Scales and power in river basin management: the Chao Phraya River in Thailand

Interventions on hydro/ecological systems by different categories of stakeholders characterised by different political, decision-making and discursive power, and varied access to resources, tend to generate costs, benefits and risks that are distributed unevenly across spatial and temporal scales an...

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Autor principal: Molle, Francois
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: 2007
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/40866
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author Molle, Francois
author_browse Molle, Francois
author_facet Molle, Francois
author_sort Molle, Francois
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Interventions on hydro/ecological systems by different categories of stakeholders characterised by different political, decision-making and discursive power, and varied access to resources, tend to generate costs, benefits and risks that are distributed unevenly across spatial and temporal scales and across social groups. This is due to the interconnectedness of users through the hydrologic cycle entailed by their dependence upon the same resource. As pressure over resources increases and basins 'close', this interdependence becomes more critical, increasing the frequency and seriousness of water shortages and conflicts. A political ecology approach seeks to identify and understand the mechanisms that underpin the transformations of aquatic socioenvironmental systems. Basin interconnectedness, with its hydrological, ecological and social dimensions, and three instances of the concept of scale are shown to be relevant to the understanding of these transformations. The paper analyses the case of the Chao Phraya river basin, in Thailand, and shows how land and water resources have been appropriated and identifies the different interest groups and their related discourses and power; it examines how they have adapted to socio- environmental changes, and highlights how risks, costs and benefits have been distributed.
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spelling CGSpace408662023-09-23T17:57:17Z Scales and power in river basin management: the Chao Phraya River in Thailand Molle, Francois river basin management ecology hydrology ecosystems water allocation political aspects conflict water use Interventions on hydro/ecological systems by different categories of stakeholders characterised by different political, decision-making and discursive power, and varied access to resources, tend to generate costs, benefits and risks that are distributed unevenly across spatial and temporal scales and across social groups. This is due to the interconnectedness of users through the hydrologic cycle entailed by their dependence upon the same resource. As pressure over resources increases and basins 'close', this interdependence becomes more critical, increasing the frequency and seriousness of water shortages and conflicts. A political ecology approach seeks to identify and understand the mechanisms that underpin the transformations of aquatic socioenvironmental systems. Basin interconnectedness, with its hydrological, ecological and social dimensions, and three instances of the concept of scale are shown to be relevant to the understanding of these transformations. The paper analyses the case of the Chao Phraya river basin, in Thailand, and shows how land and water resources have been appropriated and identifies the different interest groups and their related discourses and power; it examines how they have adapted to socio- environmental changes, and highlights how risks, costs and benefits have been distributed. 2007 2014-06-13T14:48:35Z 2014-06-13T14:48:35Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/40866 en Limited Access Molle, Francois. 2007. Scales and power in river basin management: the Chao Phraya River in Thailand. Geographical Journal, 173(4): 358-373.
spellingShingle river basin management
ecology
hydrology
ecosystems
water allocation
political aspects
conflict
water use
Molle, Francois
Scales and power in river basin management: the Chao Phraya River in Thailand
title Scales and power in river basin management: the Chao Phraya River in Thailand
title_full Scales and power in river basin management: the Chao Phraya River in Thailand
title_fullStr Scales and power in river basin management: the Chao Phraya River in Thailand
title_full_unstemmed Scales and power in river basin management: the Chao Phraya River in Thailand
title_short Scales and power in river basin management: the Chao Phraya River in Thailand
title_sort scales and power in river basin management the chao phraya river in thailand
topic river basin management
ecology
hydrology
ecosystems
water allocation
political aspects
conflict
water use
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/40866
work_keys_str_mv AT mollefrancois scalesandpowerinriverbasinmanagementthechaophrayariverinthailand