In recent decades, the people living along the Mekong River have experienced many issues ranging from natural disasters such as flood and drought to man-made disasters such as the effect of hydro-dams and climate change. As such, to mitigate the consequences of those issues, states must find a common way to build a developed and sustainable society based on mutual interests. Cooperation is a necessity in this regard because these issues could not addressed by any actor alone. As stated above, the Mekong River spans across geo-political boundaries of states. Thus, a problem stemming out from the Mekong River is not an issue of one particular state, but an issue of the whole community sharing the river.

This publication brings together authors who share common interest in environmental issues and socio-economic development to explore and develop thoughts, ideas, and knowledge about current and relevant topics related to the Mekong River and the communities whose livelihoods are based on the river. The topics range from analysing potential risks that are currently presented such as the construction of hydro-dams and climate change to discussing sustainable development frameworks for communities in Mekong riparian countries such as Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.

We would like to express our sincere thanks to our partner, AVI, for cooperating in this project. We hope this publication will get your interest and encourage you to be more engaged in the discussed topics. After finishing your reading, we hope that you will apply the findings and analysis of the authors to your implementation of any associated projects in order to bring ideas into reality.

Enjoy your read, keep on exploring, and share new ideas and concepts!