This open access book addresses how hydropower development in river basins can take place without impairing their biodiversity and environment as is commonly happening. The authors describe lessons learned from an assessment of sustainable power alternatives for the Mekong River Basin where the challenge was to find a course of development that would meet the aspirations of the riparian nations while maintaining the river’s exceptional biological productivity and the sediment outflow needed to sustain the Mekong Delta in the face of rising sea levels. Based on a 10-year project, involving an international and interdisciplinary team of experts, the findings had a major impact on the decisions taken by the governments of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, including cancellation of what would have been one of the largest and most impactful hydropower dams in the world. It also provides a convincing demonstration of the benefits of solar retrofit of existing hydropower reservoirs where feasible. 

The book covers the engineering, hydrologic, morphologic, biophysical, economic, and legal issues regarding hydropower development and the impacts such dams have on water flows, sediment, nutrient transport, and the fish that the people living in the region depend upon. The book draws on experiences from the Mekong basin for the specific purpose of informing the course of development of the other major rivers and deltas in the world facing intensive power development pressures.

Gregory Thomas is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Natural Heritage Institute, a non-profit natural resource conservation organization. Over the past 50 years, his practice has encompassed virtually every aspect of international natural resource management, including water, energy, air quality, biodiversity, environmental planning, and international conservation. Mr. Thomas was a Fulbright Professor and advisor to the People’s Republic of China, and he has taught natural resources law at the Universities of California at Los Angeles and at Berkeley. At NHI, he has counseled agencies of government, international development funders, and environmental organizations in a broad suite of water resource and biodiversity matters throughout the United States and internationally.

Daniel P. Loucks, Professor Emeritus in Covil and Environmental Engineering at Cornell University, is internationally acknowledgedfor his contributions tothe development and application of methods involving economics, ecology, environmental engineering, and systems analysis to the solution of environmental and regional water resources problems. He has advised and held appointments in international banks, UN agencies, andresearch organizations, and in various private and public agencies, and universities, throughout the world.