ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of certain elements of the Mekong Agreement and the Mekong River Commission (MRC), as well as an analysis on the extent to which four key New Delhi Declaration sustainability principles are reflected in the Mekong Agreement. The analysis draws on hydropower dam development in the region, due its potential benefits and impacts on the environment and peoples of the Mekong Basin and the disputes it has generated. In the Northern reaches of the Mekong in China and Myanmar, the Mekong is known as the Lancang, and passes through the Hengduan Mountain ranges and gorges. The Agreement on the Cooperation for the Sustainable Development of the Mekong River Basin aims to address the common water management and economic development interests of Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR), Thailand and Vietnam. The MRC is mandated "to cooperate in all fields of sustainable development, utilisation, management and conservation of water and related resources of the Mekong River Basin".
