Micha Zarba, Faculty of International and Political Studies, University of Lodz

Hydropolitics of the Mekong River Basin. Between conflict

and cooperation

Water has been essential for development of civilizations throughout different

periods of worlds history. Ancient empires, located in rivers basins, had been
blooming and collapsing due to droughts or lack of drinking water, indispensable for
agriculture. Dynamics of socio-economical development lead people to overexploit
water reserves. In the 20th century the most important and valuable resources were
fossil fuels like crude oil or natural gas. Black gold has been a source of conflicts
and has contributed to many tensions and misunderstandings in relations between
various countries suffering from energy shortages. That is why previous century is
called the era of oil wars. In recent times demand for power supply has been
increasing year by year and more and more states search for alternative energy
sources. They want to diversify energy structure, improve national security and
protect themselves from global oil and gas depletion. Growing environmental
deterioration

caused

by

inappropriate

policy

and

unsustainable

economic

development will contribute to the situations where availability of water will become a
major reason for disputes. Additionally drastic increase in world population and
shrinking of an ice cap caused by global warming lead to more severe water
shortages on global scale. Stronger push for implementing renewables may increase
the number of hydropower plants on rivers, which will deregulate flow and influence
many inhabitants living in the basins. Growing depletion of water resources may
cause serious problems for countries with limited access to fresh water. The most
easily accessible sources of drinking water are lakes and rivers which often lies on
the borders of two or more countries. Unequal exploitation of shared resources may
trigger disputes, military acts or misunderstandings. Specialists claim that the 21st
century will be the time of water conflicts.
A lot of pundits say that rapid development of asian economies leads to
conclusion that Asia can become the main area of conflicts connected to fresh water
resources used in agriculture and industry. Due to growing food security issues,
disputes over the water may have significant influence on states with increasing
population and rapidly expanding economy like most of South and South East Asian

countries. What is more, countries abundance of water may dam rivers in theirs
territories by building hydropower plants to diversify energy sources or sell electricity
to other countries. Rivers are essential for inhabitants living in their basins because
they are used as primary source of water for agriculture, inland fishery or
transportation routes. That is why inconsiderate decisions in the upper basin related
to hydropower, water transfer or blasting of rapids pose a real threat to the lower
basin countries. In order to benefit from water resources, all riparian states should
cooperate, sign treaties or even create regional organizations. But sometimes not all
countries in the basin want to take into account consequences for other riparian
states and try to develop rivers potential on their own which may lead to hostility,
disputes or even to war. Strategies and politics affected by the water resources
adopted by each country in a basin is called hydropolitics.
One of the most interesting regions due to a complex hydropolitical system is
the Mekong River Basin. The Mekong, the longest river in Indochina Peninsula, is a
transboundary river which runs through China and five Southeast Asian countries:
Burma/Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. Its significance is
amplified with the fact that over 80 million people depend on it for their livelihoods.
The Mekong is the largest inland fishery in the world, crucial source of fresh water
also used for irrigation in agriculture. However river has a huge hydropower potential
and development of large-scale plants may give a great chance for riparians to deal
with energy shortages and improve their economic growth. On the other hand
construction of dam cascade can cause damages and serious problems for people
living near the river banks who depend on water resources. Rapid grow of number of
hydropower dams may seriously impact on regional economies, eg. Cambodia where
Tonle Sap Lake is a basis for inland fishery, or Vietnam where the Mekong Delta
region contributes to more than 50% of rice crops in the entire country.
The main purpose of this thesis is to investigate the evolution of relations in
hydropolitics between the Mekong River Basin states. This aim will be achieved by
analyzing the following research problems: 1) definitions and typologies of
hydropolitics in the international relations studies, 2) role of transboundary water
resources issue with special account for the Mekong countries, 3) significance of the
Mekong

resources

(eg.

hydropower,

water

transfer,

agriculture,

fishery,

transportation), 4) competence of units responsible for shaping hydropolitics in each

basin state, 5) major activities related to hydropolitics taken by all riparian countries,

6) major goals and strategies adopted by the Mekong River states, 7) main incentives
of cooperation and reasons for conflicts in the Basin.
The main question asked in this thesis tries to determine whether
transboundary water resources in the Mekong River Basin are potential platform of
cooperation or a source of conflict? The author assumes that growing exploitation of
the Mekong River resources which is a result of socio-economical development of
riparian states, comprises major cause which leads to increasing number of conflicts
in the region. This thesis will be confirmed using qualitative data from official
documents

issued

by

central

authorities,

regional

and

non-governmental

organizations, press articles and research papers prepared by scholars specializing

in the Mekong studies. The author also analyzes quantitative data from the
International Water Events Database created and housed at Oregon State University
researchable database documents international relations over the water resources
from 1948 to 2008.
This dissertation consists of five chapters. The first one is dedicated to
definitions of hydropolitics, its significance as a field of international studies and views
and directions of studies on hydropolitics. Second chapter presents data related to
location and distribution of earths water, world water resources withdrawal,
transboundary basins and groundwaters, international water law. The third chapter
describes the Mekong River Basin, its resources and situation of inhabitants living in
that region. It is devoted to significance of the Mekong waters for all riparian states
and presents a short forecast for water resources in Indochina Peninsula. Fourth part
of dissertation characterizes directions of hydropolitics in each riparian state and
reveals major activities related to water resources in the Mekong Basin, like
hydropower development (including foreign investments), water transfer projects and
irrigation schemes. It also focuses on threats and implications for inhabitants like
forced migration, floods and draughts which have a great impact on regional
economies. Last chapter examines relations between all riparian states over the
water resources. It describes beginnings of cooperation and disputes among the
lower basin countries after the II World War through harsh time for Indochina
Peninsula (The Vietnam War, The Khmer Rouge period). This chapter also presents
hydropolitical relations after falling of The Iron Curtain till the middle of the second
decade of the 21st century. The last part is devoted to analyzing International Water
Events Database which took place in the Mekong River Basin from 1950 to 2008.