Environmental justice and Chinese dam-building in the global South

Siciliano, Giuseppina; Bene, Daniela Del; Scheidel, Arnim; Liu, Juan; Urban, Florian

doi:10.1016/j.cosust.2019.04.003

Cited by 18 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Relatively few studies have considered risk perceptions from dams in the U.S., although there is a large literature on hydroelectric projects in the Global South (e.g. Moran et al 2018;Mayer et al 2021;Siciliano et al 2019). Indeed, we are aware of no studies like ours that consider risk perceptions related to multiple, multi-use, aging and even abandoned dams, such as those in Michigan.…”

Section: Risk Perceptionsmentioning

confidence: 90%

Dams are old and abandoned, are people concerned? Risk perceptions from Michigan, USA

Mayer,

Schooley,

Parks

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Dams across the U.S. are in a precarious state. Many have been in disrepair for decades and the entities that built them have long since disappeared, raising difficult questions as to who will manage this growing problem. Despite the state of the nation’s dams, we know very little about public perceptions of dams. In this analysis, we evaluate public concern for dams using survey data from Michigan, a state with an extensive network of aging dams. Using a survey experiment, we find that risk perceptions increased when respondents were provided information about the age of the dams. Respondents identified as “news junkies” also expressed higher risk perceptions. We also tested for “white male” and partisan effects on risk perception but found little evidence of those. We conclude by discussing implications for policy and the future of dam management.

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Section: Risk Perceptionsmentioning

confidence: 90%

Dams are old and abandoned, are people concerned? Risk perceptions from Michigan, USA

Mayer,

Schooley,

Parks

et al. 2024

Preprint

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“…The result often decimates local livelihoods, circumvents social justice, and compromises environmental quality. Unfortunately, there seems to be no shortage of examples of these dynamics, as illustrated by Thai investments in hydropower in Lao PDR (Mathews, 2012), Chinese state‐owned enterprise investments along the Upper Mekong River (Mathews & Motta, 2015), and Chinese hydropower investments more broadly across Asia and Africa (Siciliano et al., 2019). Work in Colombia, on payment for ecosystem service programmes, also highlights these types of power dynamics and has led to calls for the “politicizing” of the nexus “to trace both the flows of resources and the flows of power” (Rodríguez‐de‐Francisco et al., 2019, p. 1).…”

Section: Sustainably Managing Wef Systems For 21st Century Developmen...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Appraising the Water‐Energy‐Food Nexus From a Sustainable Development Perspective: A Maturing Paradigm?

et al. 2022

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The water‐energy‐food (WEF) nexus is a prominent approach for addressing today's sustainable development challenges. In our critical appraisal of the WEF, covering different approaches, drivers, enablers, and applications, we emphasize the situation across the Global South (Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean). Here, WEF research covers at least 23 focal domains. We find that the nexus is still a maturing paradigm primarily rooted in a physical and natural sciences framing, which is itself embedded in a neoliberal securities narrative. While providing insights and tools to address the systemic interdependencies between resource sectors whose exploitation, degradation, and sub‐optimal management contribute to (un)sustainable development, there is still insufficient engagement with social, political, and economic dimensions. Progress related to climate, urbanization, and resource consumption is encouraging, but while governance and finance are central enablers of current and future nexus systems, gaps remain in relation to implementation and operationalization. Harnessing the nexus for sustainable development across the Global South means recognizing that it is more than a biophysical system, but also a multi‐scale complex of people, institutions, and infrastructure, affected by history and context. Addressing this complexity requires alternative and possibly challenging perspectives to counter dominant narratives, and manage problems associated with policy integration, trade‐offs, and winners and losers. We outline 10 emergent research areas that we think can contribute to this endeavor and enable the nexus to be a stronger policy force.

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“…Researchers have adopted an energy justice framework to analyze issues related to large-scale hydropower dams. This includes the decision-making processes associated with the construction of large dams in Cambodia, Malaysia, Ghana, and Nigeria [33], and IDPs caused by the construction of dams that violate procedural justice [34]. Myanmar possesses abundant hydropower resources [35], and relies on hydropower for 56% of its power generation [36].…”

Section: Energy Justicementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although not within the framework of energy justice, there has been some research on Chinese-led dams located in Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia from a social justice perspective [37]. There has also been an analysis of dams in the global South, including Myanmar, from an environmental justice perspective where there is mention of the fact that dam construction may exacerbate tensions [34].…”

Section: Energy Justicementioning

confidence: 99%

Distributed Power Sources to Improve the Decent Living Standard (DLS) in the Ethnic Minority Areas of Myanmar

2021

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Myanmar has been suffering from ethnic conflicts for approximately 70 years. The instability remains ongoing, and villagers in ceasefire areas are vulnerable. To ensure that no one is left behind, sustainable development in these areas should consider local needs. The objective of this study was to identify the living conditions required by local villagers such that they do not exacerbate conflicts. We interviewed stakeholders related to the peace process and rural electrification in Myanmar to identify the needs in conflict-affected areas. Needs were identified using the decent living standard (DLS) as the main analytical framework and energy justice as a complementary framework. The results show a strong local need for mobile phones and the importance of access to information provided by mobile phones and other dimensions of DLS, such as education and health care. For electrification options, off-grid solar products were found to be less likely to exacerbate conflicts compared to large-scale power plants. Historically, the latter has caused many issues related to energy justice.

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Environmental justice and Chinese dam-building in the global South

Cited by 18 publications

References 45 publications

Dams are old and abandoned, are people concerned? Risk perceptions from Michigan, USA

Dams are old and abandoned, are people concerned? Risk perceptions from Michigan, USA

Appraising the Water‐Energy‐Food Nexus From a Sustainable Development Perspective: A Maturing Paradigm?

Distributed Power Sources to Improve the Decent Living Standard (DLS) in the Ethnic Minority Areas of Myanmar

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