Abstract
This introductory chapter presents the main theme of the volume: the perceived dilemmas in pursuing IWRM in a transboundary context. The chapter discusses the IWRM approach and its package of progressive values and practices that focus on integration and participation and contrast it to transboundary politics and its tendency to remain within a state logic that emphasises sovereignty and national interests. In order to realise sustainable, efficient and inclusive water management, the chapter argues that it is essential to recognise and visualise power asymmetries and politics in regional water politics. Based on this assumption – that politics matter – the chapter contends that there is a need to explore how the perceived dichotomy between the interests of state sovereignty and (progressive) transboundary water management is played out in the Mekong River Basin. Together with its 50-year history of institutionalised cooperation and the river basin’s significance in terms of supporting local livelihoods and its contribution to the region’s national economies, the case is of paramount importance and interest. The disputed results and uncertain future in the region illustrate the complexity of achieving efficient, equitable and ecologically sustainable water management in a competitive international system. It thus makes up an excellent case study to illuminate the politics of IWRM in a transboundary setting. The different chapters of the volume, which are set to unpack, scrutinise, and illuminate the politics of the Lancang-Mekong Basin, are introduced at the end of the chapter. This section thus indicates some of the possible ways forward, challenges, dilemmas and incompatibilities in sustainable water management in the region which will be dealt with in more depth throughout the book.
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Notes
- 1.
- 2.
The ‘Mekong’ is, with local variations, the accepted name of the river in the Lower Basin (Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam); in the upper reaches – i.e. China – it is called the Lancang River. We have our focus in this volume on the lower basin cooperation/development, and we have therefore adopted the ‘Mekong’ name for the river.
- 3.
The river originates in Tibet, China, and flows for a long stretch through China where it also falls rapidly. It touches upon Myanmar, before it enters Laos, constituting a border river to Thailand for a while, returning into Laos and then entering Cambodia. In Cambodia, the rapid flow slows as it enters the plains before reaching the delta, southeast of Phnom Penh. The major share of the delta is in the southernmost part of Vietnam. The upper part of the river, situated in China, is called Lancang; the full name of the river basin is then the Lancang-Mekong River Basin.
- 4.
While this is correct, beneath the statistics, there is a wealth of other livelihoods, including migrant workers who engage in other economic activities, which means that many households and communities are also dependent on incomes generated in other parts of the economy.
- 5.
Since the 1990s, China has built two major dams on the mainstream, and another twelve are in the pipeline. At least two of these are expected to be among the largest in the world, i.e. the Jinghong and the Xiaowan (Hang 2008). The effects of these dams are as yet unknown, but they are of major importance to downstream countries.
- 6.
In fact, during 2009/2011, a minor war flared between Cambodia and Thailand, reminding us of the instability of the region.
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Hansson, S., Hellberg, S., Öjendal, J. (2011). Politics and Development in a Transboundary Watershed: The Case of the Lower Mekong Basin. In: Öjendal, J., Hansson, S., Hellberg, S. (eds) Politics and Development in a Transboundary Watershed. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0476-3_1
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