Abstract

Rivers throughout Southeast Asia – historically until the present day – are intimately tied to the region’s ecosystems, societies, economies, cultures and belief systems (Rigg, 1992). Rapid economic and societal change is transforming the relationship between rivers and people, and there are divergent viewpoints on rivers and their role in development. The region’s rivers are simultaneously seen as engines of economic growth, in particular for large-scale hydropower dams and irrigated agriculture; as natural resource foundations of rural subsistence livelihoods; as important domains for environmental conservation due to their natural and scientific worth and integral role in ecosystem functioning; as cultural cornerstones of cuisine, festivals and mythology; and as sacred places (Sneddon and Fox, 2006).