Do the benefits of dam building along the Mekong River outweigh the costs to the Lower Mekong Region? (English Edition)

This project looks into the development of hydropower along the Mekong river in South East Asia. The area is undergoing huge economic and political change, there are currently over 60 planned dams for the main stream Mekong. I’ve been looking into what the impact of building these dams would be: the effect on food resources, political relationships and economic benefits. The project looks at how the dam will affect the Lower Mekong region (Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia). The river is vital to the lives of millions of people in the area, it’s their main or only source of protein. I’ve looked at how they will replace the protein lost to the fall in number of fish and how this will affect the economies of the countries. The dams will provide huge amounts of electricity and wealth to the region if looked after properly, but one of the topics I’ve researched is how corrupt the region is, which then raises the question whether the maximum possible benefits will be received by everyone, not just those in power.