Summary of CPWF Research in the Mekong River Basin

Hydropower development: a defining issue

There are few other places in the world, perhaps none, with such intensive dams development as the Mekong Basin.

The major tensions in the Mekong revolve around dams and other infrastructure development and the shift from economies based on agriculture and primary production to manufacturing, industry and services.

The main protagonists in this debate are governments, dam financiers, developers and operators, NGOs and civil society. Within each group there are multiple, often conflicting, perspectives. Much of the debate revolves around costs and benefits and issues of governance and transparency.