The Water-Food-Energy Nexus in the Mekong Region [electronic resource] : Assessing Development Strategies Considering Cross-Sectoral and Transboundary Impacts /
Smajgl, Alexander.author.
Ward, John.author.
This book provides a cross-sectoral, multi-scale assessment of development-directed investments in the wider Mekong Region. The wider Mekong Region includes Lao PDR, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar and the Chinese Province of Yunnan. This book gives important insight into how future sustainability will depend on the development of effective governance mechanisms at the level of the Mekong region. Evidence highlights a limited set of critical dynamics that generate a high level of connectivity between these countries, including human migration, natural resource flows and increasing levels of private and State financial investments. Besides regional connectivity, this assessment considers cross-sectoral implications, in particular those between the water, food and energy sectors. The majority of nationally planned and implemented development decisions in the wider Mekong Region aim for either improved water access, increased energy supply or improved food security. Investments in any of these three sectors are critical as they are closely linked, harbouring potential trade-offs and unintended side effects.   Successfully managing the water, food and energy nexus demands an understanding of direct and indirect connections. A few identified connections are direct trade-offs, for example the use of water for either food or energy crops. Other connections are indirect and their estimated magnitude suggests their critical importance. Identified nexus criticalities include fish stock management, land tenure, risk management of monoculture plantations and migration dynamics. The sustainability of the wider Mekong region will partly depend on how successfully these processes can be managed. Managing nexus criticalities, in contrast to specific sectoral investments, represents an alternate and potentially effective locus of policy intervention and initiative. Using case studies that include mainstream dams in the lower Mekong basin, water diversions between Lao PDR and Thailand, investments in response to rising sea level, this volume provides critical information for researchers and policymakers.    The research was generously funded and supported through the AusAID CSIRO Alliance.  .
Description based upon print version of record.
Acknowledgments; Contents; Glossary and Abbreviations; Chapter 1: Mekong Region ConnectivityAlex Smajgl and John Ward; 1 Rationale; 2 The Water-Food-Energy Nexus; 3 Decisions with Regional Implications; 4 Methodology; 5 Methodological Limitations; References; Chapter 2: Water Sector AnalysisSokhem Pech; 1 Introduction; 2 Status Quo of Water Resources in the Mekong Region; 2.1 Water Resources in the Mekong Region; 2.2 Water and Ecosystem Productivity and Integrity in the Mekong Basin; 2.3 Observed Long Term Flow Variability; 2.4 Water Dependency and Uses in Mekong Region
3 Analytical Approach and Indicators4 Single Factor Impact Assessment; 4.1 Hydropower Dams; 4.1.1 Potential Impacts of Hydropower Development; 4.2 Water Diversion; 4.2.1 Potential Impacts from the Proposed Nam Ngum to Northeast Thailand Diversion; 4.3 Large-Scale Mining Activities; 4.4 Mekong Rail Link Within Wider Mekong Region Economic Corridor; 4.5 Sea-Level Rise and Adaptation Strategies in Vietnam's Mekong Delta; 4.6 Large-Scale Rubber Plantations; 5 Cumulative Assessment; 5.1 Current Practice of Impact Assessment in the Mekong Region; 5.2 Expert Opinion on Combined Impacts
5.3 Hydrological Changes5.3.1 Water Level; 5.3.2 Flow Level in Dry Season at Specific Locations; 5.3.3 Expected Changes in Flooding Conditions; 5.3.4 Reverse Flow in Tonle Sap and Impact on Water Level and Inundated Area, Duration and Timing; 5.3.5 Change in Water Quality (Turbidity and Relevant Quality Parameters); 5.3.6 Change in Salinity Intrusion: Extent, Duration, and Concentration; 5.3.7 Geomorphologic Changes; 5.3.8 Barrier Effects and Disconnectivity; 5.3.9 Critical Deep Pool and Habitat; 6 Conclusion; References; Chapter 3: Food Security in the Wider Mekong RegionDavid Fullbrook
1 Methodological Background1.1 Introduction; 1.2 Food Security; 1.3 Geography; 1.4 Development; 1.5 Approach; 2 Status of Food Security in the Wider Mekong Region; 2.1 Food and Population; 2.2 Food Resources; 3 Consequences of Economic Development for Food Security; 3.1 Dams on the Mekong Mainstream; 3.2 Large-Scale Mekong Water Diversion: Thailand and Lao PDR; 3.3 Mitigation and Adaption to Rising Sea Levels in the Mekong Delta; 3.4 Industrial Crops: The Case of Rubber; Transportation Infrastructure: The Case of the Yunnan-Cambodia Railway
Mining: The Case of the Bauxite Triangle (Lao PDR, Cambodia, Vietnam)Cumulative Impact Assessment; 5 Conclusion; References; Chapter 4: Impacts of Natural Resource-Led Development on the Mekong Energy SystemTira Foran; 1 Introduction; 2 Scale and Dynamics of Energy System; 2.1 Trajectories; 2.2 Institutional and Governance Dimensions; 3 Method; 3.1 Approach to Energy Security; 3.2 Reference Scenario; 4 Impact Assessment; 4.1 Mainstream Hydropower Dams; 4.2 Water Diversions from Laos into Northeast Thailand; 4.3 Sea-Level Rise and Adaptation Strategies in Vietnam's Mekong Delta
4.4 Rubber Plantations
Includes bibliographical references.
This book provides a cross-sectoral, multi-scale assessment of development-directed investments in the wider Mekong Region. The wider Mekong Region includes Lao PDR, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar and the Chinese Province of Yunnan. This book gives important insight into how future sustainability will depend on the development of effective governance mechanisms at the level of the Mekong region. Evidence highlights a limited set of critical dynamics that generate a high level of connectivity between these countries, including human migration, natural resource flows and increasing levels of private and State financial investments. Besides regional connectivity, this assessment considers cross-sectoral implications, in particular those between the water, food and energy sectors. The majority of nationally planned and implemented development decisions in the wider Mekong Region aim for either improved water access, increased energy supply or improved food security. Investments in any of these three sectors are critical as they are closely linked, harbouring potential trade-offs and unintended side effects.   Successfully managing the water, food and energy nexus demands an understanding of direct and indirect connections. A few identified connections are direct trade-offs, for example the use of water for either food or energy crops. Other connections are indirect and their estimated magnitude suggests their critical importance. Identified nexus criticalities include fish stock management, land tenure, risk management of monoculture plantations and migration dynamics. The sustainability of the wider Mekong region will partly depend on how successfully these processes can be managed. Managing nexus criticalities, in contrast to specific sectoral investments, represents an alternate and potentially effective locus of policy intervention and initiative. Using case studies that include mainstream dams in the lower Mekong basin, water diversions between Lao PDR and Thailand, investments in response to rising sea level, this volume provides critical information for researchers and policymakers.    The research was generously funded and supported through the AusAID CSIRO Alliance.  .
Finance.
Environmental management.
Energy policy.
Energy and state.
Macroeconomics.
Finance, general.
Water Policy/Water Governance/Water Management.
Energy Policy, Economics and Management.
Macroeconomics/Monetary Economics//Financial Economics.