The Political Ecology of the Don Sahong Dam in Champasak Province, Lao People’s Democratic Republic

Abstract

In November, 2013 the Lao government announced that the Don Sahong  dam project in the area of the Four Thousand Islands would sell all  the electricity produced  to Electricite du Laos for domestic consumption amid rising demand for power in the southern part of Laos under the Battery of Asia policy. While this issue was criticized by civil society because of its impacts, the Lao government supported it, leading to a dispute involving the Lao government, civil society, the Mekong River Commission and neighboring countries. Each group has a different definition of development in bargaining to achieve its goals regarding the dam.