Description
The Mekong River, one of the world’s most significant transboundary water bodies, flows through six Southeast Asian countries, sustaining the livelihoods of millions of people in riparian communities. Since the 1990s, however, extensive dam construction for hydropower has led to local displacement, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation, raising pressing questions about the river's management. While riparian states establish intergovernmental organizations and agreements to govern the Mekong, local communities and non-governmental organizations have consistently resisted dam projects. The Xayaburi Dam, the first major dam on the Lower Mekong in northern Laos, financed by Thai companies and banks, has been especially controversial among Laotian, Cambodian, Vietnamese, and Thai communities due to its irreversible environmental and social impacts. In Thailand, environmentalists and local communities from eight Mekong provinces sued the Energy Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), which purchases 95% of the Xayaburi Dam's electricity. Even though the lawsuit failed to meet environmental activists’ expectations to halt the construction project, the case has fuelled transnational anti-dam activism across the region. While the Laotian government largely suppresses local villager-led protests against the rapidly growing hydropower sector, transnational environmental movements (TEM) in the Mekong Region continue to press their agenda domestically and internationally, highlighting the trade-offs between environmental protection and development. Through social network analysis, this paper examines the Anti-Xayaburi Dam movement, contributing to studies of transnational environmental movements and environmental governance in Southeast Asia. Ultimately, it sheds light on how the movement challenges and seeks to transform established governance structures, offering insights for future policies in the region and beyond.
