1563 



In 1961 the Ford Foundation, at the request of the Coordination 

 Committee, sent a mission lieaded by Gilbert F. White to examine 

 the economic and social implications of the proposed development. 

 The report of this mission was made in Bangkok in Juh^ 1962: 



It recommended substantial strengthening of the staff of the Coordination 

 Committee in social science fields for the purpose of generating and collecting 

 social statistics. It called for joint studies with intergovernmental agencies on 

 problems of wide interest in the ECAFE region. It proposed that the Bank for 

 International Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) be invited to 

 participate in a study of methods for determining economic feasibility, and pointed 

 out that the primitive economy of the Riparian States imposed inexorable limits 

 on the rate of investment in regional development.'" 



The report emphasized the need for a systematic compilation of 

 available data concerning resources, resource use, and social charac- 

 teristics. It called for a power market survey, a land use inventorj^, 

 and a study of ways to optimize agricultural use of water. The require- 

 ment for training of technicians was again emphasized. Further: 



The report suggested that flood control benefits might be overstated and the 

 institution of a flood warning system could reduce losses at moderate cost. It 

 suggested that a large demonstration area be set up where the potential impacts 

 of the Mekong project upon rural life could be observed. It proposed an elaborate 

 program of demonstration projects in forest planting. In the introduction to the 

 report, the authors warned that heavy investment in engineering works would 

 not automatically lead to solid growth in social structure and economic gains.'' 



Instead of "monolithic concrete structures whose most immediate 

 return is inflation of the national ego," the report urged a more n^odest 

 start and suggested that ". . . the first construction be initiated 

 on one or more of the tributaries: They can provide essential experience 

 with ways of reaping an adequate harvest of benefits from investment 

 in water management." This recommendation, the stud}' notes, 

 directly conflicted with the views of the Coordination Committee, 

 which Jiad given priority to three ver}'' large engineering projects at 

 Pa Mong, Tonle Sap, and Sambor. 



The committee's views prevailed for a time over the Ford Foinida- 

 tion Report's concept of a small-scale beginning. On the other hand, 

 the Foundation Report suggested a list of investigations and research 

 projects which would require more extensive and close supervision 

 than the Coordination Committee could manage. Nevertheless, the 

 period of the Foundation study and the years immediatel.v following 

 was marked by an increased tempo of activity on the Mekong project. 

 The number of participating countries increased, as did donations 

 and pledges of contributions to support the planning studies, which 

 rose from $20 milhon in March 1962 to $42 million by the end of 

 1963 and $68 million a year later. 



THE MEKONG PROJECT'S BROAD BASE OF SUPPORT 



Two things stand out in a review of the events associated with the 

 Mekong project from its beginnings until the time of President 

 Johnson's Johns Hopkins speech in April 1965. One is the broad base 



'0 Huddle, Tlu Mckoiiq I'rojict, vol. I, p. 388. 

 ■I Ibid., pp. 388-389. 



96-243 O - 77 - 5 



