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

Hydropower and irrigation developments to address rising demand for food and energy are modifying the water balance of the Mekong Basin. Infrastructure investment decisions are also frequently made from a sub-catchment perspective. This paper compares river flows with irrigation development stages i...

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Autores principales: Lacombe, Guillaume, Douangsavanh, Somphasith, Baker, J., Hoanh, Chu Thai, Bartlett, R., Jeuland, M., Phongpachith, C.
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Informa UK Limited 2014
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/58416
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author Lacombe, Guillaume
Douangsavanh, Somphasith
Baker, J.
Hoanh, Chu Thai
Bartlett, R.
Jeuland, M.
Phongpachith, C.
author_browse Baker, J.
Bartlett, R.
Douangsavanh, Somphasith
Hoanh, Chu Thai
Jeuland, M.
Lacombe, Guillaume
Phongpachith, C.
author_facet Lacombe, Guillaume
Douangsavanh, Somphasith
Baker, J.
Hoanh, Chu Thai
Bartlett, R.
Jeuland, M.
Phongpachith, C.
author_sort Lacombe, Guillaume
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Hydropower and irrigation developments to address rising demand for food and energy are modifying the water balance of the Mekong Basin. Infrastructure investment decisions are also frequently made from a sub-catchment perspective. This paper compares river flows with irrigation development stages in the Nam Ngum sub-basin where the potential for irrigation and hydropower expansion is largely untapped. It shows that full hydropower development in this basin allows irrigation water use to triple, even as it reduces competition with environmental flow requirements. The implications for the wider Mekong are, however, unclear, particularly given uncertainty over parallel transformations elsewhere in the basin.
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spelling CGSpace584162025-06-17T08:24:10Z Are hydropower and irrigation development complements or substitutes?: the example of the Nam Ngum River in the Mekong Basin Lacombe, Guillaume Douangsavanh, Somphasith Baker, J. Hoanh, Chu Thai Bartlett, R. Jeuland, M. Phongpachith, C. water power irrigation development river basins water resources irrigated land irrigation water water demand water balance water availability simulation models environmental flows dry season Hydropower and irrigation developments to address rising demand for food and energy are modifying the water balance of the Mekong Basin. Infrastructure investment decisions are also frequently made from a sub-catchment perspective. This paper compares river flows with irrigation development stages in the Nam Ngum sub-basin where the potential for irrigation and hydropower expansion is largely untapped. It shows that full hydropower development in this basin allows irrigation water use to triple, even as it reduces competition with environmental flow requirements. The implications for the wider Mekong are, however, unclear, particularly given uncertainty over parallel transformations elsewhere in the basin. 2014-07-29 2015-03-17T14:39:56Z 2015-03-17T14:39:56Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/58416 en Limited Access Informa UK Limited Lacombe, Guillaume; Douangsavanh, S.; Baker, J.; Hoanh, Chu Thai; Bartlett, R.; Jeuland, M.; Phongpachith, C. 2014. Are hydropower and irrigation development complements or substitutes?: the example of the Nam Ngum River in the Mekong Basin. Water International, 39(5):649-670. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/02508060.2014.956205
spellingShingle water power
irrigation development
river basins
water resources
irrigated land
irrigation water
water demand
water balance
water availability
simulation models
environmental flows
dry season
Lacombe, Guillaume
Douangsavanh, Somphasith
Baker, J.
Hoanh, Chu Thai
Bartlett, R.
Jeuland, M.
Phongpachith, C.
Are hydropower and irrigation development complements or substitutes?: the example of the Nam Ngum River in the Mekong Basin
title Are hydropower and irrigation development complements or substitutes?: the example of the Nam Ngum River in the Mekong Basin
title_full Are hydropower and irrigation development complements or substitutes?: the example of the Nam Ngum River in the Mekong Basin
title_fullStr Are hydropower and irrigation development complements or substitutes?: the example of the Nam Ngum River in the Mekong Basin
title_full_unstemmed Are hydropower and irrigation development complements or substitutes?: the example of the Nam Ngum River in the Mekong Basin
title_short Are hydropower and irrigation development complements or substitutes?: the example of the Nam Ngum River in the Mekong Basin
title_sort are hydropower and irrigation development complements or substitutes the example of the nam ngum river in the mekong basin
topic water power
irrigation development
river basins
water resources
irrigated land
irrigation water
water demand
water balance
water availability
simulation models
environmental flows
dry season
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/58416
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