The Mekong River is a vital and valuable resource, with huge development potential for the six states through which it flows. Given the significant asymmetry of power between those states, however, there is a real risk that some might utilise it to the detriment of others. Without a sense of regional belonging, it is difficult to imagine that these states and their constituent communities will take regional imperatives to heart, participate in joint regulatory frameworks, or adopt behaviours for upstream-downstream and lateral cooperation over the appropriation and use of their shared resources. How effectively has closer interdependence of the Mekong countries accommodated the development of a political-social-cultural space conducive to the growth of a regional "we-ness" among not only political elites, but also the general public? The contributors to this volume approach this question from a range of directions, including the impacts of tourism, regional development programmes, the Mekong Power Grid, and Sino-US rivalry. This edited volume presents valuable insights for scholars of international relations, Asian studies, development studies, environment studies, policy studies, and human geography.

The large market size and abundant resources of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), including a large, motivated and cheap workforce, a rich agricultural base, extensive timber and fisheries resources, considerable potential mineral resources, and vast energy resources have seen the subregion increasingly recognized as a new frontier of Southeast Asian economic strength. This book aims to assess the recent economic, social and political developments in the GMS and identify emerging opportunities and challenges facing the successful transition towards a market-driven economy. The countries of the GMS are at a critical juncture where subregional efforts and cooperation must be made to fully address the rapidly evolving issues that are vital to appropriate policy formation, yet which remain widely debatable. The deliberations here shed light on the development stages and offer policy recommendations for pushing forward subregional cooperation.

The Journal of GMS Development Studies is a multidisciplinary peer-reviewed publication that seeks to promote a better understanding of a broad range of development issues of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). This journal is published by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) under the framework of the Phnom Penh Plan for Development Management (PPP), a region-wide capacity building program that supports knowledge products and services. It is directed at GMS planners, policy makers, academics, and researchers who, in their unique capacities, continue to search for solutions to the many complex challenges of the subregion. By disseminating knowledge about the GMS, the Journal hopes to stimulate further thinking and debate on GMS issues, thus contributing to informed policy choices, responsive advocacy, and meticulous scholarship.

The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) countries share common challenges and issues that prevent women from fully benefiting from economic opportunities. Many of these challenges have been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The GMS Gender Strategy outlines a regional approach for advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment in the subregion. It identifies strategic directions and key entry points to mainstream gender across all operational areas of the GMS Economic Cooperation Program. The strategy adds value to the GMS Program Strategic Framework 2030 and is also designed to complement national initiatives of the six GMS countries to bolster gender equality.

Since the 1990s, regional organizations of the United Nations and international financial institutions have adopted a new dynamic of transnational integration, within the framework of the regionalization process of globalization. In place of the growth triangles of the 1970s, a strategy based on transnational economic corridors has changed the scale of regionalization.

The impacts of climate change on agriculture and food production in Southeast Asia will be largely mediated through water, but climate is only one driver of change. Water resources in the region will be shaped by a complex mixture of social, economic and environmental factors. This report reviews the current status and trends in water management in the Greater Mekong Subregion; assesses likely impacts of climate change on water resources to 2050; examines water management strategies in the context of climate and other changes; and identifies priority actions for governments and communities to improve resilience of the water sector and safeguard food production.

Drawing from the detailed case studies of India and five ASEAN countries, this volume establishes the complementary role of innovation system and trade regime in promoting production and use of ICT and draws lessons for other developing countries that adopted a liberal trade regime to catch up with the ICT revolution.

This anthology presents issues, challenges and progress in Rwanda, Mauritius, Ethiopia, South Africa, and Uganda towards Africa's acknowledgement through Agenda 2063 of the need for inclusive and sustainable development, and its commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (Agenda 2030) of the United Nations. Dictated by overall ever unfolding realities, including economic, social, political, technological issues, the growth and development dictums have been reshaped and reframed continually, in an effort to accommodate and respond to emerging issues. Human development and inclusive growth and development, within the overall theme of sustainable development, are, for example, among the recent focuses of the global and national development agenda. The background is that as individuals, communities, and societies get richer, the worrying levels of inequalities, exclusion and disparities are becoming an area of concern, drawing the attention of governments, planners, civil societies, researchers and academia. A predominant current issue has been an appreciation of high economic growth in the last 10 years, which is nonetheless marred by pervasive levels of poverty and inequality. The issues covered include: trade; rural-urban linkages; the dynamics of poverty, vulnerability, and welfare; social policies for inclusive and sustainable development; productivity and informality; and financial direct support systems to the poor. The chapters are based on first-hand data, secondary data from different databases and systematic reviews of academic literature. Drawing on the findings and conclusions of the individual chapters, the book distills together the key lessons and also puts forward recommendations for policy and practice. It is a resource for researchers, policy and decision makers, academia and graduate students.

The second edition of the Greater Mekong Subregion Atlas of the Environment again champions the environment of this unique part of Asia, an area straddled by rivers great and small, with bountiful watersheds, wetlands, and forests. The Atlas celebrates the peoples of the subregion, and presents the environmental and development challenges they face and their responses. It reminds us that the subregion's peoples and communities are key to maintaining its environment. The Atlas captures in one volume maps, remote-sensing images, and essential information on one of the most culturally, ethnically, and biologically diverse regions in the world. The subregion is made up of Cambodia; Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Yunnan Province of the People's Republic of China; the Lao People's Democratic Republic; Myanmar; Thailand; and Viet Nam.