia (1993-8) as an Associate researching women s status. A weekly seminar on political ecology during the first half of the year helped to infuse some common theoretical input to several projects. The year was dominated by the mid-year conference Accounting for Development: Australia and the Asian Development Bank in the Mekong Region. Organised by AMRC together with Community Aid Abroad, the Australian Council for Overseas Aid and the ACT Mekong Group, the conference involved 220 participants over two days at Sydney University in June. There was also a preparatory induction event for schoolteachers and others with less background knowledge on the key issues. Participants included several from AusAID, a delegation of 10 from ADB, about 30 participants from government, academia, NGOs and media from the Mekong Region, and a range of academic, community, consultant and other interests from Sydney and elsewhere in Australia. The planning for the conference and the follow-up provided an excellent opportunity for AMRC to work strategically with regional partners, NGOs and community groups sharing our interests and area of commitment. Our other main networking activity in 2000 was the establishment of a MESAN (Mekong Social and Environmental Analysis Network) of individuals and agencies concerned with assessing environmental and social impacts of infrastructure development. With support from AusAID s regional program, participants from Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia were taken on an exposure tour after the June conference, and this was followed up by an August training workshop in Can Tho that involved five AMRC Associates. Associated with this activity, AMRC Associate Riko Hashimoto also applied his fluvial geomorphology expertise to do a study of implications of delta environment constraints on infrastructure project impacts in the Mekong Delta. (Available as AMRC Working Paper No.4) 2000 was a big year for training. Other than the training component of the MESAN initiative, we were involved in three programs for Thai government officers. Two of these were on natural resource management strategies, and one was the first of two programs on Managing Development in its International Context, addressing Thailand s changing role from aid recipient to donor status in the Mekong Region. These were funded by AusAID and carried out in collaboration with the Research Institute for Asia and the Pacific. AMRC also hosted a one month training program in spatial data management for two staff of the Dept. of Livestock and Fisheries in Lao PDR. My own travel included a visit to Japan (Kyoto and Osaka) to liaise with a political ecology research group with interests in the Mekong and to give a lecture on An applied political ecology of the Mekong. I also participated in a workshop in China (Guiyang) that brought together 26 projects working on community based natural resource management throughout East, South and Southeast Asia. A visit to Cambodia included a workshop organised by the Mekong Region Environmental Governance program of REPSI, a World Resources Institute initiative. 4

6 DIRECTOR S REPORT Last, but definitely not least, has been the great contribution of our two new administrators, Helen Gunning- Stevenson and Doug Bailey. Both have significant academic credentials, administrative expertise and a genuine commitment to the aims of the Centre. Landing at AMRC two months in advance of the June conference put them in the deep end, and both have proven champion swimmers! - Assoc./Prof. Phil Hirsch, AMRC Director 5

7 AMRC Annual Report 2000 INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND TO THE AMRC THE AMRC: ITS RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES The Australian Mekong Resource Centre was established at the University of Sydney in November The Centre was set up to provide a forum and a focus for research, debate, data collection, information dissemination and support for individuals and organisations who are similarly concerned about the implications of the development agenda in the Mekong Region for local livelihoods and ecosystems. THE MEKONG REGION The Mekong Region, which is the geographical focal point of the AMRC, has at its core the Mekong Basin, a natural unit defined by the land area draining into the Mekong River directly and via the river s myriad tributaries. This area of 795,000 square kilometres is home to 65 million people from diverse ethnic groups, most of whom continue to live in rural areas and depend more or less directly on the natural environment for significant parts of their livelihoods. This naturally defined area overlaps with six countries (Vietnam, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand, Burma and Yunnan Province of southern China), so that management of the system as a whole requires international cooperation. Economic, social, political and infrastructural development in different parts of the Mekong Region over the past several decades has taken widely divergent courses. Throughout 2000 controversy surrounding development has continued. This is particularly so in the case of Pak Mun dam in Thailand, Theun Hinboun dam in Laos, Yali Falls dam in Vietnam and the proposed Nam Theun 2 dam in Laos. Other development issues of regional significance are illegal logging and deforestation, road and rail infrastructure, wildlife trafficking, physical displacement and political marginalisation of local communities and, in particular, ethnic minorities, the environmental impacts of swidden cultivation and accountability of development programs. The decline of regional geo-political conflict and moves towards regional integration have brought both an accelerated economic development agenda and a convergence of mainstream development goals within an increasingly interlinked regional economy. The flooding in the Mekong Delta (southern Vietnam and southeast Cambodia) in September-October 2000 was the worst since Many people died and many more were evacuated or suffered from hunger and disease. Rice production was seriously affected. While the main impacts were on two of the six Mekong countries, according to a UN agency deforestation upstream has been a major contributor to the flooding, demonstrating the need for greater cooperation throughout the region. While there are many positive aspects to regional geo-political harmonisation and to new prospects for improvements in material well-being, there are also tremendous environmental and social risks and implications associated with many of the large scale proposals being put forward. Many proposals are driven by and associated with interests, values and power bases far removed from the localities where they have an impact. This top down development model which many grassroots players see as the basis of the approach of the major multilateral development agencies operating in the Mekong Region - principally World Bank and the Asian Development Bank - is being questioned by non-government organisations and people s movements throughout the region. In May 2000 large-scale protests were organized through The People s Forum immediately prior to the Asian Development Bank s (ADB) Annual General Meeting in Chiang Mai. This was the first time, in 35 years of operation, that the ADB faced protestors at one of their annual meetings. The People s Forum was organised by a network of NGOs. It brought people together to share experiences of ADB funded projects and to promulgate statements of concern about the bank s activities in the region. Australia has a significant role in the Mekong Region. Through trade, aid and investment activities, Australia ranks as one of the more important external partners to countries of the region and to the organisations promoting a particular path of development for the region as a whole. Australia has a firm commitment to engage with the region as part of its wider realignment of political and economic relations 6

8 INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND TO THE AMRC within the wider Asia-Pacific region. While this commitment also includes development of cultural and linguistic awareness of Asia within Australia, it has not always been matched with interest, concern and sense of responsibility over the wider cultural and environmental implications of our involvement. The Accounting for Development Conference, co-hosted by the AMRC and Australian NGO Oxfam Community Aid Abroad in June 2000, aimed to address this lack of understanding of Australia s responsibility as a major funder of one of the main development agencies operating in the region - the ADB. THE CENTRE AND ITS OBJECTIVES The Australian Mekong Resource Centre was established to support organisations and individuals concerned with the social, economic and environmental implications of development in the Mekong Region, to undertake policy-relevant research, to assemble and make available data and information on developments within the region, and to serve as a focus for research on the Mekong region within Australia. Working closely with groups and organisations within the Mekong Region, and with organisations elsewhere in Australia and in other countries with interests in the region, the Centre was established with aims to: the greater availability and accessibility of information on development issues in the Mekong Region through various activities including maintenance of databases, web site, and through our collaborative research initiatives and postgraduate research. These activities seek to assist with the provision of information at a local level, as well as draw upon local knowledge and experience, and to also provide alternative views of development. a more informed debate on Mekong issues both in Australia, the region and internationally, through the creation of a focal point of information and human resources with expertise on the Mekong Region in Australia. a stakeholder approach among diverse interest groups working in the Mekong Region, with a primary focus on the development/environment nexus, which seeks to support local livelihoods and ecologically sustainable development and the equitable pre-emption and resolution of resource based competition and conflicts. transparency, participation and accountability in decision making, particularly by external agencies which receive Australian (public) funding. a form of external involvement in the region that is more responsive to local people s needs and aspirations. a forum for dialogue, discussion and debate on Australian and other international actors roles within the region. responses to and critiques of external actors in the region and analysis of the mainstream development agenda. Contribute to:- Promote:- Provide:- Support:- human resource development, grassroots initiatives and the sharing of information and experiences through networks and opportunities that bring people (researchers, activists and policy makers and local people) together within the region. research, policy and work in the region that addresses issues relating to poverty reduction, resource base enhancement and rehabilitation, and ecologically and economically sustainable development. 7

9 AMRC Annual Report 2000 Educate:- external stakeholders and Australian policymakers, the public, academia and the media about the integrity, diversity and symbiosis of the local livelihoods, cultures and ecosystems of the Mekong Region. 8

10 ACTIVITIES ACTIVITIES OF THE AMRC FOR 2000 Throughout 2000 AMRC has continued to consolidate its position as a leading research and resource center specializing in the Mekong Region. Through our partnerships with research institutes and NGOs working both in Australia and in the Mekong countries, we have engaged in a number of training and research activites while continuing to build our resource base within the University of Sydney 1. CORE ACTIVITIES The core funding we receive from our sponsors goes towards the maintenance of four basic activities that underpin the work of the AMRC. Information Source and Dissemination As a resource centre, our foremost task is to be a reliable source of information that builds upon the research that is central to the AMRC and to be an active participant in discussion and debate. The AMRC focuses on compiling contemporary information (data, posters, maps, books, journals, magazines, newsletters, reports, field data, web-based information and theses) on the Mekong Region which constructively critique and challenge various aspects of development in the region. The AMRC aims to develop a focal point by which alternative perspectives and critiques can become more readily available. Throughout 2000 our Administrators, and honours student, Olivia Dun, have developed the reference library which has been well used by students, visiting scholars, academics and NGO researchers. We have continued to develop the AMRC website, making use of its potential as our most current and widespread means of communicating with others working in the Mekong Region. We have made our quarterly newsletter, Mekong Update & Dialogue, available on the web while continuing to make hard copies available (now free of charge) to those who prefer them. This year has also seen the development of our research database and other bibliographic databases which are available to visiting researchers. The AMRC Visitors Room (Room 467, Madsen Building, University of Sydney), which was established in 1999, has been well used throughout the year by various visiting scholars including Namura Takayuki from Japan and Sayamol Kaiyoorawongs from Thailand. The room has also proved an invaluable overflow space during intensive work periods such as the lead up to our June conference on the ADB. Reference Library In each year of operation the AMRC has continued to build up its reference library. The library continues to collect resources not found in the University s collection covering mainland Southeast Asian environment and development issues. The AMRC library is made up of contemporary materials such as newsletters, governmental and nongovernmental material, journals, reports, newspapers and magazines. Researchers are welcome to use the reference library during the opening hours 9.30am-4pm weekdays. It is advisable to call Helen Gunning-Stevenson or Doug Bailey on before visiting. Students using the AMRC library. 9

11 AMRC Annual Report 2000 Website The AMRC website is the global gateway into the Centre. It is often the first point of contact with the AMRC. Through the website people can learn about the activities of the AMRC, keep abreast of issues in the region, familiarise themselves with staff and associates, access publications and make , phone or fax contact with the Centre. There have been some major changes to the AMRC website during Many of these changes are to do with site navigation. The home page has been totally re-designed to make site navigation easier. At the top of other pages there is now a menu bar which reflects the contents groupings as follows: About Us Publications Case Studies Events Links News Mekong Discussion Group Other changes involve new and revised content. A new web page called Indigenous Fisheries Development and Management in Lao PDR has been created. This page is quite substantial information-wise and displays a number of photographs and maps. Many documents are now available in pdf format. These include: Mekong Update & Dialogue newsletter - current and back issues Annual Reports Mekong Briefs papers from the June Accounting for Development conference Yali Falls dam impact case study It is anticipated that a theme-specific bibliographic database will be loaded onto the website at some future stage. In addition, a news page with regularly updated important news flashes is in the pipeline. Newsletter The Mekong Update & Dialogue is the AMRC s quarterly newsletter which was previously available for a small annual subscription. During 2000 we decided to make the Mekong Update & Dialogue available free of charge as well as making it available on the web in pdf format. The format of the publication has also changed with the main focus being a lead article which is critiqued by two or more experts on the topic featured. The new structure of Mekong Update & Dialogue is: Editorial Feature article on a topic of particular significance to the development of the Mekong Region Responses to the Feature News from the Region Australian Mekong News News from the Centre Upcoming Events Mekong Maps - graphic representation of key issues The Mekong Update & Dialogue is currently mailed to approximately 225 individuals and organisations around Australia and overseas as well as being available on the website. 10

12 ACTIVITIES Media Activities The Accounting for Development Conference was attended by a number of journalists and was given media coverage in the following articles/broadcases: The Dalai Lama ensures bucks stop at the World Bank The Australian, Wednesday 12 July 2000, Page 33 Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio, 14 July 2000 Mekong Basin Dams Claim Lives, Cause Poverty, Bank Warned by Bob Burton, Vietnam News Listserve 15 July 2000 ADB Courts Canberra s Backing Amid Criticism by Bob Burton, IPS Newsfeed 30 August 2000 Databases Reference Database The AMRC reference database has continued to grow in conjunction with the AMRC reference library mainly thanks to the assistance of honours student, Olivia Dun. Holding over 1500 entries this database has become a useful tool during the year for visiting researchers and students searching for information on the wide range of topics and issues covered by the library Divided into sub groups, the database provides a quick and easy way to access topics of interest. It is also possible to generate bibliographies in a short space of time for later reference. Access to the database is possible by appointment with a workstation in our Visitors Room assigned to this function. Contacts Database The AMRC contacts database has grown to over 700 records with the addition of new Mekong Update & Dialogue subscribers, purchasers of AMRC documents and attendees at the ADB Conference hosted by the AMRC. The Contacts database uses Microsoft Access software. In the day to day running of the Centre the database is used for the creation of mailing lists for the Mekong Update and other AMRC correspondence. As such this system enables the dissemination of information to all interested parties according to their geographical location or area of interest. The continued development of this database will enable the strategic dissemination of information in the future, and so support a key function of the AMRC. None of the entries in our contacts database are passed on to any other organisations. Maps Database The Centre maintains a database which holds 100 entries for referring to hard copy maps held in the AMRC map collection. These maps are primarily topographic and of various scales. The AMRC can also draw upon the School of Geoscience s map collection containing over 80,000 hard copy maps. During 2000 AMRC staff, visiting students and CAA-Oxfam utilised the MapInfo map database in the preparation of reports and documents as well as to provide a graphic representations for issues the of Mekong Update & Dialogue newsletter. Resource Tenure Database The Resource Tenure Database has continued to develop throughout Our aim is to provide an online living annotated bibliography on resource tenure in the Mekong Region that is periodically augmented by members of the Network. Policy Oriented Research Activities During 2000 AMRC staff, volunteers and students have continued to be involved in policy-oriented research activities. Two policy-oriented research projects - Strategic Regional Capacity-building 11

13 AMRC Annual Report 2000 (Infrastructure Development) and Shrimp-mangrove Farming in Ca Mau Provinve, Vietnam - are explained in the Project Activities section of the Annual Report. From January to September 2000 AMRC Associate, Lilao Bouapao, carried out research for his Masters thesis on the social and environmental implications of small-scale infrastructure development in Laos. Networking Activities In 2000 the AMRC continued to work with Australian organisations such as the Research Institute for Asia and the Pacific (RIAP), AusAID, Community Aid Abroad, The Australian Council for Overseas Aid (ACFOA), ACT Mekong Group and AID/WATCH. Internationally the AMRC worked with such organisations as the National University of Laos (NUOL), National Economic Research Institute (Laos), PADETC (Laos), Can Tho University (Vietnam), NISTPASS (Vietnam), Regional Centre for Social Sciences and Sustainable Development at Chiang Mai University (Thailand), TERRA (Thailand) and Focus on the Global South (Thailand). The Accounting for Development Conference, held in June 2000, served as a catalyst for a great deal of networking between AMRC, Community Aid Abroad, ACFOA, AID/WATCH, Jubilee 2000 and several other organisations. During the six months prior to the conference representatives of these organisations met face-to-face and on the telephone to discuss the purpose of the conference, agenda items, possible key speakers, the format and other details. From these discussions arose the decision to focus on the need for accountability of the Asian Development Bank as well as an emphasis on Australia s role as major shareholder to the bank. The Mekong Social and Environmental Analysis Network (MESAN) was set up in The purpose of the network is to focus investigation on the social and environmental implications of physical infrastructure development in the Mekong Region and to seek appropriate policy responses. The AMRC will play a transitional (3 years) facilitating and resourcing role. Membership will begin with a relatively small core group in the establishment stage to facilitate consensus building. However, the intent is to open up to wider membership following consolidation. Ideally, core membership will consist of a partnership between a government policy institute, an academic based institute, and a local NGO in each country. In 2001 the network will also actively look for a Chinese partner. Network core members are: National Economic Research Institute (NERI), State Planning Committee, Lao PDR Participatory Development Training Centre (PADETC), Lao PDR National Institute for Science Technology Policy and Strategic Studies, MOSTE, Hanoi, Vietnam Mekong Delta Institute, Can Tho University, Vietnam Focus on the Global South, Bangkok, Thailand Regional Centre for Social Sciences and Sustainable Development, Chiang Mai University, Thailand Mekong Discussion Group The Mekong Discussion Group is a fortnightly discussion seminar series organised by the AMRC, with speakers drawn from the Centre and wider community. The objective of this forum is to bring together those with interests in Mekong Region environment and development issues for a series of talks on key themes. The seminars were well attended in 2000; the program is outlined below. For details of the 2001 program please refer to the AMRC website. Mekong Discussion Group seminar presented by visiting scholar Yayoi Fujita (standing on right). 12

14 ACTIVITIES Mekong Discussion Group 2000 Date Title Presenter(s) 10 March 24 March Asian Youth Forum: Scenarios and Networks Water Resources Management and Community Participation in the Sydney Region Brenton Caffin Australian Representitive to the Asian Youth Forum; Consultant with the Allen Consulting Group Belinda Bennett Resource Planner for the Sydney Catchment Authority 7 April Water Competition and Conflict in Thailand Dr. Ross Pearson Macquarie University 5 May Rice Shrimp Cultivation in the Mekong Delta Helena Clayton Department of Agricultural Economics, Sydney University Tran Thanh BeThe Mekong Delta Farming Systems Research & Development Institute, Can Tho University 19 May Water Developments in China 2 June Women in Development in Cambodia Prof. Gavan McCormack Pacific and Asian History Division, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, ANU Sukun Keat Editor of the Australian-Cambodian newspaper "Smaradey Khmer" (Khmer Spirit). 21 July 28 July 11 August Buddhist Ethics: Planning towards Sustainable Community-based Tourism in the Greater Mekong Subregion The People 's Forum in Chiang Mai - May 2000 The Asian Currency Crisis & the Lao Economy Poll Theerapappisit Melbourne University Olivia Dun Division of Geography Sydney University Bill Worner University of Western Sydney 25 August Modelling Vietnamese Farm Households Gordon MacAulay Professor of Agricultural Economics Sydney University 1 September 6 October Effect on Local People of Land-forest Allocation Policy in Laos Subsuming Labour under Capital - Luxembourg vs Kautsky in the Vietnamese mountains Takayuki Namura Division of Geography Sydney University Ingrid Schraner School of Economics & FinanceUWS, Kingswood 27 October EFIC-funded projects in the Mekong Melanie Gillbank & James Arvanitakis AID/WATCH 13

15 AMRC Annual Report 2000 Highlights in 2000 included Professor Gavan McCormack s seminar presentation on 19 May - Water Developments in China - which led to the publication of Working Paper No.2 Water Margins: Development and Sustainability in China. Visiting Researcher, Takayuki Namura, who was doing background work on political ecology for his PhD thesis at the time, gave a presentation on The Effect on Local People of Landforest Allocation Policy in Laos on 1 September. ADB Accounting for Development Conference The AMRC worked in partnership with Community Aid Abroad/Oxfam Australia, ACFOA, ACT Mekong Group and AID/WATCH to host a conference entitled Accounting for Development - Australia and the Asian Development Bank in the Mekong Region. The Conference was the outcome of months of discussions between the key organizers, as well as other NGOs campaigning on the ADB s activities in the Mekong Region. The focus of the conference was on Australia s indirect role in these activities as major donors to the ADB. The 220 attendees included a delegation of 10 from the ADB, members of AusAid staff, Treasury staff, academics, NGOs, students, Panel discussion on the afternoon of Day 2 of the Conference. media representatives and members of the public. Many of the speakers were from the Mekong Region and were able to present cases which were both current and highly relevant to the issues of accountability and governance which were central to the conference theme. Conference papers are available on the website. AMRC Working Paper No. 3 summarises and analyses issues raised at the conference and incorporates much of the discussion surrounding these issues. To order your copy telephone Helen Gunning-Stevenson or Doug Bailey on or use the form available on our website. Conference and Seminar Participation January Susan King presented a paper entitled Intellectual Space or the Market Place? Reconstructing Cambodia s Universities at Second International Conference on Khmer Studies, Royal University of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. June 22 A special Primer Session was held prior to the Accounting for Development Conference to give an overview of issues to teachers, students, the media and interested members of the public. June Accounting for Development: Australia and the Asian Development Bank in the Mekong Region. AMRC hosted the conference which was organized in collaboration with Community Aid Abroad/Oxfam Australia, Australian Council for Overseas Aid (ACFOA), ACT Mekong Group, AID/ WATCH and Jubilee Papers were presented by: Philip Hirsch Changing geo-politics and economic models in the Mekong Region ; Andrew Wyatt & Viliam Phraxayavong Investment models and socio-environmental impacts: case studies from Lao PDR. Fiona Miller made the Closing Remarks. June & August Fiona Miller participated in Sydney-Canberra and Mekong Delta workshops of the Social and Environmental Impact of Infrastructure Project Planning and Assessment Processes project. June Simon Bush attended Mekong River Commission Programme for Fisheries Management and Development Cooperation, 7th Annual Meeting, Pakse, Lao PDR. 14

16 ACTIVITIES August Phil Hirsch, Andrew Wyatt, Fiona Miller, Lilao Bouapao and Riko Hashimoto attended a workshop Social and Environmental Impact of Infrastructure Project Planning and Assessment Processes at Can Tho University, Vietnam September 6-7 Xiu Juan Liu attended the River Symposium in Brisbane as part of her research into water management in China September Andrew Wyatt presented a paper entitled The Reality of People s Participation and Accountability: The Case of the Nam Song Diversion Project at International Symposium: Whose Nature? Tokyo, hosted by Mekong Watch to coincide with the Asian Development Bank s fifth and final meeting to negotiate the replenishment of the ADF (Asian Development Fund) VIII. September 13 Andrew Wyatt presented a paper entitled The Political Ecology of Private Infrastructure in Transitional Southeast Asian Economies: The Case of Build-Own-Operate-Transfer Projects in Vietnam and Laos at a seminar of the National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka, Japan. October 10 Fiona Miller participated in National Workshop on Ecologically Sustainable Development and Biodiversity in Vietnam, Hanoi. October Phil Hirsch participated in Community-Based Natural Resource Management workshop, Guiyang, China. Also visited several institutes in Kunming. October 30 Phil Hirsch delivered invited lecture at Centre for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, on An Applied Political Ecology of the Mekong? Kyoto, Japan. November 8-9 Doug Bailey participated in the Oxfam America/JVC Cambodia hosted Mekong Initiative Partners Consultation Workshop in Phnom Penh. The aim of the workshop was to gain input from partners into the Oxfam Mekong Initiative workplan, which is intended to provide a framework for collaboration by the various Oxfams and partners working in the region. November Phil Hirsch delivered a presentation on fisheries management at Mekong Regional Environmental Governance workshop, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. 15

17 AMRC Annual Report PROJECT ACTIVITIES 2000 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment The AMRC was commissioned to carry out background research into existing research and data sources relating to ecosystem change in the Mekong Region. The study was part of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment program, which is sponsored by Global Environment Facility (GEF), United Nations Foundation and the World Bank. The program also receives support from the Rockefeller Foundation, UNDP and UNEP. WRI is one of the key collaborators. The background research, and preparation of an inventory of key organisations involved in ecosystem research in the Mekong, was reviewed by the program as part of the process of selecting 10 pilot assessments to commence in early For details see: Helen Gunning-Stevenson visited key institutions in Phnom Penh and Vientiane to identify research/ assessment activities and to record data sources. Sunil Pednekar collated information in Bangkok. Andrew Wyatt carried out research in Hanoi and Philip Hirsch interviewed key researchers in Chiang Mai and in Yunnan, China. The research was conducted between September and November The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment report and accompanying database are available through the AMRC. Small-scale Wetland Indigenous Fisheries Management Work has continued on indigenous fisheries management in southern Laos. This work is carried out as a collaboration between AMRC, the Champassak Provincial Livestock and Fisheries Office and the Living Aquatic Resources Research Centre in Lao PDR. The focus of the work is management and stock enhancement of seasonal backswamps in eight villages of two Districts in Laos southernmost province. A secondary focus is stream fishery management. Small-scale and indigenous fisheries based on common property resources have previously been neglected in favour of larger scale fisheries. The work is supported by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). Hapa being used for village nursing of indigenous species. Strategic Regional Capacity-building (Infrastructure Development) This two month project aimed at strategic capacity building, which involves the identification of key institutions (in this case in-country policy research institutes) to develop a regional network capable of screening assessments of regional infrastructure developments associated with the Greater Mekong Subregion investment program. Building on a one-year project carried out from January December 1999 between the Australian Mekong Resource Centre (AMRC) and the National Economic Research Institute (NERI) of the State Planning Committee in Lao PDR, and on other research collaborations, the project aimed to develop regional linkages between existing AMRC partners in Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia and develop new linkages with the aim of building regional capacity in infrastructure planning, of enhancing critical assessment capabilities that currently rely mainly on external consultants, and of providing for cooperation in assessing projects with cross-border impacts. The project involved AMRC researchers Phil Hirsch, Andrew Wyatt, Fiona Miller, Lilao Bouapao and Riko Hashimoto. Funding was provided by AusAID (SEA Regional Programme). 16

18 ACTIVITIES GIS for Lao Staff In August, the AMRC provided training for two senior Lao provincial government officials from the Southern Regional Development Committee (RDC). The course, entitled Spatial Information Systems for Livestock and Fisheries Management in the Southern Lao PDR, was designed, coordinated and taught by Simon Bush and Phil Hirsch. The course was taught in 10 modules designed to introduce and build on skills and concepts associated with GIS and Thematic Mapping. More advanced areas covered by the course included spatial representation of numerical data and change associated with fisheries and livestock, building project-specific spatial information systems, building comprehensive spatial information systems, updating and sharing information, and using spatial information systems for planning and evaluation purposes. The participants hope to apply GIS and thematic mapping to the activities of the RDC associated with livestock and fisheries over the coming years. Funding was provided by AIT Outreach. The AMRC collaborated with the Regional Development Centre, Savannakhet Province and the Dept of Livestock & Fisheries, Lao PDR Natural Resources Management Program for Thai Officers AMRC was involved in three month-long training programs for Thai government officials. These programs were funded by AusAID and carried out in collaboration with the Research Institute for Asia and the Pacific. Each program involved 15 government officials from a range of ministries and departments. Two were on Natural Resource Management Strategies, held in June and November The third, held in October 2000, was the first of two sessions on Managing Development in its International Context. This program is focused on the Department of Technical and Economic Cooperation (DTEC), whose principal role in the past has been to manage incoming development assistance funds from countries with foreign aid programs in Thailand. However, as Thailand has moved toward establishing itself as an aid donor in the Mekong Region and some other low-income countries, DTEC has had to adjust its role. The course deals with issues in development assistance management and gives AMRC a chance for constructive input in a mainstream development initiative in the Mekong Region. The second of the two courses is in February Underlying Causes of Deforestation in the Mekong Region Following our earlier work with the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, AMRC was commissioned to write an issues paper on underlying causes of deforestation in the Mekong Region. The work involved Olivia Dun and Lilian Ip, Year IV Honours students in geography, in some of the background research. In August 2000, this work was presented at an IGES regional workshop at the National University of Laos. Shrimp-mangrove Farming Project in Ca Mau Province, Vietnam The Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia commissioned AMRC to work with staff from Can Tho University to investigate potentials and contraints for implementation of a shrimp-mangrove model developed as part of an ACIAR-funded research project that AMRC had reviewed in Sunil Pednekar carried out much of the work with colleagues at CTU and produced the final report in October Major findings revealed that debt and issues of resource tenure continue to be constraints on application of technical models and that a better social and economic understanding is required within such research initiatives. Mekong delta shrimp cultivation 17

19 AMRC Annual Report 2000 Research Training at NUOL The NUOL research training project has moved forward following introductory research formulation sessions at the beginning of the year. The project takes 12 staff in four departments at NUOL through the research process, from formulating research questions, through designing a proposal, carrying out fieldwork to analysis and writing. Three teams have each designed a draft proposal and carried out preliminary fieldwork on aspects of local resource management and resource tenure, punctuated by training sessions run in Vientiane by AMRC director Phil Hirsch and colleagues at York University in Canada, Chiengmai University in Thailand and the East-West Centre in Hawaii. Research themes are the impacts of irrigation development on resource tenure and access; the implications of forest land allocation on food security; and links between forest land allocation and changing agricultural patterns. AMRC Associate, Anucha Leksakundilok, making use of low-energy technology during fieldwork. 18

20 ACTIVITIES OF AMRC ASSOCIATES 3. ACTIVITIES OF AMRC ASSOCIATES AND POSTGRADUATE RESEARCH Andrew Wyatt (AMRC Associate) Andrew continued his PhD research on private infrastructure development in Indochina throughout 2000 and is presently writing up his thesis. From May to August 2000 he coordinated and provided training for an AMRC project Assessing social and environmental costs, benefits and risks of infrastructure development in the Mekong Region: toward strategic capacity building funded by AusAID (see Project Activities for details). He also collected information in Vietnam for the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment project in September 2000 and represented the AMRC at the People s Forum 2000, Chiang Mai, Thailand. Anucha Leksakundilok (AMRC Associate) AMRC Associate Andrew Wyatt. Anucha graduated as an Architect and Regional Planner from Chulalongkorn University, Thailand before working at the Thailand Institute of Scientific and Technological Research where he was responsibility for research and design of environmental and natural resource management plans for both the government and private organisations. Anucha also has experience in physical planning and project management, particularly in the area of tourism development. Anucha is currently conducting his PhD research on community participation in environmental management in ecotourism. Languages: Thai. Fiona Miller (AMRC Associate) During 2000 Fiona focused her efforts on completing the fieldwork stage of her PhD. This PhD focuses on water resources management in the context of environmental change in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. It explores the various perceptions and responses of key resource actors, involved in developing the water resources sector and/or dependent on water for their livelihoods, to environmental change associated with broader development processes occurring in the Mekong Basin (namely salinity intrusion and flooding). This research investigates the changing policy and institutional nature of water resources management at various scales, from the local hamlet level to broader scales. Fiona spent several months based in the Mekong Delta, collaborating with staff and students of Can Tho University, to conduct her farmer and local government official interviews in Dong Thap and Tra Vinh. During this time she was able to witness firsthand the physical and human impacts of the severe floods the Delta was subject to in Her fieldwork also involved interviews with senior Vietnamese officials and policymakers involved in the water resources sector in HCMC and Hanoi, as well as policy officials based at regional organisations in Bangkok and Phnom Penh. In addition to her PhD work Fiona participated in the AMRC Conference Accounting for Development, providing the closing remarks, and was a participant in the Sydney-Canberra and Mekong Delta workshops of the Social and Environmental Impact of Infrastructure Project Planning and Assessment Processes Project. Languages: Vietnamese. Georgina Houghton (AMRC Associate) Georgina has been living and working in Vietnam for the past 7 years after finishing an MA in the Department of Geography at the University of Sydney. Based in Hanoi, she has some years experience working with international and local NGOs in various aspects of rural development. Georgina has now returned to commence her PhD studies which will investigate opportunities for co-management of natural resources, especially forests and forest land, in northern Vietnam. Languages: Vietnamese Gerard Cheong (AMRC Associate) Gerard has a background in forestry EIS as a private consultant. He currently works for the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs as a community consultant for numerous migrant and refugee 19

21 AMRC Annual Report 2000 communities in Sydney. In late 1999, he managed the Safe Haven for Kosovars in Singleton until its closure. During December 1999 and January 2000, he set up, through extensive consultation, a community relations and development strategy at the Safe Haven for East Timorese in East Hills, Sydney. In 1999 he presented a paper on Participation in Water Resource Management in Lao PDR at the international Symposium on Society and Resource Management, University of Queensland. He is currently writing up his Masters thesis on community participation in the water resources sector in Lao PDR. Languages: Malaysian/Indonesian, Cantonese, elementary Thai and Lao. Helena Clayton (AMRC Associate) Helena s research interest lies within local and rural policy issues related to resource management in agriculture and fisheries. An interest in these issues in the Mekong Region has developed through her involvement with Community Aid Abroad groups concerned with local issues both in Australia and the Mekong region. Helena completed an Honours degree in Agricultural Economics in 1996 and is soon to submit her Masters thesis in the same discipline. Helena has undertaken research on issues concerning ecologically sustainable development in Australia s marine fisheries and, more recently, on sustainability concerns facing rice-shrimp farmers in the coastal provinces of the Mekong Delta. After returning in early 2000 from a 4-month placement at Can Tho University with the Australian Youth Ambassador program, Helena became committed full-time that year on the ACIAR project An evaluation of the sustainability of farming systems in the brackish water region of the Mekong Delta. Helena presented findings from her research relating to land degradation in the rice-shrimp farming system at the final AMRC Associate Helena Clayton project workshop in December Kheung Kham Keonuchan (AMRC Associate) Kham has two years experience in planning at the National Office for the Environment, Department of Forestry, Laos, with research experience in the study of eco-tourism in protected areas in Laos and the environmental impact of irrigation development in Laos. The focus of Kham s research was to gain an understanding of the social-economic, political, cultural and ecological contexts of shifting cultivators and how these contexts affect and motivate shifting cultivators in decision making, their practice and the adoption, modification and rejection of new practices. Kham submitted his thesis in mid-2000 and has returned to Laos with his family. He is now working as Champassak Province Manager of the World Food Program with the FAO. Languages: Lao, Vietnamese, Thai. Olivia Dun (AMRC Associate) Olivia completed her Honours Degree in Environmental Science (Geography) in November 2000, with an honours thesis entitled "Community Forestry Discourses in Northern Thailand" following two months fieldwork in Thailand. She will travel to Laos in 2001 as a Youth Ambassador under the AusAID Youth Ambassadors for Development Program. There she will work at the National University of Laos as a support for a Natural Resource Management Documentation Centre located within the Faculty of Forestry. Premrudee (Eang) Daoroung (AMRC Associate) Premrudee (Eang) was an NGO staff member instrumental in the establishment of the Community Forest Support Project at the Department of Forestry, Lao PDR. Eang has been working with the regional environmental NGO, TERRA (Towards Ecological Recovery and Regional Alliance), for a number of years. She conducted her Masters research on external agencies influence in forestry frameworks and practice in Lao PDR during After two years in both Sydney and Laos carrying out her research work, she has received her MSc and returned to the region to work with TERRA. Languages: Thai, Lao 20

22 ACTIVITIES OF AMRC ASSOCIATES Simon Bush (AMRC Associate) Simon completed his Honours Degree in Science (Geography) at the University of Sydney in In 2000 he started a PhD within the Division of Geography. His research project focuses on the impacts of small-scale rural aquaculture on capture fisheries as mediated by changing resource exploitation of communities in Northeast Thailand and Southern Laos. During 2000 Simon was also involved in research with the Mekong River Commission (MRC), looking at fish trade networks in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. He also continued his involvement with the AMRC through training, input to the Mekong Update and other part time work. Simon also represented the AMRC at the MRC annual fisheries meeting in Pakse, Laos in June. Languages: elementary Lao and Thai AMRC Associate Simon Bush. Sukun Keat (AMRC Associate) Sukun spent seven and a half years assisting Khmer refugees along the Khmer-Thai borders where he was involved in the administration of the Khao I Dang camp and the teaching of management courses to students at the Institute of Public Administration in Site2. From 1993 to 1998 he was appointed as Minister for Youth, Sport and Women s Affairs then as Secretary of State for Women s Affairs. In the latter capacity Sukun was involved in setting up the Women s Affairs Ministry as well as the National Policy for Cambodian Women. In close cooperation with local and international NGOs he initiated different programs throughout Cambodia such as Women in Development Center to provide vocational training and information to Cambodian women, especially those living in the rural areas. Languages: Khmer, French Tamerlaine Beasley (AMRC Associate) Tamerlaine Beasley manages her own intercultural training and consultancy company Beasley Intercultural. Specialising in Thailand, Tamerlaine assists clients to operate more effectively across cultures. In 2000 Tamerlaine worked with the AMRC to deliver an intercultural communication in development program for officials from DTEC in Thailand. Other clients Tamerlaine worked with in 2000 included the United Nations, AusAID, the Australian Embassy in Bangkok, the Australian Institute of Company Directors Thailand Program, Universities and leading corporations in the region. An Asian Studies graduate from the ANU, Tamerlaine has also studied Thai at Chulalongkorn and Silapakorn Universities and International Business at Penn State University in the USA. Her research thesis was on intercultural issues in the construction of the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge. Languages: Thai, Lao Thi Bich Hang Pham (AMRC Associate) Hang graduated in geography from the Hanoi National Pedagogic University in 1981 before commencing work at the An Giang Teachers Training College where she taught physical geography. She gained further teaching experience at the National Political Institute. Hang commenced post-graduate studies in cartography in 1989, progressing to PhD studies in In 1996 Hang began her MA at Sydney University on women and culture in Vietnam, focusing on war widows' experiences of change in the Mekong and Red River Deltas since Languages:Vietnamese Viliam Phraxayavong (AMRC Associate) Viliam has ten years experience in the economic and social planning of Laos, pre He was involved in the training of local administrators in the implementation of the National Development plans amd was coordinator of foreign assistance at the Ministry of Economic and Social Planning for a decade. From Viliam was coordinator of irrigation projects financed by international agencies. He is currently conducting PhD research on the impacts of foreign assistance on rural development in the Lao PDR. Viliam participated in a project on Social and environmental policy implications of infrastructure development in the Lao 21

23 AMRC Annual Report 2000 PDR: A case of Australian public and private investment in Lao PDR between NERI( National Economic Research Institute under the State Planning Committee) and AMRC. The joint project was conducted in Languages: French, Lao and Thai Xiu Juan Liu (AMRC Associate) Xiu Juan is a lecturer in Economic Geography at Xinjiang University in northwestern China. Her PhD study, submitted in March 2001, is on water resources and environmental management in transitional China, with specific focus on the changing political ecology of water management in Tarim River Basin in Xinjiang. Xiu Juan has returned to Yunnan and will work for the AMRC there. Languages: Mandarin New Associates: Cameron McAuliffe (AMRC Associate) During 1999 Cameron completed research into the impacts of the recent economic crisis in Thailand on its rural communities, which included critiques of rural-urban migration patterns and the media representations of returning domestic migrants. This research involved two-months of village-based fieldwork in NE Thailand and was the basis of his Honours thesis in Geography, which was completed in In 2000, Cameron produced a biographical photo-documentary work based on the life of a former refugee in the Sydney Lao community. He is currently researching issues of identity construction in migrant communities in Sydney and Vancouver as part of his ongoing work towards his Ph.D. Cameron has also taught English in Lao PDR for a short stint and is a graduate chemical engineer. Languages: elementary Thai, Lao and Spanish. Kate Lloyd (AMRC Associate) With a background in Asian Studies and Development Studies Kate worked in Vietnam, Thailand and Japan before embarking on a PhD. In its final stages, her research examines dilemmas of transition in Vietnam focusing on a case study of tourism management. It explores Vietnam s policy of doi moi or economic openness whereby Vietnam has variously embraced and had forced upon it new economic processes and their associated foreign influences that have become important economic, political and cultural forces challenging both state and society. The research investigates the Vietnamese state s response to the development of the tourism industry through case studies on state-owned enterprises and the private sector. She has taught courses on Modern Vietnam at Deakin University and is currently lecturing in Asia-Pacific Development at Sydney University. Languages: elementary Vietnamese Lilao Bouapao (AMRC Associate) Lilao has seven years experience with the National Statistical Centre under the State Planning Committee, Lao PDR supervising numerous socio-economic survey projects and teaching basic statistics to provincial and district statisticians. He is currently undertaking Masters research on rural development project management in Lao PDR. Languages: Lao, Thai. Susan King (AMRC Associate) Susan King was a lecturer in the Faculty of Education, University of Technology Sydney for 12 years and has worked extensively on education projects and consultancies in Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia since This has included working with local university staff to set up provincial Resource Centres, leading a team of local and foreign experts to develop the curriculum for the Bachelor of Education at the Royal University of Phnom Penh ( ) and designing and delivering in country seminars, workshops and teacher training programs. From 1994 to 1995, Susan was the AusAID Training Advisor in Laos where she helped to establish a national articulated professional development pathway for secondary and tertiary English teachers. She has been an education expert on various AusAID Technical Assistance Panels and is currently the Technical Advisor for AusAID for the Lao Australian English for ASEAN Purposes Project ( ). The title of her PhD thesis is Institutional capacity building: making a place for universities 22

24 ACTIVITIES OF AMRC ASSOCIATES in Cambodia. In connection with her PhD research, she is also working on a range of small-scale, localised collaborative projects in Cambodian universities including the performing arts library at the University of Fine Arts and the development of an educational program in sustainable tourism with the University of Bologna and the Royal University of Phnom Penh. Takehiko Riko Hashimoto (AMRC Associate) Riko has a background in coastal geomorphology, with a particular interest in sedimentation and landform evolution in deltas and estuaries, mangrove habitat dynamics, acid sulfate soils and geoarchaeology. His research activities in the last 8 years have been based in the North Coast and Sydney Regions of New South Wales, southeast Queensland, southern Thailand (Nakhon Si Thammarat Province), and Japan, in part as a consultant to the Australian Museum, the New South Wales Department of Land and Water Conservation and the Manly Hydraulics Laboratory. In August 2000, he visited the Mekong Delta in Vietnam, where he investigated environmental issues associated with recent infrastructure development in the Vietnamese part of the Mekong Delta, notably those associated with large-scale water-control projects and the intensifying use of the coastal zone resulting from the rapid expansion of shrimp aquaculture, mangrove forestry and irrigated rice cropping. The findings of the project are summarised in the upcoming AMRC Working Paper Environmental issues and recent infrastructure development in the Mekong Delta. Currently Riko is completing a PhD thesis at the School of Geosciences, which has elucidated the evolutionary history of estuarine-deltaic systems on the North Coast of New South Wales during the last 10,000 years. Languages: Japanese, German, French 23

25 AMRC Annual Report 2000 CENTRE ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENT STAFFING AMRC Director: Associate Professor Philip Hirsch AMRC Administrators (job share): Helen Gunning-Stevenson & Doug Bailey AMRC Website Managers: Andrew Wyatt & Doug Bailey Project Assistant (part time): Olivia Dun Volunteers: Olivia Dun, Giselle Benitez, Katie Parsons, Alastair Jaffray, Jessie Weir, Todd Milne. AMRC Staff and Associates (from left to right): Anucha Leksakundilok, Phil Hirsch, Riko Hashimoto, Georgina Houghton, Yale Carden, Olivia Dun, Doug Bailey, Fiona Miller, Nok Kaiyoorawongs, Helen Gunning-Stevenson, Thi Bich Hang Pham. ACADEMIC ADVISORY PANEL The Academic Advisory Panel is made up of the Director and another member of staff from the Division of Geography, as well as academic representatives from Departments such as the Australian Centre for Environmental Law, Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Agriculture, the Research Institute for Asia and the Pacific, and the Department of Government, University of Sydney. The Panel is responsible for strategic advice on research and publication activities of the Centre. The aim of the Advisory Panel is to involve people from the University and the Division of Geography in the Centre, so that it goes beyond a single initiative of the Division and draws upon wider expertise within the University. The Panel has a loose structure and holds occasional meetings on a needs basis. STEERING COMMITTEE A Steering Committee includes representatives of several Australian and regional organisations with interests and involvement in the Mekong Region. The primary function of the Steering Committee is to advise on the role of the Centre beyond the walls of the University. The aim of the Committee is to provide ideas and direction for the Centre as well a key point of liaison with various organisations on their activities. The Committee is a point where people can share ideas, provide advice, discuss the direction of the Centre, and assist with information sharing so the AMRC can learn from (and share) experience with other organisations working on Mekong issues. The Committee oversees the main activities of the Centre, especially outreach and resource aspects. NEW ADMINISTRATORS Fiona Miller, administrator of the AMRC since its inception, left the position at the end of 1999 to concentrate exclusively on her PhD studies. Simon Bush continued in this position until April 2000 when Doug Bailey and Helen Gunning-Stevenson were appointed on a job-share basis. Their days are: Helen Gunning-Stevenson Doug Bailey Mon, Tue, Fri Wed, Thu, Fri Helen has an MPhil in Social Anthropology from the School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS), University of London. Her research into primary schooling and its impacts on traditional culture included a six month field study in a village in Saraphi District, Chiengmai Province, northern Thailand. Helen was 24

26 ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENT employed by Community Aid Abroad for the three years prior to joining the AMRC, working in their Sydney office on a range of projects including organizing events and recruiting regular supporters. Languages: Thai, elementary German. Prior to joining the AMRC Doug worked as Administrator with two small overseas aid NGOs with conservation and permaculture projects in Vietnam and Cambodia. He has a PhD in Anthropology from the University of Sydney with a research focus on rural West Java, Indonesia. Doug has lived and worked in Indonesia. He has an ongoing involvement with the permaculture movement including publication of a newsletter. Languages: Indonesian, elementary Sundanese. VISITORS TO THE CENTRE The Centre has been visited by numerous postgraduate students, researchers and NGO workers utilising its resources for research purposes. In late June many people used the Centre to organise and run the Accounting for Development Conference. Other visitors to the Centre this year included: August, 2000 Masako Ishii, Research Fellow at Japan Centre for Area Studies, Japan, researching political ecology of Mekong region September, 2000 Hilary Yerbury, Postgraduate Student at Macquarie University researching social impact assessment in Mekong region November, 2000 Jonathan Thwaites, Ambassador-Designate, Australian Embassy, Lao PDR December, 2000 Pamela Atkinson, Dept. of Transport & Regional Services, Canberra VISITING RESEARCHERS Takayuki Namura is a PhD candidate from the University of Tokyo, looking at the forest management and land allocation policies in Lao PDR. He has previously worked in Lao PDR on JICA projects. Namura spent the first six months of 2000 at the AMRC and University of Sydney doing background work into political ecology. He returned to Tokyo with his wife and baby son in September. Languages: Japanese and Lao Sayamol Kaiyoorawongs joined the AMRC in November 2000 and will be with us until June 2001 as visiting scholar. Sayamol is an environmental lawyer working with the Project for Ecological Recovery, a prominent environmental organisation in Thailand. She has been active in helping draw up the people s version of the Community Forestry Bill in that country and is here to do research on customary rights and formal resource legislation in the area of community forestry. While in Sydney her research will focus on customary rights and formal resource legislation in the area of community forestry. Languages: Thai Visiting researcher Sayamol Kaiyoorawongs (Nok) relaxing at an AMRC barbecue. 25