Tuesday May 27, 2025
Khmer Times —
The Mekong River Commission (MRC) is requesting constructive cooperation between Myanmar and Thailand to address growing concerns over water quality in the Kok River, a transboundary tributary of the Mekong River that flows from Myanmar into northern Thailand.
In a press release on Friday, the MRC said that in April, the Thai National Mekong Committee (TNMC) formally requested its assistance in engaging Myanmar, a Dialogue Partner under the MRC framework, to jointly assess the issue. In response, the MRC Secretariat’s Environmental Management Division promptly initiated coordination efforts to facilitate a collaborative approach.
Recognising the importance of this issue, the MRC Secretariat proposed the establishment of a Joint Water Quality Monitoring initiative between Myanmar and Thailand. This initiative aims to enable a scientifically grounded assessment of the water quality and promote coordinated action.
The initiative is anchored in the Procedures for Water Quality (PWQ), one of the MRC’s five core procedures agreed upon by its four Member Countries, which includes regionally agreed Water Quality Guidelines for the protection of human health and aquatic ecosystems. The PWQ also provides a mechanism for assessing and communicating incidents that may have potential transboundary impacts.