About the region
Southeast Asia is characterized by a diverse range of hydrological, land and socio-economic attributes that are in part a reflection of the degree of development that economies have undergone under contrasting political environments. In all cases the nations of the region have recognized the significant challenges and critical role that land and water management will continue to play in economic and social development in Southeast Asia.
The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) comprising Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and Yunnan province of China that forms the focus of IWMI’s research in the region, is undergoing rapid social, economic and environmental change. The population has doubled in the last 40 years to a current estimated level of 260 million and is expected to rise to 320 million by 2050. Economically, the region has been growing rapidly until the recent global financial crisis: GDP per capita has grown between 5% and 10% per annum over the last 10 years due to increasing investment in the industrial sector and infrastructure. Despite this high growth rate, many people in the region still live under the national poverty lines, and the 2008 Global Hunger Index indicated serious-to-alarming levels of hunger in all countries in the region except Thailand and Yunnan.
Food security is obviously a pressing concern, and rapid expansion of agriculture to feed rising populations has placed natural systems under increasing pressure. Land degradation is widespread, with high rates of deforestation, loss of habitat, soil erosion and decline of soil fertility. Water resources in the region, though abundant, are under pressure in some areas from withdrawals for irrigation, changes in flow regime due to hydropower development and declining water quality in peri-urban and intensively farmed areas. Climate change adds a further dimension to the already complex interactions between natural resources, food production systems and development requirements.