382 I PART 3 I THE MEKONG EMERGENCY
[ Figure 8.2 ] Hydropower dam project on the Mekong
Source: MRC, 2020.
3. Business as usual or transformation: Water diplomacy in the Mekong region “Water is life” (used by Le et al., 2007 for the Mekong region) is one notion to show the importance of the resource to the people of the Mekong. In terms of human rights, everyone has a right to water access; it is also the foundation to link transboundary resources to the concept of commons. While there is still debate on how to integrate the idea of com-
mons into transboundary resources, from the governance viewpoint, transboundary environmental commons need networks of actors whose collective actions and values contribute to the everyday task of sustaining common pool resources, without which transboundary commons could not exist [ Miller et al., 2020 ]. It calls for the need for a holistic and collaborative water diplomatic approach for a sustainable Mekong region. This argument is not controversial. What is contested is the form it should take. Whatever it may be, there is a need to first strengthen governance and management at the national level, complemented by institutions, strategies, procedures
