Opening the gates of the Pak Mun dam: Fish migrations, domestic water supply, irrigation projects and politics

The Pak Mun Dam on the Mun River in Ubon Ratchathani Province in northeastern Thailand has long been one of the most controversial hydropower projects in Southeast Asia. The environmental and social impacts associated with blocking important fish migrations between the mainstream Mekong River and...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ian G. Baird, Kanokwan Manorom, Aurore Phenow, Sirasak Gaja-Svasti
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Water Alternatives Association 2020-02-01
Series:Water Alternatives
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.water-alternatives.org/index.php/alldoc/articles/vol13/v13issue1/568-a13-1-7/file
id doaj-1967beb397a64f8cb8e69545b9dcbd25
record_format Article
spelling doaj-1967beb397a64f8cb8e69545b9dcbd252020-11-25T02:56:53ZengWater Alternatives AssociationWater Alternatives1965-01751965-01752020-02-01131141159Opening the gates of the Pak Mun dam: Fish migrations, domestic water supply, irrigation projects and politicsIan G. Baird0Kanokwan Manorom1Aurore Phenow2Sirasak Gaja-Svasti3University of Wisconsin-Madison Ubon Ratchathani University, ThailandUniversity of Wisconsin-MadisonUbon Ratchathani University, ThailandThe Pak Mun Dam on the Mun River in Ubon Ratchathani Province in northeastern Thailand has long been one of the most controversial hydropower projects in Southeast Asia. The environmental and social impacts associated with blocking important fish migrations between the mainstream Mekong River and the Mun River Basin are particularly well known. Fishers, non-governmental organisations and academics have advocated for opening the gates of the dam either year-round or at least for an extended period, and especially at the beginning of the rainy season when a large number of fish migrate upstream. Crucially, however, the damʼs gates are not always opened at the beginning of the rainy season as required by previous agreements. Water management issues associated with opening the Pak Mun Dam have become increasingly complex and fraught because of additional challenges relating to the construction of new infrastructure such as irrigation dams on tributaries, and because of an increasing demand for piped domestic water to supply urban dwellers in Ubon Ratchathani City. In this paper, we adopt a political ecology approach to examine the present economic, ecological and political circumstances associated with the management of the Pak Mun Dam, including the trade-offs associated with different possible management decisions.http://www.water-alternatives.org/index.php/alldoc/articles/vol13/v13issue1/568-a13-1-7/filehydropower damfish migrationinfrastructurefisheriespak munthailand
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Ian G. Baird
Kanokwan Manorom
Aurore Phenow
Sirasak Gaja-Svasti
spellingShingle Ian G. Baird
Kanokwan Manorom
Aurore Phenow
Sirasak Gaja-Svasti
Opening the gates of the Pak Mun dam: Fish migrations, domestic water supply, irrigation projects and politics
Water Alternatives
hydropower dam
fish migration
infrastructure
fisheries
pak mun
thailand
author_facet Ian G. Baird
Kanokwan Manorom
Aurore Phenow
Sirasak Gaja-Svasti
author_sort Ian G. Baird
title Opening the gates of the Pak Mun dam: Fish migrations, domestic water supply, irrigation projects and politics
title_short Opening the gates of the Pak Mun dam: Fish migrations, domestic water supply, irrigation projects and politics
title_full Opening the gates of the Pak Mun dam: Fish migrations, domestic water supply, irrigation projects and politics
title_fullStr Opening the gates of the Pak Mun dam: Fish migrations, domestic water supply, irrigation projects and politics
title_full_unstemmed Opening the gates of the Pak Mun dam: Fish migrations, domestic water supply, irrigation projects and politics
title_sort opening the gates of the pak mun dam: fish migrations, domestic water supply, irrigation projects and politics
publisher Water Alternatives Association
series Water Alternatives
issn 1965-0175
1965-0175
publishDate 2020-02-01
description The Pak Mun Dam on the Mun River in Ubon Ratchathani Province in northeastern Thailand has long been one of the most controversial hydropower projects in Southeast Asia. The environmental and social impacts associated with blocking important fish migrations between the mainstream Mekong River and the Mun River Basin are particularly well known. Fishers, non-governmental organisations and academics have advocated for opening the gates of the dam either year-round or at least for an extended period, and especially at the beginning of the rainy season when a large number of fish migrate upstream. Crucially, however, the damʼs gates are not always opened at the beginning of the rainy season as required by previous agreements. Water management issues associated with opening the Pak Mun Dam have become increasingly complex and fraught because of additional challenges relating to the construction of new infrastructure such as irrigation dams on tributaries, and because of an increasing demand for piped domestic water to supply urban dwellers in Ubon Ratchathani City. In this paper, we adopt a political ecology approach to examine the present economic, ecological and political circumstances associated with the management of the Pak Mun Dam, including the trade-offs associated with different possible management decisions.
topic hydropower dam
fish migration
infrastructure
fisheries
pak mun
thailand
url http://www.water-alternatives.org/index.php/alldoc/articles/vol13/v13issue1/568-a13-1-7/file
work_keys_str_mv AT iangbaird openingthegatesofthepakmundamfishmigrationsdomesticwatersupplyirrigationprojectsandpolitics
AT kanokwanmanorom openingthegatesofthepakmundamfishmigrationsdomesticwatersupplyirrigationprojectsandpolitics
AT aurorephenow openingthegatesofthepakmundamfishmigrationsdomesticwatersupplyirrigationprojectsandpolitics
AT sirasakgajasvasti openingthegatesofthepakmundamfishmigrationsdomesticwatersupplyirrigationprojectsandpolitics
_version_ 1724711789694812160