1562 



when the poUtical situation in the area had stabiUzed briefly after 

 the signing of the Geneva Accords of 1954, was a reconnaissance by 

 the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation under the sponsorship of the U.S. 

 International Cooperation Administration (later U.S. AID). According 

 to the study, 



Although the interest of the States themselves was undeniable, it seems likely 

 that the initiative for this effort traces ultimately to France and the United 

 States. It may well have been thought that stimulating a general interest in 

 technological and economic development of the region might help to stabilize the 

 political regimes there. At any event, a Special Project Agreement was signed 

 between the Riparian States and the United States in November 195.5. There- 

 after, the representatives of the Bureau of Reclamation ranged the area, held 

 several meetings with representatives of the four countries, and returned to the 

 United States, where their "Reconnaissance Report — Lower Mekong River 

 Basin" was issued in March 1956." 



This .36-page report and its detailed appendices received close 

 attention in Indochina, the study continued, perhaps because it was 

 issued by representatives of the nation that had most to offer in 

 support of the project as well as the broadest experience with sys- 

 tematic river development. In any case it was a collection of the best 

 data available about the region, and it specified what further data 

 would be needed to get on with the project: 



Specifically, it called for hydrographic and sediment surveys of the main 

 river; surveys of such features of the entire basin as topography, geology, trans- 

 portation, communications, and agriculture; establishment of water flow meas- 

 uring stations on the main stem and tributaries, weather stations, and a systematic 

 search for preferred dam sites; studies of such special problems as the control of 

 the water level of the great lake (Tonle Sap) in central Cambodia, the salty soil 

 in the great Plaine des Jones of Vietnam, the technology of double-cropping to 

 increase agriculture production, and improved fish capture and processing; and 

 such action programs as improved sanitation in water supply, and the training of 

 local personnel in the technical skills that would be required later on. The study 

 emphasized the need for cooperation among the four Riparian States in collecting, 

 maintaining, and disseminating data on a uniform, integrated basis. ^* 



The Bureau of Reclamation report was enthusiastically endorsed 

 when it was presented at the annual meeting of ECAFE in Bangkok 

 in March 1957. Meetings of experts from the Riparian States were 

 held in May and September to implement the recommendations of 

 the report, and resulted in agreement on a charter for the aforemen- 

 tioned Coordination Committee. ^^ 



THE WHEELER AND FORD FOUNDATION REPORTS 



When a Preparatory Committee met to adopt this Charter, it also 

 asked the United Nations Technical Assistance Administration to 

 help recruit a visiting team of water resources experts to review and 

 amplify the previous studies. By mid-November 1957 a U.N. team 

 had been assembled in Bangkok under the leadership of Lt. Gen. 

 Raymond Wheeler (Ret.) of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The 

 Wheeler Report, completed January 2.3, 1958, reinforced and went 

 beyond the recommendations of the Bureau of Reclamation study, 

 proposing a 5-vear program of data collection at a total estimated 

 cost of $9,200,000. 



6^ Ihid., p. 386. 



M/ftirf. 



•' Renamed in 1967 the "Mekong Development Committee." 



