Hydropower Development and Natural Resource Allocation between Competing Users and Uses: Evidence from Southeast Asia and Africa

Abstract

"Hydropower development is a key energy priority in low and middle income countries as a means to increase energy access and promote national development. Nevertheless hydropower dams can also negatively impact people’s livelihoods by reducing access to local natural resources such as land, water and food. This paper analyses local resource use competition between different uses (food, energy, livelihoods) and users (villagers, urban settlers, local government and dam builders) in selected case studies in Asia and Africa, namely Kamchay dam in Cambodia, Bakun dam in Malaysia and Bui dam in Ghana. It illustrates from a political ecology perspective how divergence between national priorities of energy production and local development needs can result in the unequal distribution of costs and benefits between the national and local scales."