Legal plurality: An analysis of power interplay in Mekong hydropower

 Diana Suhardiman and Mark Giordano

International Water Management InstituteGWSP Conference “Water in the Anthropocene”

Bonn, 21-24 May 2013

Structure of the presentation

• Mekong hydropower

• Legal plurality: inconsistent policies and institutional discrepancy

• How to best pursue the path of sustainable hydropower development?

Mekong hydropower

Rapid development (36 dams in operation, 110 planned)

Benefit and concerns about its potential impacts

Current effort to promote sustainable hydropower development

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)

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)

Legal achievement and institutional challenges

• Policy implementation, monitoring and evaluation and enforcement

• Synergizing the roles of environmental and sectoral ministries

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

Institutional discrepancy

Land use planning (MoNRE and MAF) and land concession (MEM)

General interpretation of policy inconsistencies and institutional discrepancy

• The problem of lack of capacity

• Increasing policy consistency through capacity building

Alternative interpretation of policy inconsistencies and institutional discrepancy

• A reflection of power interplay in Mekong hydropower

• Understanding factors that creates and sustain legal plurality

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

Conclusion:

Lack of capacity is not a driving force behind the current state of legal plurality

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.

Thank you for your attention

d.suhardiman@cgiar.org