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Abstract:
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"Interventions on hydro/ecological systems by different categories of stakeholders characterized by different political, decision-making and discursive power, and varied access to resources, tend to generate costs, benefits and risk which 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 these mechanisms to promote governance patterns which enhance equity and the integrity of ecosystems. The historical development of the Chao Phraya river basin, Thailand, is considered here through such a lens. The paper shows how land and water resources have been, and are being, appropriated, identifies the different interest groups and their related discourses and power, examines how they have adapted to socio-environmental changes, and highlights how risks, costs and benefits have been distributed."
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