By Diana Suhardiman and Mark Giordano

1. Legal plurality: An analysis of power interplay in Mekong hydropower
Diana Suhardiman and Mark Giordano
International Water Management Institute
GWSP Conference “Water in the Anthropocene”
Bonn, 21-24 May 2013

2. Structure of the presentation
• Mekong hydropower
• Legal plurality: inconsistent policies and institutional discrepancy
• How to best pursue the path of sustainable hydropower development?

3. Mekong hydropower
Rapid development (36 dams in operation, 110 planned)
Benefit and concerns about its potential impacts
Current effort to promote sustainable hydropower development

4. National policies and legal framework
• National Policy of Sustainable Hydropower (2006)
• Government Decree on Compensation and Resettlement of People
Affected by Development Projects (2006)
• Formal guidelines on Environmental Impact Assessment (2011)
• Draft of National Water Resources Strategy (2010)

5. International donors’ role in national policies formulation
• National Policy of Sustainable Hydropower: translating lessons
from the Nam Theun 2 project (World Bank)
• Guidelines on EIA review (Ministry of Natural Resources and
Environment, SIDA and DANIDA)
• Draft National Water Resources Strategy (ADB)

6. Legal achievement and institutional challenges
• Policy implementation, monitoring and evaluation and
enforcement
• Synergizing the roles of environmental and sectoral
ministries

7. Policy inconsistency in land-water-environment
• Sectoral versus cross-sectoral approaches
• National Policy on Sustainable Hydropower and Electricity
Law
• Draft National Water Resources Policy and Water
Resources Law

8. Institutional discrepancy
Land use planning (MoNRE and MAF) and land concession (MEM)

9. General interpretation of policy inconsistencies and institutional
discrepancy
• The problem of lack of capacity
• Increasing policy consistency through capacity building

10. Alternative interpretation of policy inconsistencies and
institutional discrepancy
• A reflection of power interplay in Mekong hydropower
• Understanding factors that creates and sustain legal plurality

11. Analysis of power interplay
• The incorporation of socio-environmental standards by
international donors
• The positioning of hydropower development for revenue
generation
• Emerging importance of private sector actors

12. Conclusion:
Lack of capacity is not a driving force behind the current state of
legal plurality

13. How to best pursue the path of sustainable hydropower
development?
• Creating a space for critical discussion
• Topics of interests include: linking revenue generation with redistribution
of state funds; state’s budgeting priorities, etc.

14. Thank you for your attention
d.suhardiman@cgiar.org