The Mekong region’s urban future: Why learning from a rural lifestyle could build sustainable cities

Mekong Commons Urbanization in the Mekong Region is transforming societies that were once dependent upon agricultural production, as they become predominantly industrialized and market-based. As this urban expansion unfolds, it is bringing new challenges to urban and rural communities who are changing their lifestyle and livelihoods in order to adapt. Some inhabitants in the Mekong’s emerging […]

Large dams are not the answer to climate change in the Mekong Region

Some may say it is too early to conclude that the changing weather patterns in the Mekong region – be it a longer dry season, unexpected river water level fluctuation, or cold days in early summer – are a result of climate change. Even if we could summarize the large number of expert debates and long list of research papers, it’s unlikely that a clear answer to the simple question “Is climate change happening in the Mekong?” would emerge.

The politics of place naming reaches the Salween River

The debate about the power of naming is long-running and contentious, engaging citizens and colonizers, academics and activists.1 “South” of China, “East” of India, Southeast Asia were names that came primarily from people not native to these regions who imagined these areas as a region through acts of war and nation building.