Governing a River Basin: The Work of the Mekong River Commission
Title | Governing a River Basin: The Work of the Mekong River Commission |
Annotated Record | Not Annotated |
Year of Publication | 2016 |
Authors | Boer, Hirsch, Johns, Saul, Scurrah |
Secondary Title | The Mekong: A Socio-legal Approach to River Basin Development |
Section | Chapter 4 |
Pagination | 87-113 |
Publisher | Earthscan-Routledge |
Place Published | London and New York |
Key themes | Hydropower, Transboundary Governance |
Abstract | This chapter explores the theme of governance, a socio-political practice into which law frequently blends. It does so through a study of the MRC, the main institution with a transboundary mandate under a binding agreement for river basin management. In particular, it explores the role of science-based technical support in shaping the ways in which projects are proposed, assessed and regulated. Focusing on a central set of procedures instituted by the MRC for notification and consultation on dams, it reveals the interplay between harder and softer modes of regulation and influence in decision-making. The chapter shows that the technical field has its own politics, helping to shape the terms within which projects are considered, and tending towards particular outcomes that are often counterintuitive from a science-informs-policy-informs-decisions perspective. It also shows how unexpected openings for societal input on decisions are fostered by otherwise highly structural and institutionalized procedures. |
URL | https://www.routledge.com/The-Mekong-A-Socio-legal-Approach-to-River-Basin-Development/Boer-Hirsch-Johns-Saul-Scurrah/p/book/9781138788459 |
Availability | Copyright Book |
Countries | Regional |
Document Type | Book Chapter |
Not Available for Download
- Log in to post comments
- Google Scholar
- BibTex
- XML
- RIS