Political Ecology in Asia Dialogue Series: "Mekong River low flows, community livelihoods and the politics of water knowledge in Northeast Thailand"

Earlier this month, we talked with Assoc. Prof. Kanokwan Manorom who is is currently Lecturer in the Faculty of Liberal Arts, Ubon Ratchathani University, Thailand. She is also the Director of the Mekong Sub-Region Social Research Center in the University.

Ajarn Kanokwan is a sociologist by training whose research examines rural development in Thailand and the wider Mekong region. Her research has focused on to water and land governance, as well related topics such as migration, gender, indigenous knowledge and knowledge politics, and the role of social movements. In this political ecology in asia dialogue, we discussed about the recent changes in the Mekong River and its impact on riparian communities in Northeast Thailand.

The video was premiered on CSDS Facebook Page. Below are the timestamps of the video, in case you want to jump to specific section/question.

• 02:08 Over the last couple of years, there has been a lot of discussion about the changing conditions of the Mekong River, including low flows, algae growth and clear waters. What have been the peoples’ experiences of low flows and other changes in the Mekong River over the last couple of years in Northeast Thailand, including gendered impacts?

• 06:08 In Northeast Thailand nowadays, how important is fishing, and how important is riverbank gardening?

• 07:41 A lot of the focus over the past couple of years has been on inter-government data sharing, both within the MRC, and between China and the LMC. After the low flows in 2020, in October 2020 China announced it would share all year around data from two monitoring stations. How do you evaluate the recent increased focus on state-led water data sharing?

• 11:30 As a sociologist, how do you see the water data relating to local experience and situational knowledge of the river, does it match?

• 16:18 How do you think these types of existing knowledge can be combined or be in dialogue with each other?

• 17:53 How could those types of knowledge come together?

• 22:30 Do you have anything to share about types of knowledge, what kind of direction that are leading the Mekong River, and do you think the expectations of that kind of research can be met?

• 26:42 To achieve the kind of sustainability that we just discussed, should it be just locally, regionally, nationally or transnational platform that we should work towards?

• 31:13 What should be the role of academics, and what should be the priorities for a 'political ecology' research agenda on water in Northeast Thailand?