The Mekong River Commission: transboundary water resources planning and regional security

The Mekong River Commission (MRC) was established in 1995 and represents a third chapter in the Mekong Project's organizational history. The MRC's predecessors – the Mekong Committee (1957–78) and the Interim Mekong Committee (1978–95) – operated under difficult circumstances, yet made many contributions to transboundary river basin planning and international diplomacy. The MRC's 2001 Work Programme represents a shift in Mekong basin planning from the era of the Mekong Committee. This shift is largely embodied by a change from a project–oriented focus to an emphasis on better management and preservation of existing resources. The MRC is in a position to help address the related issues of population growth, environmental preservation and regional security. In doing so, the MRC will benefit from the programmes and international collaboration established by its predecessors.     

Ten major rivers in monsoon Asia-Pacific: An assessment of vulnerability

An assessment of socioeconomic-environmental vulnerability of the ten major river basins in the Monsoon Asia-Pacific region was performed. The rivers include Indus, Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM), Irrawaddy, Salween, Chao Phraya, Mekong, Red River, Pearl River, Yangtze and Yellow River. The study looked at a combination of various issues, usually investigated in isolation from each other, on a sub-continental scale by using the river basins as the geographical entities for the study. The analysis was conducted by using various geospatial databases including data on nature and environment, demography, governance, water scarcity as well as social and economic development. A vulnerability profile for each of the river basins was produced by using two different approaches. We found that the South Asian basins (Indus and GBM) appeared essentially more vulnerable than the other investigated basins. The other basins are roughly at the same vulnerability level, but their vulnerability profiles differ substantially. The Chinese basins and the Red River are particularly vulnerable to environmental factors. The weak points of Irrawaddy and Salween are in the hazards and economic development, whereas the former is a challenge to Mekong as well. Only Indus and Yellow River suffer from considerable water scarcity. The other basins except GBM are relatively well-off with the social matters. A transparent and pragmatic river basin vulnerability assessment approach was developed, which can be used in any large river basin of the world, producing intercomparable results. The approach allows further decoupling of the used indices in the case of more specific and targeted analyses without losing the comparability of the overall results.     

通过水资源整体多目标利用和管理推进澜沧江—湄公河流域的持续发展

澜沧江──湄公河是中国和东南亚地区最为重要的国际河流，目前成为国际上众多国家、国际组织关注和投资的热点地区［１，３］。按亚洲开发银行（ＡＤＢ）组织的“大湄公河次区域合作计划”［４］直接影响地域２３２×１０４ｋｍ２，人口超过２．２亿，大范围内的自然环境、社会和经济状况都将发生巨大变化。１９９５年４月５日下湄公河四国签署的《湄公河流域持续发展合作协定》［５］，为该流域区的持续发展注入了新机。据初步分析，如果以水资源多目标综合利用为目的进行整体规划和管理，将能源开发集中在澜沧江干流和下湄公河支流，在洞里萨湖修建拦河闸堰，在湄公河三角洲修建泄洪道，在大城市与人口和耕地集中而易遭受洪水危害的干流两侧兴建防洪堤，并加强水文、气象预测和预报，则下湄公河流域的电力需求及灌溉、洪水、咸水入侵以及土壤酸性水危害等问题，在很大程度上均可得到解决，无需兴建庞大的下湄公河干流梯级电站（水库），这不仅可以避免大量的资金投入、大规模的移民和土地淹没，而且可以阻止大坝对湄公河水生生物的危害，促进流域持续发展。     

FACILITATING REGIONAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT THROUGH INTEGRATED MULTI-OBJECTIVE UTILIZATION, MANAGEMENT OF WATER RESOURCES IN THE LANCANG-MEKONG RIVER BASIN

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Geomorphic analysis of large alluvial rivers

Geomorphic analysis of a large river presents particular challenges and requires a systematic and organised approach because of the spatial scale and system complexity involved. This paper presents a framework and blueprint for geomorphic studies of large rivers developed in the course of basic, strategic and project-related investigations of a number of large rivers. The framework demonstrates the need to begin geomorphic studies early in the pre-feasibility stage of a river project and carry them through to implementation and post-project appraisal. The blueprint breaks down the multi-layered and multi-scaled complexity of a comprehensive geomorphic study into a number of well-defined and semi-independent topics, each of which can be performed separately to produce a clearly defined, deliverable product. Geomorphology increasingly plays a central role in multi-disciplinary river research and the importance of effective quality assurance makes it essential that audit trails and quality checks are hard-wired into study design. The structured approach presented here provides output products and production trails that can be rigorously audited, ensuring that the results of a geomorphic study can stand up to the closest scrutiny.     

Planform characteristics and development of interchannel wetlands in a gravel-bed anastomosing river,Maqu Reach of the Upper Yellow River

Both interchannel wetlands and multi-channels are crucial geomorphologic units in an anastomosing river system. Planform characteristics and development of interchannel wetlands and multi-channels control the characteristics of anastomosing rivers. To understand the role that interchannel wetlands play in the development of anastomosing rivers, a study was conducted on the Maqu Reach of the Upper Yellow River (MRUYR), a gravel-bed anastomosing river characterized by highly developed interchannel wetlands and anabranches. Geomorphologic units in the studied reach were extracted from high resolution satellite imagery in Google Earth. The size distributions of interchannel wetlands and interchannel wetland clusters (IWCs), a special combination of interchannel wetlands and anabranches, were investigated. Geomorphologic parameters, including the ratio of interchannel wetland area to IWC area (P), shoreline density (D_l), and node density (D_n) were used to analyze planform characteristics of IWCs and the development of multi-channels in the studied reach. The results suggest that small or middle sized interchannel wetlands and large or mega sized IWCs are more common at the study site. The area of IWC (S_u) is highly correlated with other geomorphologic parameters. P increases with increasing S_u, and the upper limit is about 80%, which indicates that the development of interchannel wetlands and anabranches in the IWC is in the equilibrium stage. In contrast, D_l and D_n show a tendency to decrease with increasing S_u due to diverse evolution processes in IWCs with different sizes. There are three main reasons leading to the formation of IWCs: varying stream power due to the meandering principal channel; development of the river corridor due to the weakening of geologic structure control; and high stability of interchannel wetlands due to conservation by shoreline vegetation.     

汶川地震触发的绵远河流域崩塌滑坡的特征

利用地震后ALOS影像自动提取了汶川地震重灾区绵远河流域内的崩塌滑坡,结合野外调查共确定地震触发崩塌滑坡1 073处,面积48.5 km2.其中分布最广、数量最多的是浅层崩滑体;同时由于地震力作用强烈,触发了许多深层、高速、远程滑坡,并形成了大量的滑坡堰塞湖.汶川地震诱发的第二大滑坡文家沟滑坡就位于流域内,该滑坡是本次地震中滑动距离最远的滑坡.地震导致大量的碎屑物质堆积在沟道内或悬挂在斜坡上,为泥石流的发生提供了有利条件.基于GIS的统计分析表明,地震滑坡的空间分布主要受发震断层的控制,流域内的崩塌滑坡受到了映秀-北川断裂和江油-都江堰断裂的双重影响,主要分布于两断裂上盘的一定范围内;地层岩性影响着地震滑坡的类型,岩浆岩、白云岩等硬岩主要发育浅层崩滑体,而上硬下软的地层多发生大型滑坡;大部分崩塌滑坡都发生在海拔1 000～2 000 m的高程内;坡度是崩塌滑坡发生的主要控制因素之一,大部分崩塌滑坡发生在25°～55°的范围内;坡向对滑坡的分布也有一定的影响,背靠震源(发震断层)方向的斜坡比面向震源(发震断层)方向更容易发生滑坡.     

黄河玛曲砾质网状河段河间湿地形态特征及发育程度

河间湿地是网状河流体系中与多河道系统同等重要的地貌单元,其特征和发育程度与河道系统共同决定着网状河流的特性。本文以黄河玛曲网状河段作为研究对象,利用高分辨率Google Earth影像对研究河段河道与河间湿地等微地貌单元进行提取,利用湿地面积与湿地数对河间湿地的组成进行了分析,利用河间湿地面积占比、岸线密度、分汊点密度3个地貌参数,对河间湿地群体（河间湿地与分支河道特定组合体）的平面形态及多河道发育程度进行了研究。结果表明,河间湿地个体以中小型的为主,河间湿地群体则以大型和巨型的为主。河间湿地群体的发育程度与河间湿地群体面积（S_u）明显相关,河间湿地面积占比（P）随S_u的增大而增大,P值70%是河间湿地发育成熟的指标,而P值80%基本是河间湿地发育的上限值,此时河间湿地与分支河道基本达到动态平衡态。岸线密度、分汊点密度随S_u的增加呈减小趋势,这种变化主要是由于不同大小河间湿地群体中河道发育过程差异导致。黄河玛曲段河间湿地群体的形成在于弯曲主河道的主导作用、地形限制因素削弱导致的河道带的发育,以及植被维护的河岸使得河间湿地群体得以较长时间保存。     

论潜蚀和块体运动在河流袭夺中的主导作用─—河流袭夺作用机制与实例剖析

区域地壳隆升或地槽回返褶皱成山后,斜坡上出现平行状水系.随着河流的溯源侵蚀,分水岭后退,水系适应内外力条件演变成不同型式,并发生河流袭夺.导致河流发生袭夺的决定性原因,一是袭夺河的快速溯源侵蚀,二是位于分水岭反面的高位被袭夺河的河床下与古分水岭下潜蚀作用和块体运动.湔江支流之一海子河在早更新世末依次袭夺了古花园沟河(已消失)和古银厂沟河(原石亭江右支流)等河.     

论潜蚀和块体运动在河流袭夺中的主导作用─—河流袭夺作用机制与实例剖析

区域地壳隆升或地槽回返褶皱成山后，斜坡上出现平行状水系。随着河流的溯源侵蚀，分水岭后退，水系适应内外力条件演变成不同型式，并发生河流袭夺。导致河流发生袭夺的决定性原因，一是袭夺河的快速溯源侵蚀，二是位于分水岭反面的高位被袭夺河的河床下与古分水岭下潜蚀作用和块体运动。湔江支流之一海子河在早更新世末依次袭夺了古花园沟河（已消失）和古银厂沟河（原石亭江右支流）等河。     

基于二元水循环的河流生态需水水量与水质综合评价方法——以辽河流域为例

通过考虑水的自然循环与水在人类活动影响下的循环 (二元水循环),后者包括水资源开发利用率、耗水率、污水排放浓度影响,探讨了二元水循环下河流生态需水“质”与“量”的综合评价,以区别以往仅从自然水循环 (一元) 出发评价河流生态需水的缺陷。建立了二元水循环下的河流生态需水的水量与水质计算方法,并确定了河流生态需水的“质”与“量”的评价标准,实现了河流生态需水水量与水质的综合评价。以辽河流域为例进行实证分析,计算了一元水循环下西辽河、东辽河、辽河干流、浑太河、东北沿黄渤海诸河等水资源分区的河流生态需水,分别占径流的39.3%、63.0%、43.9%、43.3%、43.5%,采用Tennant推荐流量及等级进行评价,结果是：除西辽河属于“中”等级外,东辽河、浑太河、辽河干流、东北沿黄诸河等均在“好”等级以上,东辽河达到“极好”等级。与之对应的二元水循环下的河流生态需水比例分别是57.5%、74.1%、60.8%、60.3%、60.4%,综合评价结果显示：从水量角度评价,西辽河不能达到生态需水“量”的标准,其余能够达标,从水质角度评价,西辽河、浑太河、辽河干流、东北沿黄诸河等均不能够达到“质”的标准,东辽河可以达标。从“量”与“质”相结合的角度评价,仅有东辽河可以达标。因此,水质状况是决定辽河流域河流生态需水是否满足生态系统需求的主要问题。     

澜沧江-湄公河重金属污染评价及大坝影响(英文)

The resource development and changes of hydrological regime,sediment and water quality in the Mekong River basin have attracted great attentions.This research aimed to enhance the study on transboundary pollution of heavy metals in this international river.In this study,eight sampling sites were selected to collect the bed sand samples along the mainstream of the Mekong River.In addition,the contents of 5 heavy metal elements and their spatial variability along the mainstream of the river were analyzed.The geoaccumulation index(I geo) and potential ecological risk analysis were employed to assess heavy metal pollution status in the mainstream of the Mekong River.The results show that the average content of the heavy metal elements Zn is 91.43 mg/kg,Pb is 41.85 mg/kg,and As is 21.84 mg/kg in the bed sands of the Upper Mekong River,which are higher than those(Zn 68.17 mg/kg,Pb 28.22 mg/kg,As 14.97 mg/kg) in the Lower Mekong.The average content of Cr in the Lower Mekong is 418.86 mg/kg,higher than that in the Upper Mekong(42.19 mg/kg).Luang Prabang has a very high Cr concentration with 762.93 mg/kg and Pakse with 422.90 mg/kg.The concentration of Cu in all of the 8 sampling sites is similar,except for in Jiajiu with 11.70 mg/kg and Jiebei with 7.00 mg/kg.The results of the geoaccumulation index reveal that contaminations caused by Zn and Pb while Pb and As are more than those by Zn in Upper Mekong.Cr is the primary pollutant in the Lower Mekong,especially at Luang Prabang and Pakse.Slight pollution with As also occurs in Pakse.The potential ecological risk index indicates that the potential ecological risk of heavy metals in the mainstream of the Mekong River is low.We argue that the pollution of water quality and contamination of heavy metals in bed sediment caused by mining of mineral resources or geochemical background values in the Mekong is not transmitted from the Upper to the Lower Mekong because of the reservoir sedimentation and dilution along the river.     

水电开发对河流水沙变化的综合影响评价新方法(英文)

The environmental impact assessment (EIA) of cascade dams building in international rivers has been widely discussed in China and ASEAN countries since the 1990s. In Southwest China, all the great mountainous rivers have been the major state base for large-scale hydropower development. Among these rivers, the environmental change and response of the watercourse under the cascade dams building in the upper Mekong (called Lancang River in China) has been the focus in recent 20 years. In this paper, the Lancang River, which has over 25 years of large-scale hydropower development, was chosen as a case study for establishing the affected evaluation indicators system and its regression model of runoff and sediment, determining the indicators weight by the hierarchy analysis method and factor analysis method, and setting up the quantitative evaluation models of indicators affected level based on the "marginal efficiency" principle. Using these methods and model established, the influence degree of runoff and sediment in the Lancang River from 1986 to 2007 were assessed. The major results are: (1) the impact of sediment transport change by the cascade development is much higher than that of the runoff change; (2) the years’ number with different impact levels respectively are 72.7% as the "smallest" level, 18.2% as "smaller", and 9.1% as "general"; (3) the change process of runoff and sediment shows a "U-shaped" pattern, which indicates the balance of sediment change because of the interaction of sediment reduction by Manwan reservoir storage and the increase by the Dachaoshan dam construction.     

基于“3S”技术的南流江采砂点时空分布特征

利用Landsat系列遥感数据,通过目视解译的方式分析了南流江近30年的采砂点的时空分布特征及其环境效应,并探讨其驱动因素。结果表明：南流江采砂点数量在1988—2008年快速上升,2018年的采砂点数量出现大幅下降;各时期均为下游采砂点最多,中游次之,上游最少。采砂点时空分布的主要驱动因素是流域的经济快速发展带来的城市化快速扩张,2018年采砂点数量下降的主要原因是相关部门加强对非法采砂活动的监管。采砂活动是南流江含沙量下降的重要原因之一,同时也是南流江水质下降的重要原因;采砂活动使得南流江采砂区域面积在1988—2018年总共减少了7.24 km²;目前河口三角洲岸线并没有因为采砂活动的加剧输沙量减少而发生明显的蚀退。     

Glacier changes in the Sanjiangyuan Nature Reserve of China during 2000–2018

The glaciers in the Sanjiangyuan Nature Reserve of China (SNRC) are a significant water resource for the Yangtze,Yellow,and Mekong rivers.Based on Landsat Thematic Mapper(TM)/Operational Land Imager (OLI) images acquired in 2000,2010,and 2018,the outlines of glaciers in the SNRC were obtained by combining band ratio method with manual interpretation.There were 1714 glaciers in the SNRC in 2018,with an area of 2331.15±54.84 km2,an ice volume of 188.90±6.41 km3,and an average length of 1475.4±15 m.During 2000-2018,the corresponding values of glaciers decreased by 69,271.95±132.06 km2,18.59±8.83 km3,and 84.75±34 m,respectively.Glaciers in the Yangtze River source area witnessed the largest area loss (-154.45 km2),whereas glaciers in the Mekong River source area experienced the fastest area loss (-2.02％·a-1) and the maximum reduction of the average length (-125.82 m).Overall,the retreat of glaciers in the SNRC exhibited an accelerating trend.Especially,the loss rate of glacier area in the Yellow River source area in 2010-2018 was more than twice that in 2000-2010.The glacier change is primarily attributed to the significant rise in temperature during the ablation period.Some other factors including the size,orientation and terminus elevation of glaciers also contributed to the heterogeneity of glacier change.     

黄河玛曲砾质网状河段河间湿地形态特征及发育程度（英文）

Both interchannel wetlands and multi-channels are crucial geomorphologic units in an anastomosing river system. Planform characteristics and development of interchannel wetlands and multi-channels control the characteristics of anastomosing rivers. To understand the role that interchannel wetlands play in the development of anastomosing rivers, a study was conducted on the Maqu Reach of the Upper Yellow River(MRUYR), a gravel-bed anastomosing river characterized by highly developed interchannel wetlands and anabranches. Geomorphologic units in the studied reach were extracted from high resolution satellite imagery in Google Earth. The size distributions of interchannel wetlands and interchannel wetland clusters(IWCs), a special combination of interchannel wetlands and anabranches, were investigated. Geomorphologic parameters, including the ratio of interchannel wetland area to IWC area(P), shoreline density(D_l), and node density(D_n) were used to analyze planform characteristics of IWCs and the development of multi-channels in the studied reach. The results suggest that small or middle sized interchannel wetlands and large or mega sized IWCs are more common at the study site. The area of IWC(S_u) is highly correlated with other geomorphologic parameters. P increases with increasing S_u, and the upper limit is about 80%, which indicates that the development of interchannel wetlands and anabranches in the IWC is in the equilibrium stage. In contrast, D_l and D_n show a tendency to decrease with increasing S u due to diverse evolution processes in IWCs with different sizes. There are three main reasons leading to the formation of IWCs: varying stream power due to the meandering principal channel; development of the river corridor due to the weakening of geologic structure control; and high stability of interchannel wetlands due to conservation by shoreline vegetation.     

基于二元水循环的河流生态需水水量与水质综合评价方法——以辽河流域为例

In this article the meaning of the quantity and quality of environmental flows of river in dualistic water cycle is discussed,and compared with the meaning of unitary water cycle. Based on the analysis of the relationship between environmental flows of river re-quirements,the efficiency of water resource usage,the consumption coefficient,and the concentration of waste water elimination,the water quantity and water quality calculation method of the environmental flows of river requirements in dualistic water cycle is developed,and the criteria for environmental flows of river requirements are established,and therefore the water quantity-quality combined evaluation of natural river flows requirements are realized. Taking the Liaohe River as a model,the environmental flows of river requirements for Xiliao River,Dongliao River,mainstream Liaohe River,Huntai River and northeast rivers along the coasts of the Yellow and Bohai seas in unitary water cycle are calculated,each taking up 39.3%,63.0%,43.9%,43.3% and 43.5% of runoff respectively. Evaluated according to Tennant recommended flow,the results show that: except Xiliao River is "median",the rest are all upon "good",the Dongliao River is even "very good". The corresponding results in dualistic water cycle are that,the proportion of natural flows for each river is 57.5%,74.1%,60.8%,60.3% and 60.4%; while the combined evaluation results show that: considering "quantity",except Xiliao River,the rest rivers can all achieve the "quantity" criteria of the en-vironmental flows of river requirements,but if considering the aspect of "quality",only Dongliao River can reach the "quality" standard. By water quantity-quality combined evalua-tion method,only Dongliao River can achieve the criteria. So the water quality is the main factor that determines whether the environmental flows can meet the river ecosystem de-mands.     

澜沧江(湄公河)正源及其源头的再确定

澜沧江发源于我国青海省,流经云南省南阿河口以下改称湄公河,它是我国乃至世界上重要的国际河流之一。通过对澜沧江源头地区水文、地貌、冰川及河流特征的实地考察,并利用全球定位系统(GPS)、地理信息系统(GIS)和卫星遥感系统(SRS)等技术来确定澜沧江(湄公河)的正源及其源头。依据以河流的长度为主,并参照集水面积、河流水量等要素,确定了澜沧江的正源为扎阿曲,发源于中国青海省玉树藏族自治州杂多县扎青乡海拔5514m的果宗木查山。果宗木查山上的冰川面积为067km²,冰川末端的地理位置是东经94°41’44”、北纬33°42’31”,其海拔高度为5224m     

淮河(安徽段)南岸诸河流水质标识指数评价

2010年夏季,对淮河(安徽段)南岸诸河流水质进行调查,共设置采样点160个,选取总氮、总磷、氨氮和化学需氧量4项水质指标,利用综合水质标识指数评价法(WQI)对淮河(安徽段)南岸诸河流水质进行评价。结果表明,淮河(安徽段)南岸诸河流水质达标率77%,超标的评价因子为氮营养盐和化学需氧量。污染物主要来自农业面源和生产、生活废水;水流流速、沉积物性质和周围环境对水质产生一定影响。     

中国亚热带丘陵山区植被沿海拔梯度分布格局(英文)

Knowledge of vegetation distribution patterns is very important.Their relationships with topography and climate were explored through a geographically weighted regression(GWR) framework in a subtropical mountainous and hilly region,Minjiang River Basin of Fujian in China.The HJ-1 satellite image acquired on December 9,2010 was utilized and NDVI index was calculated representing the range of vegetation greenness.Proper analysis units were achieved through segregation based on small sub-basins and altitudinal bands.Results indicated that the GWR model was more powerful than ordinary linear least square(OLS) regression in interpreting vegetation-environmental relationship,indicated by higher adjusted R 2 and lower Akaike information criterion values.On one side,the OLS analysis revealed dominant positive influence from parameters of elevation and slope on vegetation distribution.On the other side,GWR analysis indicated that spatially,the parameters of topography had a very complex relationship with the vegetation distribution,as results of the various combinations of environmental factors,vegetation composition and also anthropogenic impact.The influences of elevation and slope generally decreased,from strongly positive to nearly zero,with increasing altitude and slope.Specially,most rapid changes of coefficients between NDVI and elevation or slope were observed in relatively flat and low-lying areas.This paper confirmed that the non-stationary analysis through the framework of GWR could lead to a better understanding of vegetation distribution in subtropical mountainous and hilly region.It was hoped that the proposed scale selection method combined with GWR framework would provide some guidelines on dealing with both spatial(horizontal) and altitudinal(vertical) non-stationarity in the dataset,and it could easily be applied in characterizing vegetation distribution patterns in other mountainous and hilly river basins and related research.