Abstract:
The Mekong River is an important watercourse for the livelihoods of more than 70 million people in China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. The river has great potential for hydropower development throughout its 4,905-kilometre flow, particularly for China – a powerful upstream state. This thesis explains how China’s dam-building on the Mekong River and its ramification for downstream countries. Applying a combination of process tracing and qualitative method, the study reveals findings of four main issues of the research, including the current situation of China's hydroelectric dam building in the Mekong River, mainly in Yunnan province, policies of Mekong countries on the water resources management, possible ramifications of these upstream dams for downstream riparian countries, and the roles of related third parties in addressing the issues in the Mekong River. Using of a mixed theoretical framework, the research concludes that China has a tendency to keep constructing hydropower plants on the Mekong River regardless of its impacts on downstream areas; and related third-party organisations have failed to unite all the riparian states with respect to setting up a sustainable framework of mutual exploitation in the Mekong River. To promote further the effectiveness of the Mekong River management for the sustainable development of the Mekong region, the thesis comes up with three policy recommendations. Two recommendations are to promote trust-building and transparency for China, and the third one is for other riparian states and related third-party institutions. Together, they aim to create a more binding environment for the Mekong states to fulfil their responsibility to the sustainable use of the river.
