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

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.

Automated summary

Laos has rapidly expanded its hydraulic infrastructure, leading to environmental, economic, and social injustices. Research shows that resettlement measures have not addressed underlying issues of poverty, inequity, exclusion, and social injustice. Significant reforms in water governance and human rights are needed for a water justice paradigm in Laos.