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Environmental Disasters in the Mekong Subregion: Looking Beyond State Boundaries

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Abstract

Using a political science lens, this chapter draws on original research in the Mekong region with a special focus on environmental disasters and water (in)security using the Xayabouri Dam as a case study. Key findings include that it is important to look beyond the state boundaries, achieving a regional perspective as this is the only way to tackle transboundary challenges and increase resilience to environmental disasters as linkages between the global, regional and national level and between different levels of governance shape how disasters occur and how their impact is distributed.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The nexus approach has gained momentum in the last 5 years especially after the Bonn 2011 Conference and the Nexus 2014 conference and has attracted significant interest from international organizations, the private sector and other global players as a way of tackling the interdependencies between water, energy and food security. The nexus approach focuses on the urgent need for joined initiatives to policy and practice which lies at the heart of the nexus approach.

  2. 2.

    Environmental degradation is here defined according to the UNISRD as ‘the reduction of the capacity of the environment to meet social and ecological objectives and needs’.

  3. 3.

    EGAT is a Thai state enterprise that owns and manages the majority of Thailand’s electricity generation capacity, as well as the nation’s transmission network.

  4. 4.

    Gold panning is still a big source of income in Laos, especially for women living around Luang Prabang.

  5. 5.

    Pöyry is a Finnish-based global consulting and engineering firm focusing on energy, forestry, infrastructure and environment.

  6. 6.

    Construction on the Don Sahong Dam started in 2014. Until today, it is disputed by many if the dam is a mainstream or tributary dam due to its location.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Griffith Asia Institute, 7/228 Vulture Street, Brisbane, QLD, 4101, Australia

    Andrea Haefner

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  1. Andrea Haefner
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Correspondence to Andrea Haefner .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Michelle Ann Miller

  2. Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Michael Douglass

  3. Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS), United Nations University Bonn, Bonn, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

    Matthias Garschagen

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Haefner, A. (2018). Environmental Disasters in the Mekong Subregion: Looking Beyond State Boundaries. In: Miller, M., Douglass, M., Garschagen, M. (eds) Crossing Borders. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-6126-4_7

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