Shared River, Shared Future: Interactive Workshop on Mekong River Development

The scenario-based workshop will be held with the assistance of Partnerships for International Strategies in Asia (PISA). Role playing activities will examine the interests and drivers of these proposals, the potential national and regional environmental economic impacts and consequences for regional relations, and policy alternatives that could protect the river's natural functions while also meeting the development goals and needs of the Lower Mekong countries and their citizens.

Although numerous dams have already been built on tributaries of the Mekong, mainstream dams pose a significantly greater threat to the viability of one of the world's most productive freshwater fisheries and rice growing regions. While considerable research has been conducted on the river's natural systems and fisheries, less concerted attention has been given to the long term social, political, or economic consequences of commercial projects to tap the significant hydropower potential of the mainstream.