Publications

Written by Mekong Institute

First and foremost, we would like to express our gratitude to the participants from the MRCs member countries and dialogue partners China and Myanmar, who contributed to the success of IWRM-Batch 7 learning program.

We would also like to thank the MRC Guest Speakers: Mr. Gavin Edward Quibell, Dr. Vitoon Virayasakultorn, Mr. Ton Lennearts, Dr. Thim Ly, Mr. Chavalit Vidthayanon, Ms. Amphavanh Sisouvanh, and WREA Guest Speaker: Mr. Manfred Fisher for providing the technical knowledge, enthusiasm in teaching, and guidance throughout their sessions.

The cooperation and support of the project staff and all stakeholders of the Nam Ton Project are all deeply appreciated as well. They have shared their valuable time to enlighten us with their thoughts and experiences.

We also deeply thank Ms. Vu Thu Hong, ICBP Coordinator, and Ms. Le Thi Mai Huong, IWRM Programme Officer, ICBP-MRC, for their active participation in the design of this program and full support given to the MI team, including Ms. Soukouman Viravong, Administrative Assistant, ICBP-MRC for her great help and assistance.

And lastly, we would like to express our sincere appreciation to the Mekong River Commission for the financial support and for making the learning program possible

Written by Mekong Institute

The Mekong Institute was commissioned by the German Agency for International Development Cooperation (GIZ) to organize the Structured Learning Visit in Thailand on Regional Rural Development Planning. The programme aimed to expose the Lao Government Officials to the planning procedures in Thailand and equip them with knowledge and relevant ideas which can serve as inputs in the design of the guidelines in preparing the 8th National Socio-Economic Development Plan.

The SLV programme focused on strategic planning and included topics under two broad categories:

Decentralised National Planning in Thailand: Structure, Processes and Participatory Approaches, and

Development Planning Framework: Spatial and Strategic Considerations.

Thirteen Government Officials from relevant departments of Ministry of Planning and Investment and the National Advisor of the GIZ participated in the training. There were seven participants from the Department of Planning, one from the Department of Evaluation, one from the Department of Statistics, and four from the Provincial Department of Planning and Investment. Two of the participants were female, while 12 participants were male.

Different M&E tools were employed during the program including T-account assessment, mood barometer, suggestion box, and final participatory evaluation. The evaluation results showed that the Structured Learning Visit was successful both in terms of program design and contents, and overall organisation and management. The expectations were achieved. However, some suggestions for improvement include better time allocation for relaxation and that the profile of field visits should be provided to the participants before the start of the program.

The participants also indicated further training needs on applying Geographic Information System (GIS) into plan development and implementation, project management and fund raising.

Written by Mekong Institute

The Mekong Institute was commissioned by the Thailand International development Coorperation Agency to conduct a ten-day training course on "Post harvest Practices: Experiences and Best Practices in Israel and Thailand" from 28 March to 8 April 2011. The course was held at the MI residential Training Facility in Khon Kaen with two structured learning visits in Nakhon Pathom and Pathum Thani provinces of Thailand.

The training course was designed and delivered using modular training approach, of which, all participants went through three progressive stages: a) "Learn to do" training on concepts, technique and tools: b) "Do to learn"- participants are required to apply what they have learned in their work assignment with proper coaching from assigned advisers; and c) "Share to learn"- participants will have an opportunity to present their group works/ findings and share their learning experiences and lessons learned.

There were two resource persons, who contributed to the design and delivery to the lectures, workshops and structured learning visits, namely; Dr Yoram Fuchs and Dr Ron Porat of the Agricultural Research Organization, Ministry of Agriculture, State of Israel.

The training course was comprised of five interrelated modules. Module 1 on "Overview of Post harvest management" introduced the participants to the importance of post harvest handling and management. Module 2 on " Pre-harvest and Harvest Factors Affecting Post harvest Quality" deepened the knowledge on the product quality and how such can be effectively maintained as products move from one distribution point to anothe rto ensure product safety. Module 3 on "Physiological and Chemical Processes in Harvested Commodities" introduced the physiological and chemical processes that take place during the shelf-life of harvested produce.Module 4 on "Post harvest Technologies" illustrated advanced technologies which included both chemical and non-chemical treatments to prolong the shelf-life of perishale commodities. Module 5 on "Indigenous Postharvest Practices" demonstrated post harvest practices which were proven effective in less-developed counters.

Two structured learning visits were organized for the participants in this course; their understading of the program's contents was enhanced through different appreciation visits and interaction with enterprises at the SWIFT Company in Nakhon Pathom province and the Talaad Thai wholesale Market in Pathum Thani province.

The evaluations conducted throughout the course confirmed that the objectives were achieved and the learning program was successful. Most of the participants were very satisfied with the program as shown in the total average rating by participants on the usefulness of the learning program at 4.69 and the overall assessment at "4.96". Using a scale of 1 to 5, this indicated that participants found the training program "very useful" and were "very satisfied" with the program contents and overall training management.

Written by Mekong Institute

The Smallholder Development Project (SHDP) and Mekong Institute (MI) agreed to collaborate on a specific project to develop partnership and promote cooperation between the two parties. A four-day structured learning visit on "Rice Production Value Chain in Northeast, Thailand" was conducted from 26 to 29 January 2011 for twenty-three (23) Lao government officials, rice Structured Learning Visit aims to study the Rice production Chain as well as study the roles of Rice Seed Center, Central Market, and Private/Cooperative Rice mills in the value chain.

Two MI facilitators were involved in organizing the program, facilitating discussions, and sharing experiences with the participants. The participants visited four places in Khon Kaen province and one place in Roi Et province, Thailand in order to enhance their understanding on the program contents and to apply the principles, processes, structures, and best practices learned during the entire visit. At the end of the Structured Learning Visit, the participants presented their reflections on the visit.

The results of the evaluation showed that the Structured Learning Visit was successful both in terms of program design and contents, and overall organization and management. However, there was a suggestion for improvement on the need for resource persons to elaborate and explain more on how to identify, analyze and solve the problems after the field visit presentations of the participants.

The participants also indicated further training needs on expanding rice seed work into private sector as well as establishment of cooperative group. Specifically, the participants expressed the need to acquire advanced technical training on maize production, marketing channel, quality control services and management. The participants also mentioned that the involvement of financial providers is important and the staff from those organizations should be included in the program.

Written by Mekong Institute

The Mekong institute conducted a ten-day training program on "Integrated Water Resources Management for the Mekong" for eight Junior Riparian Professionals from line agencies of National Mekong Committees of the four lower Mekong Countries. The program, which was carried out from 4 to 14 January 2011, aimed to provide the participants with knowledge and skills related to water resource management n the context of Mekong Cooperation. The topics covered integrated water resource management principles, water resources management functions, basin planning and decision support framework, development potentials in the lower Mekong Basin, and key water resources management issues.

The use of participatory approaches and a strong focus on practical knowledge were highlighted in teh course. Likewise, two structured learning visits were included in the program, one on Pak Mun Dam and another on kaen Lawa Watland Management, to give the participants some insights on the various problems involved in the planning and implementation some insights on the various problems involved in the planning and implementation of hydro power projects and water management n Thailand.

The participants evaluated the course as successful and provided some recommendations for training improvement. participants mainly proposed that duration of the training course should be extended to 3 weeks to have enough time for field visits and internalizing classroom training modules. The approaches and training methods employed such as the use of lecture, group discussion and presentation, video, and field works were highly appreciated by the participants and they suggested continuing its use as they found those methods an integral part of their leaning experience.

The training curriculum, contents and methodologies were co-designed with the MRC Integrated Capacity Building Programme.

Written by Mekong Institute

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Since May 2008 InWEnt implements the programme Regional rural development through Innovative regional management in South East Asia. Total programme duration is to last for 4 years. Programme activities cover the countries Cambodia and Laos and are operational in two provinces of each country (Siem Reap and Battambang in Cambodia and Sayaboury and Attapeu province in Laos). Since the Federal Republic of Germany has identified rural development as one of the focal area of support, the InWEnt programme closely cooperates with GTZ rural development programmes and DED (Battambang).

It aims at building up and strengthening regional management structures. The capacity building activities increase the competences of the participating organisations to actively design and coordinate a potential-oriented and participatory regional development of rural areas. The conceptual orientation is based on the LEADER-PLUS approach.

Three objectives should be reached by the end of four-year implementation period:

(A) The partners on local and regional level are knowledgeable in the principles, instruments and processes of integrated rural development, the regional management and the economic development on community and regional levels. They apply these to establish an equivalent development of their rural areas.

(B) Regional, national and cross-boarder networks of executives and decision-makers of partner organisations and institutions are strengthened. They contribute efficiently to a specialist exchange of experience on policies, strategies, promotion programmes and appropriate organisational structures for the development of rural areas and to regional integration.

(C) Selected governmental and/or non-governmental training organisations are qualified to independently carry out valuable capacity building in principles and tools of regional management for realizing an integrated rural development.

Written by Mekong Institute

The Mekong Institute conducted a two-week training course on "Integrated Water Resources management for the Mekong" for eight Junior Riparian Professional from line agencies of National Mekong Committees of the four lower Mekong Countries and 6 young GMS Professionals from China, Cambodia, Myanmar, Lao, Thailand and Vietnam. The program, which was carried out from 19 to 30 July 2010, aimed to provide the participants with knowledge and skills related to water resource management in the context of Mekong Cooperation. The topics covered included integrated water resource management principles, water resources management functions, basin planning and decision support framework, development potentials in the lower Mekong Basin, and key water resources management issues.

The use of participatory approaches and a strong focus on practical knowledge was highlighted in the course. Likewise, two structured learning visits were included in the program, one on Pak Mu Dam and another on Huay San Mor Watershed Management, to give the participants some insights on the various problems involved in the planning and implementation of water management and hydro-power projects in Thailand.

The participants evaluated the course as successful and provided some recommendation for training improvement in the future. Among the recommendations were to provide more case studies specific to four lower Mekong Basin countries and more specific examples to illustrate the IWRM concepts. The approaches and training methods employed such as the use of case studies, simulation exercises, videos, and field works were highly appreciated by the participants and they suggested continuing its use as they found those methods an integral part of their learning experience. They also recommended that the training program should include participants from upper Mekong countries in order to develop a common understanding of water resources management in the context of the Mekong basin.

The Mekong River Commission and New Zealand's International Aid and Development Agency provided the financial support for thus training program.
 

Written by Mekong Institute

Avaliable hard copy please contact library at Mekong Institute

Written by Mekong Institute

The Mekong Institute was commissioned by the French Development Agendy (AFD) to conduc a ten-day training course on "Agriculture Sector Value Chain Analysis and Promotion" for fifteen government officials from Department of Irrigation, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Lao PDR. The course aims at deeloping participants professional capacity and broadening their horizon on the features, usefulness and benefits Value Chain Approach to local, national and regional economic development, as well as practicing analysis of agricultural value chain development in the Laos context.

The training course was designed and delvered using modular training approac, of which all participants went through three progressive stages: a) "Learn to do"- training concepts, techniques and tools; b) "Do to learn"- participants are required to apply what they have learned in their work assignment with proper coaching from assigned advisors; and c) "Share to learn"- participants will have an opportunity to present their group works/finding and share their learning experiences and lessons learned.

There are five resource persons/subject experts who contributed to te design and delver of the lectures, workshops and strucutred learning visits, namely: Assoc Prof Nongluvk Suphanchaimar of Khon Kaen Unversity, Mr Sansnthi Bonyothayan of Sakon Nakon Provincial Agriculture and Cooperatives, Ms Anothai Nutasarin of Office of the Agriculture Extension and Deelopment (Region IV), Ms Rawinda Wattanakool of Science and Techonology Research Institute (STRI, Chaing Mai University , and Mr Wichit Hongkarnjanakul of Regional Irrigation Offce, Khon Kaen.

Seven structured learning visits were organized for the participants in this course; their understanding of the program's contents was enhanced through different appreciation visits and interacton with enterprises and group of villagers in Khon Kaen, Roi Et, Yasothon and Sakon Nakhon provinces.

The eveluations conducted throughout te course confirmed that the objectives were achieved and the learning program was successful. Most of the participants were very satisfied with the program as shown in the totla average rating on 1) satisfaction on structured learning visits and program design, and 2) impression of te program (4.4 and 4.5 respectiely, both are almost "excellent"). However, there were suggestions for imprvements, for example, more time for field visits, more interaction wth villagers by homestaying in their community, more detailed information on the background profiles and more involvement of participants from other sectors such as marketing.

Written by Mekong Institute

The Mekong Institute was commissioned by the Mekong River Commission (MRC) to conduct a regional training course on Integrated Water Resources Management for the Mekong from 20 to 31 July 2009 in Khon Kaen, Thailand.

Eight young riparian professionals of the MRCs Junior Riparian Professional Project and four MI staff from Young Greater Mekong Sub-region Professional Program (YGMS) participated in this Learning Program. Among the twelve participants, only two were women.

The overall objective of the course is to provide the participants with knowledge and skills related to the IWRM in the context of Mekong Cooperation. At the end of this training course, the participants were expected to demonstrate their ability in applying IWRM principle and IWRM planning tools in their work and at the same time acquire three cross-cutting competencies: Communication skills, information management ability, and facilitation capabilities

The training program comprised of seven training modules:

Module 1: Introduction to IWRM and WRM Functions at the River Basin Scale
Module 2: Mekong Water and Peoples
Module 3: Development Potentials and Major Issues in Basin Planning in the Mekong River Basin
Module 4: Stakeholder Participation
Module 5: Basin Planning for Water Resources
Module 6: Using Indicators to Measure Progress and Performance
Module 7: The Role of Basin Planners and Core Competencies

All seven modules were delivered using a modular training approach, of which, all participants underwent three progressive learning stages: Learn to do, do to learn and share to learn. As part of this training program, a field study to Houi Sam Mo Sub-river Basin was organized for the participants to have first hand information on Integrated River Basin Planning and exposed to Thailand river basin organizational arrangement. This watershed was selected as a field site because it is a pilot project of MRC/GTZ Watershed Management Program and it is regarded as one of integrated river basin management models.

This learning program is proven very successful. This is evidenced by the results of pre and post training assessments and end-of-program evaluation. Participants expressed their appreciation for MI innovative training approaches, especially on the use of case studies, simulation exercises, videos, and field works as integral parts of their learning experience.