On the afternoon of Dec. 8, 2021, the Meeting on Sustainable Hydropower Development and Energy Security was successfully held in Nanjing in a form of online and offline combination. More than 100 participants, including government officials, researchers and enterprise representatives from six Lancang-Mekong countries and winner representatives of the 1st China-ASEAN Dam Safety Science Popularization Contest from ASEAN countries attended the event.

As a sesson of the 2nd Lancang-Mekong Water Resources Coopertion Forum, the meeting was co-organized by the Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute of China, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Lao PDR and the Ministry of Energy and Mines of Lao PDR. It aimed at implementing the decisions of the LMC Leaders’ Meetings, the consensus of the LMC FMs' Meetings and the 1st Ministerial Meeting of the Lancang-Mekong Water Resources Cooperation, and the Five-Year Action Plan on Lancang-Mekong Water Resources Cooperation (2018-2022), sharing the achievements and experiences on sustainable hydropower development and energy security in the Lancang-Mekong region, better understanding relevant challenges and national efforts to address these challenges, exchanging relevant international experiences and practices, and pooling wisdom and efforts to achieve the water-related goals in UN 2030 Agenda of Sustainable Development and Chinese dual carbon targets. 

At the opening ceremony, Mr. Bouathep Malaykham, Director General of the Department of Energy Management of the Ministry of Energy and Mines of Lao PDR expressed that cooperation of sustainable hydropower development and energy security was of great significance for the LMC countries, and spoke highly of the support and contributions to the bilateral or multilateral cooperation in this regard. Prof. Li Yun, vice president of the Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute (NHRI), briefed the relevant cooperation of NHRI with the Mekong countries and wished to continue the in-depth exchange and cooperation with these countries. Mr. Ji Xiaoyong, Chairman of PowerChina International Group Limited said that his Group had a very sound cooperative foundation with administrative departments, representatives and project owners of water and energy industries in the Mekong countries, and would give full play to its local advantages in the Mekong River basin to contribute to building a closer Lancang-Mekong community with a shared future.

Mr. Oudomsack Philavong, Deputy Secretary General of the Lao National Mekong Committee Secretariat, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Lao PDR chaired the part of national experience exchange. Representatives from six Lancang-Mekong countries made their national reports on the policies, planning, practices, experiences and challenges in the field of sustainable hydropower development and energy security, respectively. Prof. Chen Shengshui, president of NHRI, on behalf of China, made the report Chinese Practices and Challenges on Sustainable Hydropower Development and Energy Security. He pointed out that hydropower had become one of the clean renewable energies with the largest proportion in China, the requirements on green development had provided a very good opportunity for continuous promotion of hydropower development, with many challenges of eco-environment protection, technology of hydropower development, safety management faced at the same time, which would be tackled by policy and technology innovation, and strengthening regional cooperation and response to safeguard the sustainable hydropower development and energy security in China and the Lancang-Mekong region.

Dr. Marcus J. Wishart, the lead water resources specialist at Beijing Office, the World Bank Group and Dr. Georges R. Darbre, ICOLD consultant and former deputy head of supervision and safety, SFOE, Switzerland were invited to share the international practices and experiences. Dr. Wishart introduced the mission, twin goals and projects of the World Bank Group for ensuring the safety of dams and downstream communities, while Dr. Darbre briefed the ICOLD Bulletin 186 on “Integrated Optimal Operation of Cascade Hydropower Stations and Reservoirs”, and stressed the importance of cascade dam safety by taking cascade dams development along the Lancang- Mekong River and cascade dams on Rhine river (German-Swiss border) as examples.

In addition, multi-objective optimization concept for operating hydropower plants, integrated water resources management, coordinated development of hydropower, water storage operation and water resources management, and comprehensive optimal regulation of cascade hydropower plants and reservoirs were exchanged and discussed at the Session 6. It was put forward to reinforce the sustainable hydropower development and energy security of the Langcang-Mekong basin via the innovative measures of policy, technology and coordination.

At the Opening Ceremony of the meeting, the online Award Ceremony of the 1st China-ASEAN Dam Safety Science Popularization Contest took place with winner list announced. Two winners were invited to give acceptance speeches.

The meeting provided an exchange platform to enhance the understanding of the current status and strategic planning of sustainable hydropower development and energy security in the Lancang-Mekong countries, to learn from relevant international cases and experiences, and to seek good solutions by pooling ideas in the process of further deepening the LMC water resources cooperation, jointly coping with the challenges faced by sustainable hydropower development and energy security, and achieving the global and regional green development. There is no doubt that the Session 6 offered impetus to local people’s livelihood improvement, environment protection and social-economic development in the Mekong countries, jointly building the Lancang-Mekong water resources cooperation into the flagship brand of the LMC and making the Lancang-Mekong River as a river of friendship, cooperation and prosperity.