An analysis of China’s investment in the hydropower sector in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region

Urban, Florian; Nordensvärd, Johan; Khatri, Deepika; Wang, Yu

doi:10.1007/s10668-012-9415-z

Cited by 68 publications

(75 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…supported by organizations such as the Asian Development Bank, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, and the World Bank, largely based on perceived socioeconomic benefits (van de Walle, 2002;Balisacan, 2005;Hettige, 2006). In most cases, long-term sustainability assessments that weigh the relative benefits and impacts of rural mountain roads, including socioeconomic tradeoffs, have not been conducted (Sidle et al, 2013).…”

Section: R C Sidle Et Al: Epic Landslide Erosion From Mountain Roamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While numerous international donors, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and environmental advocates have attributed increased sedimentation in rivers and streams in these regions to shifting cultivation and deforestation (e.g., UNESCO, 1974;Eckholm, 1979;Volk et al, 1996;Marshall, 1999), more comprehensive investigations and analyses recognize that these land use practices exert much less influence on downstream sediment and aquatic resources than poorly constructed mountain roads (Sidle et al, , 2007(Sidle et al, , 2011Wasson et al, 2008;Ziegler et al, 2009). Of course, road and trail systems are associated with shifting cultivation and deforestation, but more recent, rapid expansion of road networks in mountainous terrain of developing nations have been linked to transitions from shifting cultivation to more intense agriculture, increased tourism, economic development, national defense, emergency evacuation routes, and hydropower development (Krongkaew, 2004;Nyaupane et al, 2006;Ziegler et al, 2012;Urban et al, 2013). Rural road development in Southeast Asia has been aggressively Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Epic landslide erosion from mountain roads in Yunnan, China – challenges for sustainable development

Sidle

Ghestem²,

Stokes

2014

Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. Expanding systems of mountain roads in developing countries have significantly increased the risk of landslides and sedimentation, and have created vulnerabilities for residents and aquatic resources. We measured landslide erosion along seven road segments in steep terrain in the upper Salween River basin, Yunnan, China and estimated sediment delivery to channels. Landslide erosion rates along the roads ranged from 2780 to 48 235 Mg ha −1 yr −1 , the upper end of this range being the highest rate ever reported along mountain roads. The two roads with the highest landslide erosion (FG1 = 12 966 Mg ha −1 yr −1 ; DXD = 48 235 Mg ha −1 yr −1 ) had some of the highest sediment delivery rates to channels (about 80 and 86 %, respectively). Overall, 3 times more landslides occurred along cut slopes compared to fill slopes, but fill slope failures had a combined mass > 1.3 times that of cut slope failures. Many small landslides occurred along road cuts, but these were often trapped on the road surface. Given the magnitude of the landslide problem and the lack of attention to this issue, a more sustainable approach for mountain road development is outlined based on an analysis of landslide susceptibility and how thresholds for landslide trigger mechanisms would be modified by road location and different construction techniques.

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Section: R C Sidle Et Al: Epic Landslide Erosion From Mountain Roamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Epic landslide erosion from mountain roads in Yunnan, China – challenges for sustainable development

Sidle

Ghestem²,

Stokes

2014

Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci.

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“…The region is urbanising and developing rapidly, notably with massive plans for hydropower in several rivers [90,91], which has significant implications for environment and natural resources. On the other hand the current levels of water stress in the region's major transboundary rivers-Mekong, Irrawaddy and Salween-are remarkably less than for the rivers in other two study region (Appendix A).…”

Section: Mekong Regionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Lao PDR, the domestic need for electricity is relatively low and the hydroelectric dams are built to generate revenue by exporting electricity to neighbouring countries, such as Thailand [104]. The hydropower development in the region is also fuelled by investments between the countries and outside the region [90,105]. Rapid regional development has led to increasing demand for energy, which has resulted in extensive hydropower development [98,99].…”

Section: Mekong Regionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Water-Energy-Food Nexus and the Transboundary Context: Insights from Large Asian Rivers

Keskinen

Guillaume

Kattelus

et al. 2016

Water

123

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Abstract:The water-energy-food nexus is a topical subject for research and practice, reflecting the importance of these sectors for humankind and the complexity and magnitude of the challenges they are facing. While the nexus as a concept is not yet mature or fully tested in practice, it has already encouraged a range of approaches in a variety of contexts. This article provides a set of definitions recognizing three perspectives that see the nexus as an analytical tool, governance framework and as an emerging discourse. It discusses the implications that an international transboundary context brings to the nexus and vice versa. Based on a comparative analysis of three Asian regions-Central Asia, South Asia and the Mekong Region-and their related transboundary river basins, we propose that the transboundary context has three major implications: diversity of scales and perspectives, importance of state actors and importance of politics. Similarly, introducing the nexus as an approach in a transboundary context has a potential to provide new resources and approaches, alter existing actor dynamics and portray a richer picture of relationships. Overall, the significance of water-energy-food linkages and their direct impacts on water allocation mean that the nexus has the potential to complement existing approaches also in the transboundary river basins.

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“…The GMS is currently experiencing a surge in hydropower development, with more than 50 on-going large-scale dam projects (over 50 MW) being built and managed by Chinese companies, and many more in the proposal phase [30]. The distribution of large-scale Chinese dams in the region is as follows: Myanmar 30, Lao PDR 13, Cambodia 7, Vietnam 3, and Thailand with some Chinese dam projects, but none over 50 MW [30].…”

Section: Chinese Soe Hydropower Expansion In the Greater Mekong Subrementioning

confidence: 99%

Chinese State-Owned Enterprise Investment in Mekong Hydropower: Political and Economic Drivers and Their Implications across the Water, Energy, Food Nexus

Matthews¹,

Motta

2015

Water

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Over the last decade, Chinese State-Owned Enterprises have emerged as among the most active investors in Mekong Basin hydropower development. This paper uses a political economy analysis to examine the forces that drive Chinese State-Owned Enterprises to invest in hydropower in the Mekong Basin. We focus our analysis on the Lancang (Upper Mekong River) in China and in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), with an emphasis on Cambodia. The analysis reveals how powerful political and economic forces from within China and the GMS influence the pace, location and scale of investments in hydropower. These forces include foreign exchange reserves, trade packages and foreign direct investment, and political alliances. Combining the political economy and nexus approaches, we conclude that although policies from China recognize interconnections across the nexus, political and economic forces craft narratives that downplay or disregard these nexus interconnections and trade-offs. This in turn, influences how trade-offs and interconnections in hydropower development are managed and recognized in both local and transboundary contexts, thereby, creating potentially significant negative impacts on livelihoods, food security and the environment.

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An analysis of China’s investment in the hydropower sector in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region

Cited by 68 publications

References 19 publications

Epic landslide erosion from mountain roads in Yunnan, China – challenges for sustainable development

Epic landslide erosion from mountain roads in Yunnan, China – challenges for sustainable development

The Water-Energy-Food Nexus and the Transboundary Context: Insights from Large Asian Rivers

Chinese State-Owned Enterprise Investment in Mekong Hydropower: Political and Economic Drivers and Their Implications across the Water, Energy, Food Nexus

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