The Mekong is the longest river in Southeast Asia and one of the largest rivers in the world. In terms of drainage area which is 795,000 square kilometers, it ranks the twenty first in the world and the twelfth in terms of its length (4,800 kilometers). However, its average discharge (15,000 m³/s) places the rank of the eighth in the world table of great rivers.

The Mekong started at an elevation of about 5,000 metres in the Tanghla Shua (Mountain range) on the Tibetan Plateau. It flows southwards passing China, Burma, and enters its lower basin at the common Burma-Laos-Thailand boundary point. Some part is transboundary of Laos and Thailand and flows through Cambodia, Viet Nam and finally to South China Sea.

The Mekong drains a catchment area of totally 795,000 square kilometers. Out of which 606,000 square kilometers is the Lower Mekong Basin (LMB) and comprises almost the whole of the Lao PDR and Cambodia, one third of Thailand in north-eastern region and some provinces in northern region, and one fifth of Viet Nam (the Central Highlands and the delta region). About 52 million people live in the LMB.

In 1957 the four riparian countries of the LMB namely Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam have agreed to join their efforts in developing the water and related resources of the Mekong River Basin by establishing the Committee of Coordination and Investigation of the Lower Mekong River Basin.

In 1978 due to the difficulty of situation in Indochina, the Interim Mekong Committee (IMC) which consisted of Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam was formed. The programme focused on the improvement of data collection, compilation and database was set up.

After the Agreement on the cooperation for the sustainable Development of the Mekong River Basin was signed by the four riparian countries namely Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam in April 1995, the Mekong River Commission (MRC), the successor of MC and IMC, was established to cooperate in a constructive and mutually beneficial manner for sustainable development, utilization, conservation and management of the water and related resources of the Mekong Basin for social and economic development and the well-being of all riparian states.

The MRC consists of three permanent bodies: The Council, the Joint Committee (JC) and the Secretariat.

The Council, comprising one member at ministerial and cabinet level from each MRC member country, convenes annually. The Joint Committee, comprising also one member from each member country at no less than head of department level, convenes at least twice per year. The Secretariat, which provides technical and administrative services to the Joint Committee and the Council, is under the direction of a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) under supervision of the Joint Committee appointed by the Council. The Secretariat is located in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

The Assistant to the CEO is of the same nationality as the JC Chairman and serves a one-year term.

The budget of the Commission consists of contributions from its members and the donor community. Formal consultation with the donor community is proceeded through an annual Donor Consultative Group meeting.

The National Mekong Committees (NMCs) act as focal points for the Commission in each of the member countries. National Mekong Committee Secretariats serve the NMCs. The principle implementers of the MRC programmes and projects are the line agencies of the MRC member countries.

The MRC member countries agree to cooperate in all fields of sustainable development, utilisation, management and conservation of the water and related resources of the Mekong River Basin, such as navigation, flood control, fisheries, agriculture, hydropower and environmental protection.

Every effective, well functioning and innovative river basin organization world-wide has a strong data base of natural resource information and good systems to handle, manipulate and analyze this data. They also have a solid modelling capacity that can be used to provide analysis of particular area-specific problems as well as a basin-wide predictive capability to gauge the impact of new policies of development and resource rehabilitation proposals.

The MRC has a long history of collecting key hydrometeorological data on the Mekong mainstream and each riparian country has maintain its own national data network. However, these data have seldom been fully exchanged between member countries and challenge now is to reassess the data and sharing protocol requirements needed to enable us to provide the credible scientific advice required of proper decision-making. These include quantity and quality of both surface and groundwater, other natural resource information, and the range of hydrologic, economic and social models to analyze and utilize the data. This work is a prerequisite to the MRC being a world class international river basin organization.

Recognition of local community knowledge forms a critical source of natural resource information in the basin, and arrange our operations to access local anecdotal information as an adjunct to conventional data monitoring networks.

From time to time, about four decades of investigations and studies, the MRCS currently maintains several databases with variable levels of completeness. The main databases developed, developing and to be utilized in various Mekong projects of different sectors, including but not limited to irrigation, hydro-power, navigation, flood control, fisheries and environment.

MRC Secretariat has developed the basinwide databases that can be divided into 3 types.

1. Spatial Database
2. Statistical Database
3. Bibliographic Database

1. Spatial database

Topographic Maps, Aerial Photos, Satellite Images, Geographic Information System (GIS)

The Mekong GIS comprises of thematic digital map sheets mainly at 1:250,000 scale with various levels of completeness as follows:

Administrative boundary: Completed basinwide with scale 1:250,000 for country and provincial boundary, road network.

Watershed: 1:250,000 completed, LMB boundary, sub-watershed boundary

Water resources: basinwide, 1:250,000, Hydrological stations, meteorological stations, water quality stations, rivers and streams, open water bodies, sub-catchment area, underground water (1:1,000,000). Inundation map is developing by Land Resources Inventory for Agricultural Development (LRIAD) project.

Soil type: Saline soil map 1:250,000 for parts of Thailand and Laos.

Soil classification map 1:250,000 for basinwide are developing by LRIAD project

Land use/cover: 1:250,000 (1992-93) basinwide land use map and forest cover map are completed.

Geology: 1:1,000,000 for Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, and 1:250,000 for NE Thailand.

Lithology: 1:250,000 basinwide is completed.

Wetlands: 1:250,000 for Mekong corridor in Laos and Thailand and Delta (1992-93)

2. Statistical database,

The statistical database is time series information.

Hydro-meteorological Database (HMDB): Daily Water Level, Daily Discharge, Daily Sediment Concentration, Daily Precipitation, Daily Evaporation, Daily

Wind Movement

Water Quality Database (WQDB): Chemical analysis data

Others: Socio-economic Database, Wetland Database, Groundwater Database, Water Resources Database, Forest Cover Monitoring (FCMP) database

3. Bibliographic database,

Reports, books papers etc. in the Documentation Centre of MRC

1. 1:250,000 is standard scale mostly cover LMB. Other scales are available i.e.1:50,000, 1:100,000, 1:1,000,000 cover study area.

2. Hydro-meteorological Database (HMDB) average is from 1962 to 1994 for 4 countries.
3. Water quality Database (WQDB) from 1985 to 1997 for 4 countries.

1. Socio-economic Database (SEDB) from 1976 to 1989
2. Wetland Database (WLDB) from 1990 to 1994
3. Groundwater Database (GWDB) from 1986 to 1992
4. Water Resources Database (WRDB) from 1960 to 1985
5. Forest Cover Monitoring Project MRC/GTZ, FCMP database for 1997

Bibliographic database

6. Bibliographic Database is about 80% of total document titles in Secretariat Documentation Centre

MRC activities create information. Data obtains from riparian counterpart agencies, or creates by projects or programmes. MRCS also purchases maps, books or exchanges information. Data receives directly at Technical Support Division (TSD), or through other divisions concerned. Hydrological and meteorological data as in the Mekong Hydrologic Yearbook are used for updating.

1. Statistical database

All statistical databases are manipulated by dBase program and in dBase format.

2. Spatial Database

The PC Arc/Info GIS software was selected for data input. The 1:250,000 scale topographic map sheets (UTM-Universal Trans Mercator projection) prepared by the US Army and covering the entire Lower Mekong Basin were selected as a common base map for the preparation of thematic digital maps.

Remote sensing technology (aerial photographs and satellite imageries) was used by MRCS to compile the required data.

3. Bibliographic Database

The current MRC Programmes such as Water Utilization Programme (WUP), Basin Development Plan (BDP), Agriculture, Irrigation and Forestry Programme (AIFP) and Environment Programme require many types of information. All information will be used for planning and management. They need to be improved. The "Integrated Geographic Information System and Statistical Databases for Natural resources Management" proposal has been proposed to the donor for assistance. GIS database and statistical databases will be integrated.