Southeast Asia / Articles

The Mekong region is enjoying a period of stability and rapid economic growth not experienced for centuries. As a result, the region demands increasing quantities of electricity, and exploiting its hydropower potential is high on the agenda. In contrast to the recent past, it is project developers and financiers from Asia rather than the West that are spearheading this hydropower drive. Yet, in a region where millions of people depend on the natural resources that rivers provide, many proposed dams pose risks for the environment, communities, project developers, and host governments.

This chapter outlines the current trends and main actors in hydropower development throughout the Mekong Region. It identifies the need for better planning practices and internationally recognized standards of best practice in the power sector. This will minimize project investment risks, and make certain that development in the Mekong Region is sustainable and equitable.

China’s Charm Offensive in Southeast Asia Bodes Ill for Mekong Basin Rivers

The Mekong region has seen its share of "hydro-prospectors" set up stakes with the hopes of tapping the great river for hydroelectric dams. Over the years, the basin has been invaded by foreign agencies such as the US Bureau of Reclamation and Army Corps of Engineers (who proposed turning the Mekong into a series of reservoirs), UNDP (which said in 1995 that "the naturally flowing Mekong is destructive... if not dammed, the Mekong flows wasted to the sea"), French utilities, and of course big development banks such as the World Bank.

Commentary from World Rivers Review, June 2007

In Thailand they say that once you swim in the Mekong, it remains in your heart forever. It must be true, because my first swim in the Mekong in my early twenties gave me a connection to the river that motivates me to this day.