M-POWER Strategic Guide 2011, Mekong Program on Water, Environment and Resilience

M-POWER network (2011)

Introduction

The Mekong Program on Water, Environment and Resilience (M-POWER) is a network of individuals and organizations working to democratize water governance in the Mekong Region. The network undertakes action-based research, facilitated dialogues and knowledge networking to improve water governance in the Mekong Region in ways that support sustainable livelihoods and healthy communities and ecosystems.

The M-POWER Guide describes our agenda for action-research, dialogue facilitation and knowledge brokering. It builds on our past successes and incorporates learnings and feedback from the implementation of our activities since 2004.

M-POWER began in 2004 as a knowledge network with members from the six countries of the Mekong Region that encompass the territory, ecosystems, people, economies and politics of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Burma/Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and China’s Yunnan Province. There was no core funding; that came much later. The network is undertaking action-based research, facilitated dialogues and knowledge networking to improve water governance in the Mekong Region in ways that support sustainable livelihoods and healthy communities and ecosystems.

Our vision is for the Mekong Region to realize an internationally accepted standard of democracy in water governance. Our mission is to support sustainable livelihoods and healthier communities and ecosystems in the Mekong Region through conducting action-research, facilitating dialogues and nurturing transboundary knowledge networks that encourage diverse collaborative relationships and improve policy and practice settings.

Specific objectives

Dialogue: To establish and embed public processes that consider the rights, risks and responsibilities of different groups and perspectives as normal practice when exploring and deciding upon important national and transnational water- related development and management options;
Institutions: To better understand, influence and strengthen institutional arrangements to support more sustainable and fairer water resource outcomes;
Knowledge & Capacity: To robustly link formal and informal knowledge systems to each other and to policy processes, underpinned by diverse, dynamic and enduring communities of practice both within and outside the region;
Social Justice: To redress and transform gender, class, ethnic and other inequities through increasing awareness and application of social justice norms in the network’s research and activities; and
Human Security: To consider the full complex of natural and human-induced factors that affects catchment water cycles when seeking solutions to water resources problems.

We organize our action-research program around these above five themes, which we explore in depth through conducting our own projects and comparative and regional case studies, as well as drawing upon the body of existing research findings.

Activities

The program activities of the M-POWER network contribute to both individual and multiple theme areas. For instance, Democratizing Water Governance 2010-2012 is a key overall objective of the network. M-POWER is focusing on ways in which benefits from dams can be improved across the Mekong Basin through institutional and managerial innovation. Another key activity, Deliberative Dialogues 2004+, aims to realize more open, inclusive and transparent decisions about development of plans on energy, food and water by establishing and nurturing multi-stakeholder platforms (MSP). M-POWER also provides a challenging opportunity to join multi-country and multi-disciplinary teams of researchers to gain a deeper understanding of Mekong water governance through its Research Fellowships.

Learn more about M-POWER by downloading the “Strategic Guide 2011” now available in English plus six Mekong regional languages. We will continue to revise the Guide in response to emerging regional priorities and the interests of our network members, and as we learn about better ways of studying and engaging with water governance challenges.

Download the Strategic Guide 2011

	Home About Us Themes Major Projects Situation Snapshots Knowledge Bank Get Involved Contact Us Overview Key Reports Our Books Mekong Research Mekong Library Photo Gallery Video Gallery Web Links M-POWER Strategic Guide 2011, Mekong Program on Water, Environment and Resilience M-POWER network (2011) Introduction The Mekong Program on Water, Environment and Resilience (M-POWER) is a network of individuals and organizations working to democratize water governance in the Mekong Region. The network undertakes action-based research, facilitated dialogues and knowledge networking to improve water governance in the Mekong Region in ways that support sustainable livelihoods and healthy communities and ecosystems. The M-POWER Guide describes our agenda for action-research, dialogue facilitation and knowledge brokering. It builds on our past successes and incorporates learnings and feedback from the implementation of our activities since 2004. M-POWER began in 2004 as a knowledge network with members from the six countries of the Mekong Region that encompass the territory, ecosystems, people, economies and politics of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Burma/Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and China’s Yunnan Province. There was no core funding; that came much later. The network is undertaking action-based research, facilitated dialogues and knowledge networking to improve water governance in the Mekong Region in ways that support sustainable livelihoods and healthy communities and ecosystems. Our vision is for the Mekong Region to realize an internationally accepted standard of democracy in water governance. Our mission is to support sustainable livelihoods and healthier communities and ecosystems in the Mekong Region through conducting action-research, facilitating dialogues and nurturing transboundary knowledge networks that encourage diverse collaborative relationships and improve policy and practice settings. Specific objectives Dialogue: To establish and embed public processes that consider the rights, risks and responsibilities of different groups and perspectives as normal practice when exploring and deciding upon important national and transnational water- related development and management options; Institutions: To better understand, influence and strengthen institutional arrangements to support more sustainable and fairer water resource outcomes; Knowledge & Capacity: To robustly link formal and informal knowledge systems to each other and to policy processes, underpinned by diverse, dynamic and enduring communities of practice both within and outside the region; Social Justice: To redress and transform gender, class, ethnic and other inequities through increasing awareness and application of social justice norms in the network’s research and activities; and Human Security: To consider the full complex of natural and human-induced factors that affects catchment water cycles when seeking solutions to water resources problems. We organize our action-research program around these above five themes, which we explore in depth through conducting our own projects and comparative and regional case studies, as well as drawing upon the body of existing research findings. Activities The program activities of the M-POWER network contribute to both individual and multiple theme areas. For instance, Democratizing Water Governance 2010-2012 is a key overall objective of the network. M-POWER is focusing on ways in which benefits from dams can be improved across the Mekong Basin through institutional and managerial innovation. Another key activity, Deliberative Dialogues 2004+, aims to realize more open, inclusive and transparent decisions about development of plans on energy, food and water by establishing and nurturing multi-stakeholder platforms (MSP). M-POWER also provides a challenging opportunity to join multi-country and multi-disciplinary teams of researchers to gain a deeper understanding of Mekong water governance through its Research Fellowships. Learn more about M-POWER by downloading the “Strategic Guide 2011” now available in English plus six Mekong regional languages. We will continue to revise the Guide in response to emerging regional priorities and the interests of our network members, and as we learn about better ways of studying and engaging with water governance challenges. Download the Strategic Guide 2011 Khmer English Chinese Burmese Vietnamese Thai Lao Back