CO-Oxfam Mekong PMU Oxfam Mekong Regional Water Governance Program (MRWGP) seeks to promote the inclusion of civil society and local communities in water resource governance and decision-making. Over the strategic period of the Mekong Water Governance Program (2020-2024), the goal is to contribute to more women and men in the riparian community along the Greater Mekong region realizing their rights to secure andsustainable livelihoods.

Over the next four years, the Mekong Water Governance Project will address all the five strategic priority of the Mekong Program:
1. Inclusion of civil society in water governance
2. Gender equality and women’s leadership in water resource management: Ensure more women are effectively participating in and influencing decision-making andgender equality becomes a central consideration in water governance.
3. Civil Society capacity building and networking: Ensure civil society are effectively participating in and influencing policies and practices related to water governance
4. Communityand Community Based Natural Resources Management (CBNRM)
5. Government and Private Sector (in the thematic area of Hydropower and Sustainable Energy): Promote constructive and basin-wide dialogues on more sustainable and equitable energy options and pathways.

The proposed activities for the Y1 (April 2020-March 2021) will be a ‘light touch’ focusing on:
i. Delivery of Feminist Leadership for Transformative Change to Women Leaders in Water Governance
ii. Gender Impact Assessment and next step: Popularize GIA tool and GIA App
iii. Continued support the indigenous community affected by dam project
iv. On Government and Private Sector: Increase awareness to the general public

The proposed activities for the Y2 (April 2021-March 2022) will be a ‘light touch’ focusing on:

i. Make available common resources to support inclusive WG and locally-led initiatives of women leaders across the Mekong Countries for greater inclusion of women, community, and marginalized group in water resource management.
ii. Developing Gender Impact Assessment (GIA) Tools – Develop a GIA key messages for promotion of the use of the tool through social media, events and other platforms. Key messages will explain and promote use and understanding of the App, its benefits and target audiences. GIA integration in Sao Baan or action research. document the process and learning from Laos and simplify GIA tool to easily use by community action research. This year can pilot in Cambodia.

iii. Women leaders Organization- WeavingBond Across Border (WBAB), a regional partner working to promote youth networks and young women leaders across the region to ensure and promote peer learning and build strong networks among WBAB’s alumni.

iv. Empowering IP women human right defendersin water governance in the 3S region. The bridging grant  will support 3SRivers Project Network (3SPN), an Oxfam strategic partner, to develop the profile of IP women human rights defenders in water governance and modernize digital learning material/platformto cope with Covid-19 pandemic and strengthening community/IP women leaders across 3S region to be river guardians.
The project will increase joint-protection and conservation of 3S rivers’ ecosystems through community fisheries management plan implementation.

v. Work with MDY to support Local women empowerment project in water resources conservation in Kien Giang province.”
 - To raise awareness of local women about importance of water source protection, water quality monitoring, conservation of wetland resources for their sustainable livelihood benefits;
 - To identify local women champions to debate and challenge local decision-making processes on water resources management.

vi. Sub-granting to youth organizations to promote young people,including indigenous youth organizations in the Water Governance, fostering youth engagement in RE promotion – explore partnership with the university’s student, media and journalist student, young scientist and young journalist.
vii. To support them tocomplete their final dissertation research thesis with selected research areas around: climate adaptive, community-led water smart agriculture (adaptive to new context of extreme weather events such as more severe drought and saline water during dry months, less/lower flood water during wet season; small-scale solar energized irrigation schemes; dual use of solar PV within farming areas, (i.e. for energy such as lighting, combining with operating shrimp farm/ drying agricultural products, irrigation, etc.); smart waste collection and processing initiatives; low-cost household-based water desalination models; smart rainwater harvesting and safe storage.

viii. Evidence-based documentation of mainstream dam impact on local communities in downstream Cambodia,andhow it affects to local livelihood dependent on fishery resources, and ecotourism-based livelihood.
It is proposed that the documentation focuses on communities living in Stung Treng province, Cambodia immediate from the Don Sahong dam site.

ix. Co-convene 3S Transboundary water governance dialogues to promote example of locally ledwater resource management in the 3S.

x. Quarterly Newsletter on community-based water resources governance
UND funds allocated to produce the Quarterly Newsletteron community-based water governance.