MK31: Professional Development of Water Governance and Regional Development Practitioners in the Salween Basin

For over six million people, the Nu-Thanlwin-Salween River and its water resources are inextricably linked to local livelihoods and wellbeing, agricultural production and food security, and local economies. Recent processes of conflict transformation in the basin alongside regional economic integration, and socio-economic changes are all reshaping the river basin’s development trajectory. There are, furthermore, plans for up to 20 dams along this transnational river. Yet, to date no comprehensive impact assessment has been undertaken, and there remain large gaps in knowledge on water, land and energy use, management and governance in the basin. Thus, to strengthen governance and increase the likelihood of sustainable and fair decisions, there is considerable need to build knowledge and research capacity within the basin, and to support research networks capable of informing the rapid changes underway. This project will strengthen the capacity for undertaking research and policy engagement of scholars and practitioners of water, land and energy use, management and governance in the Salween Basin. A particular cross-cutting focus of the project is research on gender and other forms of social marginalization. It also intends to build a learning community amongst these scholars and practitioners, and link them with similar initiatives in the Ayeyarwady, Mekong and Red River basins.