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Copyright and Use of This Thesis This Thesis Must Be Used in Accordance with the Provisions of the Copyright Act 1968 COPYRIGHT AND USE OF THIS THESIS This thesis must be used in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. Reproduction of material protected by copyright may be an infringement of copyright and copyright owners may be entitled to take legal action against persons who infringe their copyright. Section 51 (2) of the Copyright Act permits an authorized officer of a university library or archives to provide a copy (by communication or otherwise) of an unpublished thesis kept in the library or archives, to a person who satisfies the authorized officer that he or she requires the reproduction for the purposes of research or study. The Copyright Act grants the creator of a work a number of moral rights, specifically the right of attribution, the right against false attribution and the right of integrity. You may infringe the author’s moral rights if you: - fail to acknowledge the author of this thesis if you quote sections from the work - attribute this thesis to another author - subject this thesis to derogatory treatment which may prejudice the author’s reputation For further information contact the University’s Director of Copyright Services sydney.edu.au/copyright Integration, participation and the politics of water resources management in the Sesan river basin, Cambodia Worawan Sukraroek A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Geosciences University of Sydney March 2013 Abstract This thesis uses a framework of contextualised critical hydropolitics with references to political ecology and environmental justice in order to investigate different framings of water resources management practices in the Sesan transboundary river basin. The Sesan River is a tributary of the Mekong River in Southeast Asia and originates in Vietnam and flows through Cambodia. The impact of intensive dam development on the Sesan is the biggest threat to the river’s ecology and people’s livelihoods. The main objective of the current research is to understand the multiplex needs and objectives of water users by questioning the extent to which the livelihood concerns of the dam-affected people and their participation is inherent in the management and governance of Sesan transboundary water resources. It investigates how transboundary impacts are perceived by different Sesan water players and how such perceptions are grounded in the need to integrate the concerns of all stakeholders. The study applies an ethnographic approach to observe and assess how participation and integration are conceptualised and manifested in the form of debates and discussions at public meetings, and also through speeches and statements made at different stakeholders’ meetings and through NGO discussions and actions. The result of the empirical research shows that integration and participation are framed and interpreted in various ways, shifting from a critique and challenge to existing ways of doing things toward an appropriation of progressive discourse by more powerful actors to claim legitimacy and maintain authority in water governance. Integration and participation become devices for claiming transboundary water governance. The case of IWRM-led planning in the Mekong and Sesan examined in this thesis demonstrates how integration and participation become programmatic. They are devices for claiming a full integration of stakeholder’s concerns and enhance the legitimacy of transboundary water resources management. Under these circumstances, the voices of the dam-affected people and their concerns are programmatised and grassroots grievances and responses to the impacts of Sesan dams relevant to transboundary governance are downplayed and depoliticised. As a result, the involvement of the dam-affected people in water resources management continues to be short-changed and they are generally left out of the Sesan decision- making process. In the case of Sesan advocacy, as demonstrated by grassroots movements such as the 3SPN, integration and participation are framed in terms of what may be termed a ‘justice-orientation’ to transboundary governance which has greater significance in bringing about justice for the dam-affected people. It aims to secure the space of engagement of the dam-affected people in the decision-making process related to dam development in the Sesan. Page | ii The thesis concludes that the social framings of Sesan transboundary impacts through a discourse of integration and participation are devices for hegemonic actors such as development bank agents and water managers to claim their legitimacy in Sesan water resources management and impose their views of governance on other actors. Understanding the critique of social framing as a political technology is a means for powerless actors to claim their space of engagement as dam-affected people and to gain leverage in Sesan transboundary water governance. Page | iii Acknowledgements I would like to say thank you to everyone who are my mentors and those who have shared their stories and knowledge, inspired me and helped me during my fieldwork and research. I would like to express my greatest gratitude to my supervisor Professor Philip Hirsch who has shown me a good example of how researchers (geographers in particular) can play a key role in supporting advocacy for dam justice in the Mekong. His support and advice throughout the research has been unvarying. I would like to express my special thanks to the Sesan, Sekong and Srepok Rivers Protection Network (3SPN), especially Mr Meach Mean, Ame Trandem, and Paul Humphrey. The thesis would have amounted to nothing without their help and the help of their staff and villager coordinators. Their amazing stories around the fight for dam justice taught me what courage is all about. Thanks also to the friendship and unconditional support I received during my fieldwork; especially to Nang Noi, Mae Sod, Mae Beng who always cooked food for me and shared their stories during meals, and to Por Tip Bunleu, Por Tonjieng, Om Ty, Om Savat and Bong Ting. And also to Lina, Somphut, Bunthan, Mao, and Sopheak for fieldwork assistance. Thank you for your support and giggles. In addition, I thank the Culture, Environment, and Protection Agency for a memorable opportunity to be involved in their Salaphum project and to enhance my learning; and in particular to Mr Tep Bunnarith and Tek Vannara for sharing and giving. I also would like to extend my gratitude to Mark Dubois, of World Fish, who mentored me, shared his knowledge and his supply of fascinating journal articles. Among geographers at the School of Geosciences University of Sydney, I would like to extend my warmest gratitude to Professor John Connell who encouraged me throughout my research by his incredible support, as well as inspiring stories about his work in the Pacific during the coffee club rendezvous. Reading his ‘barefoot geographer’ article, which I carried throughout my six months fieldwork, reminded me not to quit and to be adaptable in all fieldwork environments. I also thank Dr Yayoi Fujita Lagerqvist for her advice and encouragement throughout my research. Thank you also to my fantastic friends (the geography gang) who always stood by me and helped me to overcome all struggles, both personal and research- related; in particular Olivia Dun, Mattijs Smits, Somatra Kim Sean, Erin Smith, and Lada Phadungkiati. Without their support, giggles, guidance and patience, I would not have succeeded in completing this thesis. Also, thank you to Natalia Scurrah for making AMRC a fun place to hang out in and to have intelligent conversations. Thank you very much to my Mum, my Dad and my brother for encouragement. I remember well how proud my Mum was when she said to her friends that “my daughter is researching water management in the Mekong”. She Page | iv said that with a smiling face. I dedicate the pride of place and justice in this thesis to my Dad and Mum. Page | v Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Research introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Hydropower development in the Sesan and its impacts ............................................................... 3 1.3 Research approach ......................................................................................................................... 6 1.4 Research questions ......................................................................................................................... 7 1.5 Analytical framework .................................................................................................................... 8 1.6 Outline of the thesis ..................................................................................................................... 10 Chapter 2: Situating critical hydropolitics in political ecology and environmental justice ................. 12 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 12 2.2 Political ecology ........................................................................................................................... 12 2.3 A critical hydro-politics framework ............................................................................................ 23 2.4 Drawing on theory of participation ............................................................................................
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