Are hydropower and irrigation development complements or substitutes? The example of the Nam Ngum River in the Mekong Basin

摘要: Hydropower and irrigation developments to address rising demand for food energy are modifying the water balance of Mekong Basin. Infrastructure investment decisions also frequently made from a sub-catchment perspective. This paper compares river flows with development stages in Nam Ngum sub-basin where potential hydropower expansion is largely untapped. It shows that full this basin allows use triple, even as it reduces competition environmental flow requirements. The implications wider are, however, unclear, particularly given uncertainty over parallel transformations elsewhere basin.