Strengthening Water Cooperation in Laos
The Australian Aid - The Australian Water Partnership
2018 - 2022
Laos
Over the past 5 years, Australia further strengthened water cooperation with the Government of Lao PDR by supporting the development of a National Water Resources Management Strategy. A consortium of Australian Water Partnership (AWP) partners led by AMPERES together with eWater, Australian Rivers Institute (ARI), Truii and the National University of Laos (NUOL) worked closely with the Laos Department of Water Resources (DWR) to design and develop the National Water Strategy using the best available science and an inclusive stakeholder engagement process.
Objective and Purpose:
This cooperation is the latest effort to bring water managers from the two countries together to share lessons and to leverage Australia’s long experience in river basin planning to improve the sustainability of water management in the Mekong.
Australian support was designed by DWR and AMPERES and structured around three primary pillars: (i) strengthening the evidence base, (ii) enhancing inter-sectoral engagement, and (iii) fostering a multidisciplinary review process.
AMPERES led the Australian support to DWR, designing a multi-level, intersectoral stakeholder engagement process and setting priority areas of focus for the strategy. AMPERES also worked with NUOL to review current policy instruments and ensure the new strategy is embedded within the existing planning context.
Centre for Global Equity Scoping Study
Climate Compatible Growth
15 March - 30 Apr 2022
Vietnam
Climate Compatible Growth (CCG) is demand-driven, and the role of the National Partnerships workstream is to embed this demand into CCG research. The overall partnership strategy is structured such that engagement with partners determines the research agenda and research uptake methods. The National Partnerships team facilitates effective collaborations by matching up synergetic groups within Partner Countries and developing a network based on the products of co-created activities.
Objective and Purpose:
To champion effective collaborations between Viet Nam stakeholders and CCG researchers to address country level data gaps and data quality, while also shaping CCG tools around the country’s priorities
To implement CCG research results and tools by Viet Nam decision makers through integration into policy and development of finance-ready proposals
Outcomes of the Project:
When collaborative projects within SIGs eventually give rise to outputs, National Partnerships acts to disseminate these resources within both the wider Partner Country network and the CCG network. We also support the monitoring and evaluation of outcomes from SIG projects, and aim measure the combinatorial action of multiple SIGs and the CCG partner country network generally. Such monitoring in turn informs iterative scoping, which supports further cocreation within a cyclical system of cocreation.
Viet Nam CCG Network strategy
CCG has identified Viet Nam as a partner country and a key place to form a network owing to its ambitions to lead the ETC’s coal-to-clean pathway and bolster renewable energy integration. Further, it is well understood that the energy-resource construction decisions made over the next decade will largely contribute to Viet Nam’s carbon emissions balance. Furthermore, Viet Nam is an important trade country and is tied up in the region for electricity and water (e.g. water resources in the Mekong river basin). CCG members have previously worked in Viet Nam with a CCG-funded Asia Development Bank project, and we are keen to continue working with our colleagues. Lastly, Viet Nam presents some very interesting opportunities to investigate such as integrated EV-renewables investment and we are excited to support these efforts.
ETP Round Tables
January 2022 – October 2023
Partner:
Southeast Asia Energy Transition Partnership (SEA ETP)
Australian National University (ANU)
Institute for Economic and Social Research – Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Indonesia (LPEM UI)
Indonesia Research Institute for Decarbonization (IRID)
Ateneo School of Governance (ASOG)
University of San Carlos (USC)
Location: Indonesia, The Philippines, Vietnam.
SOUTHEAST ASIA ENERGY TRANSITION PARTNERSHIP ROUND TABLES
The Southeast Asia Energy Transition Partnership (ETP) is a multi-stakeholder platform that aims to accelerate energy transition in Southeast Asia and deliver the Paris agreement targets on climate change by bringing together Government Donors, Philanthropies and Partner Governments. The ETP offers a strategic opportunity for multiple actors from government, Civil society and the private sector actors to come together, leverage their expertise and resources to support Governments understand and advance a more ambitious agenda of reform to enable fully the Southeast Asian energy transition.
The Southeast Asia Energy Transition Partnership (ETP) Round Table is a networking and peer-to-peer capacity building program that aims to provide an opportunity for the region’s energy transition stakeholders – in particular, mid-career policy makers from identified Southeast Asia countries (Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines) and regional level bodies – to engage in an intensive roundtable series on the energy transition.
2. PROJECT OBJECTIVES
The overall aim of the roundtables is to build awareness and understanding of practical solutions and pathways that can support Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines accelerate their transition to 100% zero-carbon energy. Participants will gain applied technical experience and create high-value professional contacts and linkages within the energy sector. The ETP Round Table’s specific objectives are to:
1. Strengthen the level of knowledge and awareness in the government, private sector, and civil society stakeholders related to energy transition;
2. Develop an open access network and comradery among the SEA energy transition stakeholders for easy exchange of information and experience on key concepts and innovative technologies;
3. Design and deliver, through interactive effective, modern format and first-in-class methodology information exchange sessions, knowledge development and materials on energy transition topics, through experts and moderators, on topical subjects under energy transition in the region, and;
4. Provide value adding and a go-to and a sustainable forum for exchanging information, provision of training in high calibre modules, experience, lessons learned and successes achieved in the region.
Scoping Study on Australian Engagement in Energy & Climate Change Sectors in Vietnam
June – October 2021
Partner:
DFAT in Vietnam
Location: Vietnam
Objective and Purpose
Ensuring that the renewable energy successes of 2019/20 scale will require strategic, innovative use of policy and market tools if they are to re-shape in constructive ways the macroeconomic patterns of Vietnam’s industrial fossil-fuel economy. Australia is a world-leader in the sustainable energy transition, and our long-standing bilateral partnership with Vietnam offers an opportunity to leverage Australian experience to support Vietnam on this transition.
We are supporting DFAT in Vietnam to design an energy support program to the Vietnamese Government that leverages Australian’s world leading expertise in the renewable energy transition to strengthen transition of the Vietnamese power sector towards decarbonisation and green growth. The program design into 4 main workflows:
· Need Assessment for the power sector of Vietnam and the institution institutions that manage it
· Gap analysis of the scope and efficacy of Development Partner support to Vietnam’s power sector.
· An assessment of Australia’s power sector and its comparative advantage.
· Deliberative options assessment & selection process.
The studying program is implemented in the period of 5 months between June and October 2021 with additional part of commercial assessment for the energy sector.
The rise of renewable energy technology has unlocked the potential for modular, distributed electricity systems in weak grid and off-grid villages of the Greater Mekong. These systems have significant environmental, health and livelihood benefits for tens of millions of people in rural communities of the region, but they have also opened up opportunities for community management and ownership of their own electricity services. As has been the experience in other regions, empowering communities to own and manage their own electricity services can have a transformational impact on community-led development and prosperity.
Objective and Purpose
Oxfam’s Mekong Water Governance Inclusion Project Phase 2 (IP2) is the second phase of a regional program promoting civil society inclusion in governance and decision making of water, energy and environmental resources.
AMPERES is supporting Oxfam Greater Mekong Regional program to scope the potential for a community-led Association that advocates on behalf of community groups for Community Renewable Energy (CORE) in the Greater Mekong, by promoting viable community ownership/ management models and establishing a community of practice between local practitioners.
Establishing a Community Renewable Energy (CORE) Association for the Greater Mekong
Oxfam
March – November 2021
Location: Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam
The Association will also consolidate guidance on best-practice and work towards standards for viable, effective business models. Establishment of an association as a demand-driven, inclusive advocate and supporter for community renewable energy systems to:
· Broaden the understanding of how communities’ benefit from electricity access.
· Highlight the full potential of renewables to achieve SDGs in the Greater Mekong.
· Highlight the potential for viable community-managed and owned energy services in the Greater Mekong.
· Broker genuine engagement by government and private sector in the delivery of community managed systems.
· Serve as a platform for connecting communities who are already managing or interested to establish CORE systems and facilitate the sharing of experience and lessons.
· Collect and disseminate evidence on the success and value of CORE systems.
· Draw attention to environmental justice issues surrounding how communities access electricity (or not) as well as understanding and awareness of the justice dimensions of energy access.
The process of designing the Association is phased over six months from March 2021 in three countries Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam which based on interviews and consultations with stakeholders already deploying and managing CORE projects as well as those coordinating similar associations in other parts of the world.
Water Scarcity management in the Asia-Pacific
FAO/ Australian Water Partnership (AWP)
2019 - 2021
Partners:
Aalto University
Vietnam Institute for Water Resources
Nepal Water Conservation Foundation
GWP Indonesia
The FAO Regional Asia-Pacific Water Scarcity Program (WSP) aims to support the countries of Asia to bring agriculture water use to within the limits of sustainable use and prepare the sector for a productive future with less water.
We are supporting FAO to design the WSP, by:
(1) undertaking an Asia-wide geospatial assessment of spatial and temporal trends in Water Scarcity using remote-sensed products and global modelling to classify and characterize the nature and severity of water scarcity in every Asian country;
(2) designing and implementing a policy review framework to evaluate the collective Asia-Pacific experience managing water scarcity with a focused policy review in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Fiji, Nepal, Viet Nam, Myanmar, Thailand and Australia.
Lao PDR National Water Resources Strategy
Australian Water Partnership (AWP) | Lao Dept. of Water Resources (DWR)
2018 - 2020
Partners:
National University of Lao PDR (NUoL)
Australian Rivers Institute (Griffiths University)
eWater Ltd
In May 2017, the National Assembly passed the National Law on Water and Water Resources (Water Law). A key objective of the Water Law is to provide a framework and a mandate for an inter-sectoral, integrated approach to management of water in Lao PDR, including a requirement to develop a National Water Resources Management Strategy (NWMS) which covers both the initiation of a nation-wide River Basin Management Planning process and enhanced coordination between sectoral development planning. The Government of Lao PDR requested Australian support to develop the national strategy.
We worked with DWR to design an inclusive approach to strategy formulation that included a program of one-to-one consultations with more than 25 water related line agencies, visioning consultations and workshops at national and subnational levels, a review of policy documents and the design of two rapid technical studies, including (i) an assessment of surface water resources, and (ii) ecohydrology.
We supported DWR to consolidate these inputs into a draft strategy that was then subjected to multiple rounds of review before finalisation and submission to the National Assembly.
Heat - to - Cool
Pizza4Ps Restaurant (P4Ps)
2020
Partners:
Fahrenheit Gmbh
KPW Solutions Pty Ltd
P4Ps is a Japanese pizza chain with 13 restaurants in Vietnam and a commitment to sustainability. The Xuan Thuy restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City spends the majority of its electricity consumption on air-conditioning, however constraints in available roof-space mean that expansion of their roof-top solar system is not possible.
We supported P4Ps to design a customised energy efficiency system that captures waste heat from the pizza ovens and converts the heat into cooling using adsorption chiller technology to cut electricity consumption. Once technically proven, we supported P4Ps explore the economic feasibility of the solution.
e-waste to e-cook
Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS) | University of Loughborough
2019 - 2020
Partners:
Switch Batteries Pty Ltd
Renewable Energy Association of Myanmar (REAM)
Yimon Electronics
Remote, rural households are typically the last sector of society to receive access to electricity, yet they often stand to benefit the most from access. Unlocking this access to be both affordable and reliable has proven a real challenge in Myanmar.
The objective of the project is to design, protoype, pilot and demonstrate the viability of an e-cook power source that is affordable, reliable and capable of being locally-manufactured at the village scale from recycled e-waste batteries.
The project included design and protoyping of a 2.5kWh upcycled battery energy storage with built in, open-source thermal management and controls system; piloting and testing of the technology in a rural village and design and training of local villagers in sorting, testing and assembly of their own battery units. The power packs are still in use by villagers and still being assembled by our local partner.
Myanmar Open-Data Cube Feasibility Assessment - Institutional analysis
Geoscience Australia | Australian Water Partnership (AWP)
2020 -
Australia has pioneered the application of satellite data for a wide range of IWRM applications through its innovative Digital Earth Australia (DEA) program. The resulting Data Cube represents a substantial innovation in effective processing and application of big data to inform planning and operational processes in the Australian water sector. As part an existing bilateral cooperation between the governments of Australia and Myanmar, the DWIR has requested an assessment from Australia as to the feasibility of establishing an Open Data Cube for Myanmar (MODC).
We are leading the institutional analysis, undertaking a comprehensive review and mapping of the Myanmar institutional context vis-à-vis water resources, use and planning and making recommendations on potential institutional entry points and governing structures for a potential MODC.
Climate Risk & Adaptation (CRA) Assessment for Jiaxiang County Water Supply & Sewage Improvement project
Asian Development Bank (ADB)
2019 - 2020
Partners:
Australia’s CRC Water Sensitive Cities
AquaRock Konsultants Pty Ltd
The Shandong Smart Water Program (SWP) is a US200million investment to secure reliable water and wastewater services for Jiaxiang County. It includes construction of a water supply reservoir, integration of water/wastewater services and introduction of water sensitive urban design (WSUD) into the county. The Climate Risk and Adaptation Assessment (CRA) is a multi-disciplinary assessment of the risk, impact and vulnerability of the SWP to climate change, producing a set of technical, institutional and economic recommendations for adaptation that enhance resilience of the investment project.
We led the design and implementation of the CRA methodology, coordinating inputs from a multi-disciplinary team of engineers, scientists and economists to produce a prioritised list of adaptation options including recommendations for a complex of constructed wetlands with managed aquifer recharge of groundwater resources, integration of water and waste water service delivery and application of industrial ecology to ensure water supply quality is fit-for-purpose.
CORE-KIT - Community Renewable Energy Knowledge Integration Tool
AMPERES
2017 - 2020
Partners:
Aalto University
Renewable Energy Association of Myanmar (REAM)
To date 70% of the Myanmar population does not have access to electricity, the Government has taken out a USD 300million loan from the World Bank to implement an electrification program that will achieve universal access by 2030. Part of this program includes deployment of distributed renewable energy mini-grids to accelerate, reliable electricity access to remote rural villages.
AMPERES together with Aalto University, and the Renewable Energy Association of Myanmar (REAM) is assessing and mapping the potential for renewable energy mini-grids for every village in Myanmar and to support in the pre-feasibility assessment of mini-grid proposals that DRD receives from developers.
When the lights go out
AMPERES
2019
Myanmar’s energy sector is developing rapidly, but the electrification rate is still one of the lowest in Southeast Asia. Data on electricity access is also poor, which presents a barrier to the development of policy for sustainable electrification. This paper aims to address this knowledge gap by estimating the spatiotemporal characteristics of electricity consumption and access using high-resolution satellite nightlight data (NPP-VIIRS) as proxy for electricity consumption.
PV-Storage feasibility study for Aquaculture breeding centre
An Giang Fish Breeding Centre No. 2
2018
An Giang DARD manages 17 of the 60 fish breeding centers in the Mekong Delta. The centre’s include nursery’s and ponds for raising hatchlings, sedimentation ponds as well as tank facilities. The large open ponds <2m deep require replacement of 70 -90% of the water every 3-5 days and aeration to maintain water quality. This results in large, periodic, but predictable electricity loads.
We supported AGFBC No2 to explore options for solar storage systems that maximise self consumption and test the economic feasibility of dynamic grid feed-in using Battery Energy Storage (BESS) technology.
Ayeyarwady State of the Basin Assessment (SOBA)
Australian Water Partnership (AWP) | Myanmar National Water Resources Committee (NWRC)
2015 - 2018
Partners:
more than 25 partner organisations
In 2015 Myanmar embarked on an ambitious integrated water resources management process for the Ayeyarwady River, which included establishing a new inter-sectoral committee and the development of the Ayeyarwady River Basin Master Plan. The Government of Australia was requested to support Myanmar’s new National Water Resources Committee and its technical organisation the Hydro-informatics Centre to implement these IWRM reforms.
We supported Australia deliver this support by working with the HIC as their technical advisors to design and deliver an integrated environmental-social-economic baseline - the Ayeyarwady State of the Basin Assessment (SOBA). SOBA was a multi-year two million dollar assessment which involved more than 25 universities, NGOs, civil-society organisations and companies in collecting and analysing baseline data of the Ayeyarwady system.
Australia-Myanmar Program on Water Resources
Australian Water Partnership (AWP)
2015 - 2019
In 2012, the Government of Myanmar has established the National Water Resources Committee (NWRC) as the peak inter-sectoral body to coordinate water resources management and operationalize the institutional, regulatory, human resources and technical capacities needed for effective river basin management within Myanmar.
As the coordinator of the Australian Government’s (DFAT & AWP) water program in Myanmar, we were responsible for program design, managing implementation and technical oversight for a multi-million dollar development assistance program to Myanmar (AUD3.6million/ 2years). The work program included technical assessments on river basin management, climate change, and hydraulic and geomorphological surveys as well as institutional reviews, reform and capacity building programs to support Myanmar establish a national Hydro-Informatics Centre and Secretariat for the NWRC; as well as the development of a GESI and M&E framework.
