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Large Dams, Restructuring and Regional Integration in Southeast Asia
Author(s) -
Hirsch Philip
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
asia pacific viewpoint
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.571
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1467-8373
pISSN - 1360-7456
DOI - 10.1111/apv.371001
Subject(s) - restructuring , livelihood , geography , geopolitics , resource (disambiguation) , mainland , mainland china , economy , regional integration , southeast asia , politics , political science , china , environmental protection , development economics , agriculture , economics , ethnology , sociology , computer network , archaeology , computer science , law
Large dams are a dramatic intervention affecting ecosystems, livelihoods and resource use, notably in upland areas. Dams are significant, both in terms of their scale of impact and due to their role in appropriating part of the upland resource base for mainly lowland and urban beneficiaries. Whereas in the past the tensions associated with impact of dams in Southeast Asia have been played out within national borders, mainly in Thailand, the new impetus for dam construction reflects an internationalised agenda — namely integration of the mainland Southeast Asian regional resource economy. This paper examines the background to large dam construction in mainland Southeast Asia, current and projected developments, and their implications in a number of arenas. Case studies from Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam illustrate the main points. It is shown that politicaleconomic restructuring associated with the changing geopolitics of the region is a major influence on the revived agenda for large dam construction, and that such restructuring modulates the direct and indirect impacts of dams at local, national and regional levels.