Climate change, water and agriculture in the Greater Mekong subregion

Abstract

Research Reports The publications in this series cover a wide range of subjects—from computer modeling to experience with water user associations—and vary in content from directly applicable research to more basic studies, on which applied work ultimately depends. Some research reports are narrowly focused, analytical and detailed empirical studies; others are wide-ranging and synthetic overviews of generic problems. Although most of the reports are published by IWMI staff and their collaborators, we welcome contributions from others. Each report is reviewed internally by IWMI staff, and by external reviewers. The reports are published and distributed both in hard copy and electronically (www.iwmi.org) and where possible all data and analyses will be available as separate downloadable files. Reports may be copied freely and cited with due acknowledgment. About IWMI IWMI's mission is to improve the management of land and water resources for food, livelihoods and the environment. In serving this mission, IWMI concentrates on the integration of policies, technologies and management systems to achieve workable solutions to real problems—practical, relevant results in the field of irrigation and water and land resources. / climate change / water resource management / adaptation / indicators / river basins / water availability / water quality / groundwater / fisheries / ecosystems / water power / population growth / irrigation growth / South East Asia / Greater Mekong Subregion / Acknowledgements This report is partially drawn from a broader study commissioned by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) on the interactions between agriculture, environment and climate change in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), reported in Johnston et al. 2009. We gratefully acknowledge funding provided by Sida. We are also grateful to Sumith Fernando, Sarath Gunasinghe (IWMI, Colombo) and Sreedhar Acharya (IWMI, Hyderabad) for redrawing maps and diagrams; and to Kingsley Kurukulasuriya for editing the final draft of the document. Partners The following organizations collaborated in the research conducted for this report. Water Management I n t e r n a t i o n a l I n s t i t u t e v v Contents Acronyms vi Summary vii Introduction 1