Impounded rivers, compounded injustice: contesting the social impacts of hydraulic development in Laos

David J.H. Blake*, Keith Barney

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    11 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Laos has rapidly expanded its hydraulic infrastructure, creating profound environmental, economic and social ruptures. We combine frameworks of environmental justice with political ecology to examine the multiple expressions of water injustice evident in three hydropower project case studies involving resettlement. We find that livelihood restoration measures have not ameliorated, but reproduced underlying problems of poverty, inequity, exclusion and coercive expressions of social injustice. These are viewed as the structural outcomes of political choices. We conclude that there is little potential for a water justice paradigm in Laos without significant reforms to the national frameworks for water governance and human rights.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)130-151
    Number of pages22
    JournalInternational Journal of Water Resources Development
    Volume38
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2022

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