The Water-Food-Energy Nexus in the Mekong Region: Assessing Development Strategies Considering Cross-Sectoral and Transboundary Impacts

242 Pages·2013·4.115 MB·English

by  Alexander Smajgl, John Ward (auth.)

Alexander Smajgl
John Ward
The Water-Food-
Energy Nexus in
the Mekong Region
Assessing Development Strategies
Considering Cross-Sectoral and
Transboundary Impacts
The Water-Food-Energy Nexus
in the Mekong Region

Alexander Smajgl (cid:129) John Ward
The Water-Food-Energy
Nexus in the Mekong Region
Assessing Development Strategies
Considering Cross-Sectoral and
Transboundary Impacts
Alexander Smajgl John Ward
CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences
Townsville, QLD, Australia Townsville, QLD, Australia
ISBN 978-1-4614-6119-7 ISBN 978-1-4614-6120-3 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4614-6120-3
Springer New York Heidelberg Dordrecht London
Library of Congress Control Number: 2012953575
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Acknowledgments
The AusAID CSIRO Research for Development Alliance provided the funding for
the Exploring Mekong Region Futures research project. This volume documents
the deliberations and reviews of an expert panel conducted as an important aspect
of the project’s overall research methodology. We are grateful for the valuable time
and resources the experts enthusiastically contributed during the expert panel
assessment. We especially thank the workshop participants for their efforts in
cohering their individual Mekong region experiences and judgements into the col-
lective wisdom articulated in this volume. The staff of the AusAID mission in
Vientiane provided crucial and sustained support, particularly the enthusiasm,
impartiality and sagacity of John Dore. We also acknowledge the leadership of the
CSIRO Climate Adaptation Flagship and the Division of Ecosystem Sciences for
their foresight and commitment. Finally, we acknowledge the substantial manu-
script improvements due to the critical appraisal, corrections and insights sug-
gested by several reviewers.
v

Contents
1 Mekong Region Connectivity .................................................................. 1
Alex Smajgl and John Ward
2 Water Sector Analysis .............................................................................. 19
Sokhem Pech
3 Food Security in the Wider Mekong Region ......................................... 61
David Fullbrook
4 Impacts of Natural Resource-Led Development
on the Mekong Energy System ............................................................... 105
Tira Foran
5 Livelihoods and Migration ...................................................................... 143
Lilao Bouapao
6 Land-Use Change in the Mekong Region .............................................. 179
Lu Xing
7 Mining in the Mekong Region ................................................................ 191
Kate Lazarus
8 Cross-Sectoral Assessment ...................................................................... 209
Alex Smajgl and John Ward
Annex A: System Diagram Illustrating the Connectivity
Arising from Hydropower Development ...................................... 223
Annex B: System Diagram Illustrating the Connectivity
Arising from Water Diversions ..................................................... 224
Annex C: System Diagram Illustrating the Connectivity
Arising from Industrial Rubber Plantations .................................. 225
Annex D: System Diagram Illustrating the Connectivity
Arising from Sea Level Rise ......................................................... 226
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viii Contents
Annex E: System Diagram Illustrating the Connectivity
Arising from the Kunming to Phnom Penh
Railway Connection ...................................................................... 227
Annex F: System Diagram Illustrating the Connectivity
Arising from Bauxite Mining ........................................................ 228
Author Biographies ......................................................................................... 229
Glossary and Abbreviations
ADB Asian development bank
Alumina Aluminium oxide re fi ned from bauxite ore feedstock for the
smelting of aluminium metal
Aluminium refi ning Bauxite ore is fi nely crushed and dissolved in a solution of
sodium hydroxide (caustic soda, or lye) under high tem-
perature and pressure. Insoluble iron oxide, titanium,
sodium, silica and other oxides are fi ltered out as sludge
called ‘red mud’. The solution is then clari fi ed and sent to a
precipitation tank where a small amount of aluminium
hydroxide is added as a ‘seed’ that facilitates the crystalli-
zation of aluminium hydroxide and sodium hydroxide. The
crystals are then washed, vacuum dewatered and sent to a
rotating kiln. The result is a fi ne white powder called alu-
mina (aluminium oxide).
Aluminium smelting The strong bonds between aluminium and oxygen in alu-
mina makes its re fin ing into aluminium possible only by
using enormous amounts of energy, more than that required
in the production of any other metal, or in fact in any other
industrial process. Primary aluminium processing is the
most polluting phase of the aluminium production chain,
resulting in air emissions and solid wastes.
ARWR Annual renewable water resource
BAU Business-as-usual (referring to incremental changes that
occur in a system)
Bauxite Aluminium ore, found principally in tropical and sub-tropi-
cal areas
Bayer process Procedure used to re fi ne bauxite ore into alumina
BDP Basin development plan
BS Baseline scenario
DF De fi nite future
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