IN THE NEWS: REDISCOVERING THE WATER-FOOD-ENERGY NEXUS

IN THE NEWS

By Jeremy Allouche [STEPS Centre, 10 April 2019]

A few months ago, I presented the findings of a new book, The Water-Food-Energy Nexus: Power, Politics and Justice, to an International Water Association conference on the same topic at Salerno. To my great surprise, I was the only social scientist out of 200 participants.

Nexus approaches help to bridge the separate domains of water, energy and food to highlight the links and interactions between them. For example, hydroelectric dams are obviously sources of energy, but they need (and use) water for it, with knock-on effects for food – changing the conditions for irrigation, fishing or groundwater – in the areas where they operate. So, anyone responsible for large projects, including in developing countries, can use the Nexus to make decisions and think through what problems or synergies they might create.

So for many engineers and environmental economists, who made up most of the audience, the Nexus is an exciting new idea. It presents them with the practical challenge of modelling ever more complexity and interactions between the resources they work with. In fact, the Nexus is becoming so engineering-dominated that our new book is sold on Amazon under the topic of civil engineering!

Read more at this link here.

Jeremy Allouche, Dipak Gyawali, and Carl Middleton of CSDS are the co-authors of the book “The Water-Food-Energy Nexus”. More information about this book can be read here.

UPCOMING EVENT: CU Graduate Student Seminar Series 'The Water-Food-Energy Nexus' [Bangkok, 21 May 2019]

Tuesday 21 May 2019, 13.00 - 16.00 at Alumni Meeting Room, 12th Floor, Kasem Utthayanin Building (อาคารเกษม อุทยานิน), Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand (guide to the venue here)

Our inaugural interdisciplinary seminar will highlight ongoing graduate student research related to the water-food-energy nexus. Students will present cross-cutting research in the areas of political ecology of water, bioenergy, agriculture, and the politics of water allocation in Southeast Asia. Join your fellow graduate students for an engaging exchange of ideas in a relaxed atmosphere!

Speakers:

• "A political ecology of Bangkok waters: the institutional interplay between subsidence, floods and water infrastructures" by Thanawat Bremard, ABIES, AgroParisTech, France

• "Alternative approaches toward agriculture and energy nexus thinking: historical, geographical and political processes of socio-‘techno’-nature interactions" by Hiromi Inagaki, Department of Geography, National University of Singapore

• "The politics of water policy making process in Indonesia" by Tanaporn Nithiprit, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University

• "Industrialization and water quality in Rayong Province, Thailand: are international, national and local water management strategies complimentary or contesting?" by Wipawadee Panyangnoi, GRID Program, Chulalongkorn University

Discussants:

• Dipak Gyawali, Nepal Academy of Science and Technology

• Dr. Takeshi Ito, Graduate Program in Global Studies, Sophia University, Japan

To register for this event, please send and e-mail to  CU Graduate Student Seminar Series at cugradseminar@gmail.com.

UPCOMING EVENT: Book Launch 'Unpacking the Water-Food-Energy "Nexus" in Asia: Power, Politics and Justice' [Bangkok, 21 May 2019]

Tuesday 21 May 2019, 10.00 - 12.00 at Alumni Meeting Room, 12th Floor, Kasem Utthayanin Building (อาคารเกษม อุทยานิน), Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand (guide to the venue here)

The ‘nexus’ of relations between water, food and energy is often seen as a technical matter in public policy, addressing issues of risk, security or economics. In this public seminar, the speakers will discuss their new book on the water-food-energy nexus that challenges some of these underlying assumptions to show that at the very heart of the nexus arise questions about resource politics, ethics, and justice. The public seminar will encourage an interdisciplinary debate on the implications for natural resource policy, including for Asia’s major river basins such as the Ganges and Mekong.

Read more details about the book here, and download an open access chapter.

Speakers:

• Dipak Gyawali, Nepal Academy of Science and Technology

• Jeremy Allouche, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex (by Skype)

• Carl Middleton, Center for Social Development Studies, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University

Discussants:

• Dr. Takeshi Ito, Graduate Program in Global Studies, Sophia University

• Dr. Supawan Visetnoi, Chulalongkorn University School of Agricultural Resources (CUSAR)

Chair:

• Dr. Kasira Cheeppensook, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University

This event will be broadcasted on Facebook Live: www.facebook.com/CSDSChula/

To register for this event, please e-mail us your name, organisation, and position to  Anisa Widyasari (CSDS) at communications.csds@gmail.com. The seat is limited and registration will be accepted on first come first served basis.

CALL FOR ABSTRACT: The 6th International Conference on International Relations and Development (ICIRD) 2019

A New Global Network: What’s Next of “The Turns” in International Relations and Development

Mae Fah Luang University (MFU), Chiang Rai, Thailand, 22-23 November 2019

CALL FOR ABSTRACT - The 6th International Conference on International Relations and Development (ICIRD) 2019

Sub-themes:

• Risk, Vulnerability and Resilience: Disaster, Climate, Ecology and SDGs

• Mobility: Human, Resources and Capital

• Peace and Conflict, Transformation and Resistance

• Media, Information ,Communication and Digital politics 

• Non Traditional Security

• Governance: Public, Private and People Partnership

• Human Rights

• Gender, Chauvinism, Intersectionality

• Resource grabbing

• Green politics and green economy

• Extremism, Ultra-Nationalism, Statism

• Neoliberalism, Populism

• Democracy and Authoritarianism

• International Relations: Trans-boundary and Transnationalism

• Great, Declined and Emerging Powers

Launched in 2010, the ICIRD Knowledge Network is a platform for academic cooperation among five of Thailand’s foremost providers of research and higher education, namely the Faculty of Political Science, Thammasat University, the Master of Arts program in International Development Studies (MAIDS), Chulalongkorn University, the Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies (IHRP), Mahidol University, the Regional Center for Social Sciences and Sustainable Development (RCSD), Chiang Mai University and the School of Social Innovation, Mae Fah Luang University.

Those who wish to present a paper are invited to submit an abstract of 300 words and a short biographical paragraph of 150 words (both in English) to email: icirdconference2019@gmail.com

For more information and inquiries, please contact:
Miss Maya Dania (Maya.Dan@mfu.ac.th)
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/icirdmfu2019/

NEW PUBLICATION: "BOOK: The Water-Food-Energy Nexus: Power, Politics and Justice"

Carl Middleton of CSDS is a co-author of a new book, “The Water-Food-Energy Nexus: Power Politics and Justice”.

The ‘nexus’ of relations between water, food and energy is often seen as a technical matter, addressing issues of risk, security or economics. In a new book in the Pathways to Sustainability series, Jeremy Allouche, Carl Middleton and Dipak Gyawali argue for a political approach to the Nexus.

Read the details of the book here, and download an open access chapter.

REVIEWS:

"Beyond the commonplace recognition that the 'nexus' conceptual basis is not new and that integrative imperatives already featured in IWRM, this book further examines the underbelly of the beast and convincingly exposes the political underpinnings of a concept presented as a-political and 'manageable' through integrative tools, expert modeling, bureaucratic reforms and rational efficiency-driven thinking. It reveals the underlying business imperatives and green economy logics, traces the global diffusion of the concept, and emphasizes that issues of distributional justice, knowledge production and democratization of governance need to take center stage if the concept is to be transformative rather than supporting the status quo. An excellent reading for all water students and scholars interested in deciphering the word of water concepts and the interests and values that undergird them." — Francois Molle, Editor of Water Alternatives [Full review here]

"We frequently hear of the nexus - but what does this mean, what does it entail, and where to begin? To such questions, Allouche offers a critical guide. Careful to consider complexities and uncertainties, the theoretical discussion coupled with multi-sited case studies, offers a compelling treatment. Readers wanting to know more of the concept, including political economic and equity implications, will find reading the book to be time well spent." — Leila M Harris, University of British Columbia, Canada

"Skilfully delving into the nuances of the nexus approach, the authors trace and explain the emergence of the ‘new’ concepts of nexus – between water, food, energy, environment and more. Unravelling the tangle of nexus-invoking discourses, motivations and practices yields a valuable, sense-making analysis." — John Dore, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

IN THE NEWS: "Book Review 'Dead in the Water: Global Lessons from the World Bank’s Model Hydropower Project in Laos' from Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography"

By Vanessa Lamb [Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography]

In 2024, Laos PDR (‘Laos’) is set to move beyond ‘least developed country’ status. This, according to the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, is a significant accomplishment. The Rapporteur, however, also notes that ‘behind this apparent success story lies a more complicated and problematic reality’ (Alston, 2019: 1).

Enter Dead in the Water, a book that is part of a long-standing effort into comprehending key facets of this ‘problematic reality’. 1 The route taken is via one of the highest profile poverty alleviation projects in Laos, and indeed, of the World Bank: the Nam Theun 2 (NT2) hydropower dam.

***

Read the full review here.

Carl Middleton of CSDS contributed the chapter “Branding Dams: Nam Theun 2 and its Role in Producing the Discourse of “Sustainable Hydropower”” to the book (see here)

Buy the Book: Dead in the water: global lessons from the World Bank's model hydropower project in Laos (University of Wisconsin Press, 2018)

IN THE NEWS: "Book Review 'Dead in the Water: Global Lessons from the World Bank’s Model Hydropower Project in Laos' from Southeast Asian Studies"

By Keith Barney [Southeast Asian Studies, Vol. 8, No. 1, April 2019, pp. 153-157]

Tens of millions of dollars have been spent on environmental and social mitigation programs for the Nam Theun 2 (NT2) hydropower project in Laos, extending over the full footprint of the project zone from the Vietnam border down to the confluence of the two impacted rivers with the Mekong. What are scholars, development practitioners, and concerned citizens to make of this high-profile infrastructure project? Costing about US$1.45 billion in the end, it made such a significant investment in addressing its socio-environmental externalities, but as the authors of Dead in the Water argue, has still come up short.

. . .

Dead in the Water does not specifically set out to theorize a new framework for understanding the NT2 project or the implications of hydropower development in Laos. Its aims are more applied and grounded, and constitute a basic warning that “supporting high-risk projects—those with the potential for severe social and environmental impacts—in countries with significant governance issues is fundamentally inappropriate and likely to cause more harm than good” (p. 298). The approach is set by some well-crafted chapters by the lead editors: independent researcher/consultant Bruce Shoemaker, and conservation biologist William Robichaud, both whom have long-term experience in the country. While none of the other chapter contributors are Lao nationals, which is a shame but understandable, given the constraints with freedom of speech in the country; almost all of the other writers have spent decades working and researching about Lao resource management issues.

****

Read the full review here

Citation: Barney, Keith. Review of Dead in the Water: Global Lessons from the World Bank’s Model Hydropower Project in Laos edited by Bruce Shoemaker and William Robichaud. Southeast Asian Studies, Vol. 8, No. 1, April 2019, pp. 153-157

Carl Middleton of CSDS contributed the chapter “Branding Dams: Nam Theun 2 and its Role in Producing the Discourse of “Sustainable Hydropower”” to the book (see here)

Buy the Book: Dead in the water: global lessons from the World Bank's model hydropower project in Laos (University of Wisconsin Press, 2018)

UPCOMING EVENT: "Transdisciplinary Studies and Social Science: Co-Production of Knowledge Linking Academic and Non-academic Actors”

Friday-Saturday 12-13 July 2019, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand

Now we are calling for abstracts!

Abstract Submission and Panel Submission: Before 31 May 2019
Audience Online Registration: Before 30 June 2019

• To submit your abstract, click here.

• For the audience registration, click here.

For more information, please contact knots.chula@gmail.com

UPCOMING EVENT: "Demarcating public and private in land and environmental governance in the Mekong Region" [Kyoto, 19 April 2019]

Seminar by:

Emeritus Professor Philip Hirsch, School of Geosciences, University of Sydney and CSEAS Visiting Research Scholar

Dr. Carl Middleton, Center for Social Development Studies, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University

Moderator: Dr. Xiaobo Hua, CSEAS, Kyoto University

12:00 - 13:00, Friday 19th April 2019

Tonan-tei (Room no. 201), 2nd floor of Inamori Foundation Memorial building, Center for Southeast Asia Studies (CSEAS), Kyoto University

Abstract:

In this presentation we take a critical look at the context-determined demarcation between the public and private spheres in the realm of land, natural resources and environmental governance in the Mekong Region. We explore the generation of plural meanings of “public” and “private” through development projects and policies, and the implications that such meanings hold for: the actor configurations and power relations that shape how collective and individual interests are defined; how claims to ownership of resources are formulated and legitimized; the spaces within which projects can be debated, contested and governed; and ultimately how benefits, costs and risks are distributed across society. Hydropower dams and large scale land concessions set the context in which we examine these issues.

UPCOMING EVENT: "Short Film Screening and Panel Discussion on Double Discrimination: LGBTI Persons with Disabilities" [Bangkok, 6 April 2019]

Short Film Screening and Panel Discussion on Double Discrimination: LGBTI Persons with Disabilities

Saturday 6 April 2019, 18.00 - 20.00 at SEA Junction, Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, 939 Rama 1 Road, Wangmai, Pathumwan, Bangkok, Bangkok, Thailand

Organized by: Very Inclusive Party & SEA Junction

Marginalized groups continue to face discrimination in multiple areas of their lives. Various campaigns and organizations have sought to reduce the impact and tackle the problems faced directly by the community that they represent, with varying degrees of success. However, what happens if someone faces multiple marginalizations at the same time? Double discrimination is widespread, but there is little recognition for it in Southeast Asia. In this event on 6 April at 6PM, the double discrimination faced by the LGBTI people who are also people with disabilities will be discussed.

Organized by the Very Inclusive Party -- a group of 5 International Development Studies students at the Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University – with SEA Junction, the event consists of screening of a short documentary followed by a panel discussion on double discrimination. The short video reveals the common challenges that LGBTI and people with disabilities share. It documents two conversations between a transwoman with a blind person and a gay person with a deaf person. This short spontaneous film portrays the genuine emotion and unscripted stories of the two un-bridged communities in Thailand. This is so the challenges of each community become better known and understood. The video can be accessed by people with disabilities.

Reflecting on the theme of the screened film, speakers who represent both communities and those who bridge them will discuss on the “intersectional” discrimination faced by people with diverse sexual orientation, gender identity and expression and sex characteristics and disability. The lack of communication and collaboration between the two marginalized communities will also be discussed, as will what should be done and by who.

Speakers:

• Sawang Srisom, disability activist

• Thamawat Sutthipong, a blind LGBTI person

• Siri Ninlapruek, LGBTI activist

• Akekawat Pimsawan, core member of Togetherness for Equality and Action (TEA) Group

Moderator: Thanita Wongprasert, independent youth LGBTI activist

You can register for the event by filling this form. For more information about this event, please visit the event page on Facebook.

AWARENESS: World Water Day [22 March]

Today, we observe the World Water Day!

Convened by the UN-Water, it’s an observance day that highlights the importance of freshwater, and to advocate for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. The theme for 2019 is "Leaving no one behind" and encourages people to consider marginalized groups as these are often overlooked and discriminated against when they try to access safe water.

In CSDS, water is an integral topic that is discussed frequently under several of our working themes. Under Resource Politics, we highlights the issues of water governance and water security, with our project such as Water governance and access to water in Hakha Town, Chin State, Myanmar. Under Rethinking Regionalization, we highlights the issue of transboundary water governance through our project     Water governance and knowledge production on the Lancang-Mekong River. Meanwhile, under Human Rights, Human Security, and Justice, we questions the accountability of large hydropower construction on transboundary rivers through a rights-based approach with our project Transboundary Rivers: Arenas of Justice.

Most recently, we’ve also published a policy brief titled Reciprocal Transboundary Cooperation on the Lancang-Mekong River: Towards an Inclusive and Ecological Relationship which assessed emerging principles for transboundary water cooperation under the LMC, in particular the concept of reciprocity that expands upon the UN Water Courses Convention. It also assesses the role of the LMC vis-a-vis the Mekong River Commission in transboundary water governance.

Illustrations for the promotional materials of the 2019 World Water Day Campaign “Leaving no one behind.” Right to left: Water for all older people, Water for all refugees, Water for all rural people. Images: UN Water.

For more information about the World Water Day and additional downloadable resources, please visit the official United Nations website.

IN THE NEWS: 'Powering Up Sustainable Energy for Asia'

IN THE NEWS

By Sam Geall [Chatham House, 11 March 2019]

Asia’s cryosphere, the vast stores of frozen water in the high mountains that feed the rivers on which some 1.3 billion people depend, is warming far faster than average, an expert assessment warned recently, adding that two-thirds of Himalayan glaciers could disappear by the end of the century.

This and other warning signs make clear the need for a sustainable energy transition in Asia, not only given the urgency of mitigating climate change, but also because renewable energy technologies can help to provide cheap and reliable energy to areas where grid-based provision is unreliable or otherwise prohibited by geography or high costs.

A green transformation, if done right, can address poverty reduction goals and improve health and environmental quality. But achieving this requires rethinking many assumptions about the current system that generates and distributes electricity, and its interconnections with a genuinely sustainable society.

Read more at this link here.

This article was produced from the forum we co-organized with Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V. and Chatham House on “Powering up Sustainable Development for Asia: The Future of Global and Regional Investment in Asia’s Energy Sector”, which was held in Chulalongkorn University, 25 January 2019. For more information about this forum, please visit the link here.

UPCOMING EVENT: "Why Money and Disequilibrium Matter to Economics" [Bangkok, 14 March 2019]

Public Lecture by Professor Steve Keen

Honorary Professor, University College London Institute for Strategy, Resilience & Security (UCL ISRS) Distinguished Research Fellow, Crowdfunded Professor of Economics on Patreon

Thursday 14 March 2018, 10.00 - 12.00 at Alumni Meeting Room, 12th Floor, Kasem Utthayanin Building (อาคารเกษม อุทยานิน), Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand (guide to the venue here)

Economist (or as he prefers, anti-economist) Steve Keen joins us to unveil the role of money in economics and how the idea of equilibrium leads us astray. He will also explain what it means to have become the crowdfunded Professor of Economics, and why most of the things many people, within and outside academia, believe about the world of economics, finance and business are simply wrong.

Awarded the Revere Prize for most accurately forecasting the Global Financial Crisis, Professor Keen remains the leading global expert on the role of money, finance and debt in the modern world, from Australia’s property bubble, through to the list of countries he describes as the Walking Dead of Debt.

He is currently working on his 'magnum opus', writing articles and publishing podcasts, including breakthrough work on the role of energy use in economic development, while also trying to debunk financial myths in the comic book format of ‘e-CON-comics’.

Discussants:

• Emeritus Professor Dr. Suthiphand Chirathivat , Faculty of Economics, Chulalongkorn University

The event will start at 10 am, and the registration is open from 09.30 am.

For more information and to RSVP, please send an e-mail to communications.csds@gmail.com.

IN THE NEWS: Review of "The water-food-energy nexus. Power, politics and Justice"

By François Molle [Water Alternatives, 2019]

Although water-food-energy nexus thinking can hardly claim to be new wine, the growth of 'nexus literature' in the past ten years is remarkable. It has gained currency as a buzzword with the potential to convene water experts in global jamborees, to elicit books and special journal issues, and to challenge the long-established Integrated Water Resources Management concept as the new champion of integrative imperatives.

. . .

The book does a great job at showing how a water-energy-food nexus approach emphasises demand-led technological and market solutions, downplays supply-side limits, promotes a technical and supposedly apolitical treatment of trade-offs, and largely ignores the political dimensions that shape control over, and access to, resources. But even in its reductionist form of an optimising tool for cross-sectoral planning or business, the systemic complexity that the nexus seeks to address is baffling, and it is no wonder than in practice empirical work focuses on sub-nexuses using monetary metrics.

***

Carl Middleton of CSDS is the co-author of this book.

Read full article here
Buy the Book (coming soon)

AWARENESS: World Day of Social Justice [20 February]

Today, we observe the UN World Day of Social Justice!

It was observed following the Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 26 November 2007, in which the General Assembly recognized the following key points related to social justice:

1. Social development and social justice are indispensable for the achievement and maintenance of peace and security within and among nations and that, in turn, social development and social justice cannot be attained in the absence of peace and security or in the absence of respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms;

2. Broad-based and sustained economic growth in the context of sustainable development is necessary to sustain social development and social justice;

3. Globalization and interdependence are opening new opportunities through trade, investment and capital flows and advances in technology, including information technology, for the growth of the world economy and the development and improvement of living standards around the world, while at the same time there remain serious challenges, including serious financial crises, insecurity, poverty, exclusion and inequality within and among societies and considerable obstacles to further integration and full participation in the global economy for developing countries as well as some countries with economies in transition;

4. There is a need to consolidate further the efforts of the international community in poverty eradication and in promoting full employment and decent work, gender equality and access to social well-being and justice for all.

In CSDS, Human Rights, Human Security, and Justice is one of our working themes. Our most recent project in this theme is Flooding disaster, people’s displacement and state response in Hat Yai, where we examine through a human rights lens whether the 'Hat Yai model' offers new insights and strategies. Last year, on 29 November 2018, we also hosted a workshop to discuss about disaster and displacement in Asia Pacific. The discussion is part of a ten-country study on a range of types of disaster and displacement scenarios understood through a human rights perspective. The overall study examines how state actors fulfill their obligations to prevent displacement, conduct evacuation, protect people during displacement, and facilitate durable solutions in the aftermath. The insights from the workshop can be read in our report: Disaster and Displacement - A Human Rights Perspective.

Other recent publications that focus on social justice include:

• The Public Regime for Migrant Child Education in Thailand: Alternative Depictions of Policy, which analyzes the conceptualization and depiction of Thailand’s public policy on education for the children of migrant workers in the country.

• National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs), Extraterritorial Obligations (ETOs) and Hydropower in Southeast Asia, which examines the role of NHRIs and transnational civil society in pursing ETO cases in Southeast Asia as a means to investigate human rights threatened by cross-border investment projects

For more information about the World Day of Social Justice and additional downloadable resources, please visit the official United Nations website.

UPCOMING RESEARCH FORUM: "Powering up Sustainable Development for Asia: The Future of Global and Regional Investment in Asia’s Energy Sector" [Bangkok, 25 January 2019]

09.00 - 17.00, Friday, 25th January at Alumni Meeting Room, 12th Floor, Kasem Utthayanin Building (อาคารเกษม อุทยานิน), Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand

Co-organized by Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V., Chatham House, and Center for Social Development Studies, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University

Renewable energy technologies not only help to mitigate climate change by substituting for carbon-emitting fossil fuels, but also can expand energy security by avoiding exposure to the volatility of fossil fuel markets. Renewables can also help provide cheap and reliable energy to areas where grid-based provision is unreliable or otherwise prohibited by geography or high costs. The increased efficiency and renewable nature of such energy can improve energy availability, energy security and economic resilience.

Last year saw the second highest level of investment in global clean energy, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), at US$333.5 billion, despite falling technology costs. Globally, the solar sector in China dominated, with a total of $132.6 billion of investments – leading to over 50 GW of additional solar capacity. In regional terms Asia, largely China, continued to dominate the global landscape. According to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), Chinese sustainable energy investment oversees has doubled in the last three years and now stands at $44 billion. 

The importance of the accelerated deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency is also reflected in UN Sustainable Development Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy, and it is a central goal for many countries in Asia. It is also increasingly an important focus for, and aspects of, countries’ and institutions investments in Asia.

China has put emphasis on the green ‘Belt and Road’ and 'South-South environmental cooperation', for example. In Myanmar, a Chinese government partnership with a Beijing-based environmental NGO pledged to provide US$2.9 million worth of solar panels and clean cook stoves. Leading Japanese companies are also looking overseas for opportunities in the renewable energy sector, including in India. Aid programs from a range of countries, including the US, Japan and Korea are also seeking to support sustainable energy transition.

Civil society groups and communities are also calling for – and working directly towards – an energy transformation across the region, including promoting decentralized electricity generation, energy efficiency, demand side management, and more participatory power planning processes. Countries across Asia also have a great deal of their own experience to draw on in promoting renewable energy that serves the needs of the poor.

The workshop aims to:

• Assess the role of clean energy in Asia’s goal to develop sustainable energy that serves the needs of the poor;

• Consider the place of renewables in overseas aid and investments strategies in Asia, including in China’s Belt and Road Initiative;

• Address whether learning across different regional contexts on the implementation of cost-effective, reliable clean energy might bring benefits for clean energy development.

• Create a network of interested experts who can develop further research proposal(s) and collaboration on these topics.

 Key outcomes of the events will be:

• Sharing lessons on how clean energy enhances both energy security and climate change mitigation;

• Enhanced understanding of the importance of Asian, and in particular Chinese, sustainable energy investment in the global market;

• Examining how and where Asian countries can draw on both good and bad experiences of their own and other countries’ energy and development policy with regard to sustainable energy that serves the needs of the poor; and,

• Develop plans for the creation of a network with an understanding of the opportunities for common research and activities.

Program and List of Panelists:

08.30 - 09.00  Registration

09.00 - 09.15  Welcome remarks 

• Dr. Ake Tangsupvattana, Dean, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University

• Dr. Sam Geall, Chatham House

• Dr Peter Hefele, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung

09.15 - 10.45  Panel 1: Trends and Emerging Opportunities

Chair: Dr. Carl Middleton, CSDS, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University

• “Energy Transition Pathways for the 2030 Agenda in Asia and the Pacific” by Hongpeng Liu, Energy Division, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

• “Energy Trading in Thailand” by David Martin, Power Ledger, Australia/Thailand

• “A Power Sector Vision for the Greater Mekong Region“ by Shannon Siyao Wang, World Wildlife Fund

• “Energy transformation and the role of civil society in Thailand” by Suphakit Nuntavorakarn, Healthy Public Policy Foundation, Thailand

10.45 - 11.15 Tea Break

11.15 - 12.45  Session 2: Aid and investment agendas supporting an energy transition

Chair: Dr. Champa Patel, Asia-Pacific Programme, Chatham House, London

• “How EU development cooperation can support the energy transition” by Jerome Pons, Delegation of the European Union to Thailand

• “Role of business and private actors in the process of low-carbon transformation in China” by Dr. Wei Shen, Institute of Development Studies, Brighton, United Kingdom

• ‘'Climate finance and the sustainable energy transition in Asia” by Yossef Zahar, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)/IGES

12.45 - 13.45 Lunch

13.45 - 15.15 Session 3: Enhancing Energy Sector Investments in Asia: Assessment and Inclusive Decision Making

Chair: Ellen Kelly, Department for International Development (DFID), UK

• “Transforming Southeast Asia’s electricity sector through Impact Assessment” by Dr. Decharut Sukkumnoed, Faculty of Economics, Kasetsart University

• “Towards Strengthening Environmental and Social Safeguards in Southeast Asia” by Matthew Baird, Asian Research Institute for Environmental Law and Visiting Scholar, Vermont Law School

• “Environmental Assessment in Energy Projects in Myanmar: Civil societies experience and recommendations” by Pyi Pyi Thant, Heinrich Böll Stiftung

15.15 - 15.45 Tea Break

15.45 - 17.15 The Way Ahead: Realizing opportunities for sustainable electricity transformation

Chair: Dr. Jakkrit Sangkhamanee, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University

• “Hydropower vs other renewables in the Greater Mekong region: Ensuring the resilience of Asian Deltas” by Marc Goichot, World Wildlife Foundation

• “Green Jobs and Energy Transition in Southeast Asia” by Chariya Senpong, Climate and Energy Campaigner for Greenpeace Southeast Asia

• “Lessons learned from China’s solar boom, and implications for Asia” by Dr. Sam Geall, Chatham House

• “Off-grid solutions in rural Myanmar: Innovation in technology and approach” by Nathalie Risteau, Yoma Mandalay

17.15 - 17.30 Wrap-up and Closing Remarks

• Dr. Champa Patel, Asia-Pacific Programme, Chatham House, London

• Dr. Carl Middleton, CSDS, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University

To register for this forum, please e-mail us your name, organisation, and position to  Anisa Widyasari (CSDS) at communications.csds@gmail.com. The seat is limited and registration will be accepted on first come first served basis. 

UPCOMING PANEL DISCUSSION: "Meeting the Challenge of Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Transformation in Asia" [Bangkok, 24 January 2019]

19.00 - 21.00, Thursday, 24th January at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand (FCCT), Penthouse, Maneeya Center, 518/5 Ploenchit Road, Patumwan, Bangkok, Thailand

Co-organized by Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V., Chatham House, and Center for Social Development Studies, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University

Scientific warnings on climate change are more urgent than ever, but global talks lack ambition. Meanwhile, renewable energy industries are booming, and China claims it is building a green "Belt and Road". Is it enough? Can Asia power up a sustainable transition?

Panel Discussion

• “Geopolitics of energy in Europe and Asia” by Dr. Peter Hefele, Director, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung RECAP, Hongkong/PR China

• “Global climate politics and China” by Dr. Sam Geall, Chatham House and chinadialogue, London/UK

• “China’s renewable energy transformation and its global effects” by Dr. Wei Shen, Institute of Development Studies, Brighton/UK

• “Thailand’s electricity future: Prospects, Opportunities and Challenges” by Suphakit Nunavorakarn, Healthy Public Policy Foundation, Thailand

Chair: Dr. Champa Patel, Head of the Asia-Pacific Programme, Chatham House, London, United Kingdom

For inquiries about this event, please contact us at communications.csds@gmail.com

UPCOMING INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE:"Sophia Symposium - Global Water Security and the SDGs: Japan’s Role at Home and Abroad" [Tokyo, 9 January 2019]

Sophia Symposium Global Water Security and the SDGs: Japan’s Role at Home and Abroad

Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan, January 9, 2019

Carl Middleton from CSDS and Wipawadee Panyangnoi, recipient of Center of Excellence in Resource Politics for Social Development: Student Research Grants 2018, will be presenting on this event. These presentations build on our collaboration with Dr. Takeshi Ito of Sophia University on Connecting Thailand’s and Japan’s water security.

First Panel: Water security in the context of East Asian Regional Economic integration (11:10am-12:40pm)

• Future Directions on Global Water Security and the Role of Virtual Water Trade, Jaap Feil (Water Footprint Network)

• Are River Basin Closures in Japan and Thailand Teleconnected: A Relational Political Economy of International Aid, Investment and (Virtual Water) Trade, Takeshi Ito (Sophia University) and Carl Middleton (Chulalongkorn University)

Third Panel: Regional Dynamics of Virtual Water Trade in Asia: A political economic turn in water security? (3:45-5:15pm)

• Cross-boundary Practices on Water Governance in Asia: How Can We Secure ‘Our Water' in and Beyond Boundaries?, Kenji Otsuka (JETRO-IDE)

• Industrialization and Water Quality in Rayong Province, Thailand: Are International, National and Local Water Management Strategies Complimentary or Contesting, Wipawadee Panyangnoi (Chulalongkorn University)

See the full final program here.

For more information about this event, please contact Takeshi Ito at takeshi.ito@sophia.ac.jp

UPCOMING INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE SESSION: "Cooperation on the Lancang-Mekong: civil society perspectives on transboundary water governance and investment [Yangon, 6 December 2018]"

Session organized for 2018 Greater Mekong Forum on Water, Food, and Energy

13:30 - 15:30, 6 December 2018, Session Room 2 (Session 35), Myanmar Inya Lake Hotel, Yangon

The institutional landscape for transboundary water governance and investment in the Lancang-Mekong basin is changing. A key factor is the growing role of the Lancang Mekong Cooperation framework (LMC) and its links to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and broader engagement in the region. The emergence of new institutions such as the LMC brings opportunities for strengthened cooperation. This includes, for example, cooperation between upper and lower Mekong basin countries and stakeholders on transboundary water governance and standards for cross-border investments under the LMC and BRI. However, to date, limited information is available to understand how new platforms for cooperation will build on existing institutions in the lower Mekong basin, such as the Mekong River Commission, or how they will engage with community and civil society stakeholders.

This session will explore civil society and community perspectives on transboundary water governance and investment in the Lancang-Mekong River basin. The aim is to share experiences from a history of engagement with existing institutions in the lower Mekong, as well as with investors and developers, in order to draw lessons for emerging institutions and prompt dialogue on ways forward for public participation.

The session will be structured to include a civil society and community panel comprised of representatives from lower Mekong countries, together with commentary from an academic and international NGO perspective.

Session speakers:

• Mr Niwat Roykaew, Rak Chiang Khong Group (Thailand)

• Ms Ormbun Thipsuna, Network of Thai People in Eight Mekong Provinces (Thailand)

• Mr Leang Bunleap, 3S Rivers Protection Network (Cambodia)

• Ms Van Nguyen Thi Hong, Vietnam Rivers Network

• Dr Carl Middleton, CSDS, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University

• Ms Maureen Harris, International Rivers 

Conference details are available here.

This session is organized by International Rivers and Save the Mekong coalition. 

UPCOMING PUBLIC SEMINAR: "Resource Politics and the Public Sphere In Southeast Asia: Deliberation, Accountability and Alternatives" [Bangkok, 13 December 2018]

09.00 - 17.00, Thursday, 13th December at Alumni Meeting Room, 12th Floor, Kasem Utthayanin Building (อาคารเกษม อุทยานิน), Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand

Co-organized by the Center for Social Development Studies (CSDS), Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University, the Foundation for Community Educational Media (FCEM), and Heinrich Boell Stiftung (HBS) Southeast Asia Office

In Southeast Asia, access to resources, ranging from land and water, to clean air and energy, are central to livelihoods and wellbeing. The distribution of access to resources reflect state policies and societal values, as well as the inclusiveness and accountability of decision-making processes that link them together and result in their translation into practice. The public sphere is the arena where state policies and societal values interact and are debated, including on potentially contested issues such as access to resources. It includes public venues, and via the mass media and social media.

Civil, political and media freedoms are necessary for a vibrant public sphere, but they are increasingly challenged in Southeast Asia, and in practice accountability occurs only in part. Opportunities to utilize the public sphere for accountability and exploring alternatives vary across Southeast Asia due to diverse political and legal systems. It is important to reflect on the implications of these trends, and explore established and new opportunities to maintain an active public sphere for deliberating public policies and societal values, ensuring accountable decision-making and debating alternative development visions.

This public forum invites civil society, academics, journalists, lawyers, state officials and others to discuss the trends, opportunities and challenges of the public sphere for ensuring fair resource politics in Southeast Asia. Panelists will provide a range of case studies and analysis from across Southeast Asia in relation to resource politics and the public sphere, including: the role of civil society, government and corporations; an evaluation of the opportunities and challenges in local, national and transnational laws and policies; and the role of mass media and social media.

For the presentations and live video feed from this public forum, please click here.

For our blog about this event, please click here.