Interventions and pathways to reducing water insecurities in the Mekong region

The report analyzes water insecurities in the Mekong region, driven by environmental pressures, socio-economic inequalities, and governance failures. It evaluates interventions such as community-based infrastructure, adaptive agricultural practices, and inclusive governance models, while recommending decentralized management and strengthened transboundary cooperation.

• Water insecurity in the Mekong region is driven by a combination of environmental variability and governance factors, affecting diverse geographies including upland, lowland, coastal, and peri-urban areas.
• Seasonal scarcity and saline intrusion severely impact daily life and livelihoods in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta, with some residents unable to access freshwater for bathing during the dry season.
• Upland communities face higher vulnerability to seasonal water shortages compared to urban areas, with nearly half of surveyed households reporting disruptions to their water supply during droughts.
• Changing flood regimes, influenced by climate change and hydropower dams, have become erratic, leading to declines in fish populations and loss of supplementary income for farmers in lowland Viet Nam.
• Social inequalities, including the exclusion of ethnic minorities, migrant workers, and undocumented individuals, limit access to formal water networks and force marginalized groups to rely on unsafe surface water.
• Gender disparities limit women's participation in water governance; in the Mekong Delta, domestic responsibilities restrict women's ability to attend decision-making meetings, leaving them underrepresented at commune and district levels.
• Policy incoherence and fragmented mandates between government agencies lead to conflicting priorities, such as industrial groundwater extraction in Khon Kaen province conflicting with conservation mandates and draining wells used by poor households.
• Transboundary groundwater governance is largely ineffective due to divergent national laws and a lack of bilateral agreements, specifically illustrated by the Cambodia–Viet Nam transboundary aquifer.
• Consultation processes for transboundary hydropower projects, such as the Pak Beng Dam in Lao PDR, are often procedural and fail to facilitate meaningful community discussion due to technical knowledge gaps.
• The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated water insecurities by increasing the demand for clean water for hygiene while restricting movement and increasing water prices for vulnerable households.
• Effective interventions to reduce water insecurity include people-centered infrastructure such as rainwater harvesting, solar-powered irrigation in Lao PDR and Cambodia, and the construction of micro-habitats for food security in upland areas.
• Decentralized, community-led governance models, such as the Bangkachao Water User Organization in Thailand, have proven effective in articulating local needs to authorities and improving flood control.

APA

Lwin, K. S., Saluja, R., Mandal, S., Lebel, L., Lebel, B., & Krittasudthacheewa, C. (2025). Interventions and pathways to reducing water insecurities in the Mekong region. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/interventions-water-insecurities-mekong-sei2025-049.pdf

Chicago

Lwin, Khaing Su, Ridhi Saluja, Sushmita Mandal, Louis Lebel, Boripat Lebel, and Chayanis Krittasudthacheewa. Interventions and pathways to reducing water insecurities in the Mekong region. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2025. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/interventions-water-insecurities-mekong-sei2025-049.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Lwin |first1=Khaing Su |last2=Saluja |first2=Ridhi |last3=Mandal |first3=Sushmita |last4=Lebel |first4=Louis |last5=Lebel |first5=Boripat |last6=Krittasudthacheewa |first6=Chayanis |title=Interventions and pathways to reducing water insecurities in the Mekong region |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=October 2025 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/interventions-water-insecurities-mekong-sei2025-049.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{lwin2025interventions, author = {Lwin, Khaing Su and Saluja, Ridhi and Mandal, Sushmita and Lebel, Louis and Lebel, Boripat and Krittasudthacheewa, Chayanis}, title = {{Interventions and pathways to reducing water insecurities in the Mekong region}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2025}, month = oct, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/interventions-water-insecurities-mekong-sei2025-049.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }