International DDEP: Planning for Resevoir Operation and Land-Use with Stakeholders of the Mekong Basin

该奖项支持博士在老挝的实地工作。候选人Julia Reis在她关于越南新的雅丽水库对大坝下游柬埔寨湄公河的影响的研究中说。特别是，PI和Reis女士正在开发优化水库运营的方法，以尽量减少对环境和该地区人民生计的负面影响。将利用为东南亚开发的优化模式-土地利用规划和分析系统，将雅丽水库附近居民的生计纳入规划进程。最终，该模型将用于优化3个水库（Yali，Theun-Hinbun扩建和Lower Sesan 2）的级联运行。Reis女士将通过国际农业研究磋商组织（CGIAR）的国际水管理研究所（IIMR）参加一个正在进行的大型研究项目。在对老挝万象的两次为期两个月的访问中，Reis女士将与ICONIC研究人员以及国家农林研究所合作，定制她的水库优化模型，并将其与LUPAS模型相连接。该研究所还将协助Reis女士与政府机构会晤，收集自然资源数据，以便用准确的数据填充水库模型。通过与利益相关方合作伙伴的合作会议，Reis女士和其他项目合作伙伴将共同努力，协调大坝运行与当地社区和环境需求。该项目的智力价值在于将两个复杂的系统集成在一个模拟中，可以帮助优化水库运行。该提案解决了系统描述纵向和横向集成的需求。横向一体化将土壤、水、森林和城市景观等自然资源的管理结合在一起，而纵向一体化则侧重于工程师和规划师对区域政治和社会气候的理解程度，以及利益相关者如何直接为可能产生重大影响的计划做出贡献。通过更好地了解这些复杂系统（即完整的河流流域）中的相互作用和影响，可以尽量减少对人类和环境的意外但负面的影响。这对该地区的社会具有重大意义。该项目还有助于Reis女士和一名也将前往老挝的本科生的专业发展。

This award supports field work in Laos by Ph.D. candidate, Julia Reis, in her study of the impact of the new Yali reservoir in Vietnam on the Mekong River in Cambodia downstream of the dam. In particular, the PI and Ms. Reis are developing methods to optimize reservoir operations to minimize negative impacts on the environment and the livelihoods of people living in the region. The Land Use Planning and Analysis System (LUPAS), an optimization model developed for Southeast Asia, will be utilized to integrate the livelihoods of residents near the Yali Reservoir into the planning process. Ultimately, the model will be used to optimize the operation of a cascade of 3 reservoirs (the Yali, Theun-Hinbun Expansion, and Lower Sesan 2).Ms. Reis will join a large on-going research project through the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) of the Consultative Group on International Agriculture Research (CGIAR). During two two-month visits to the Vientiane, Laos, office of IWMI, Ms. Reis will work with IWMI researchers as well as the National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute to tailor her reservoir optimization model and link it with the LUPAS model. IWMI will also assist Ms. Reis in meeting with governmental agencies to collect natural resources data to populate the reservoir model with accurate data. Through collaborative meetings with stakeholder partners arranged by IWMI and other organizations, Ms. Reis and other project partners will work together to coordinate dam operation with local community and environmental needs.The intellectual merit of the project rests in the integration of two complex systems in a simulation that can assist in optimizing reservoir operations. The proposal addresses the need for both vertical and horizontal integration of system descriptions. Horizontal integration brings together the management of natural resources such as soil, water, forests, and urban landscapes while the vertical integration focuses on how well engineers and planners understand the regional political and social climate, and how directly stakeholders can contribute to plans that can have great impact. With better understanding of the interactions and effects in these complex systems, i.e. a complete river basin, unintended but negative impacts on people and the environment may be minimized. This can have great significance for the society in the region. The project also contributes to the professional development of Ms. Reis and of an undergraduate who will also travel to Laos.