We Have Eaten the Rivers: The Past, Present, and Unsustainable Future of Hydroelectricity in Vietnam

Abstract

Vietnam has one of the most intensively energy-exploited riverscapes in Asia with at least 720 hydropower facilities of various capacities currently in operation or in some stage of construction. These facilities represent about 26 GW of installed capacity. This degree of domestic exploitation is often overshadowed by the geopolitically contested manipulation of the waters of the international Mekong River. In contrast, the utilization of Vietnam’s hydropower resources has unfolded gradually and largely unremarked for more than half a century. This perspective argues that the harnessing of rivers and streams for electricity generation is the result of not only the country’s abundant hydrologic resources, but also its history, culture, and (geo)politics. The paper traces the processes that have produced this high level of river exploitation, its ambiguous history, and the uncertain future of hydropower in Vietnam in the context of sustainability. Further, the renewed interest in dam-building in recent years is part of a “theater of decarbonization” that masks the operation of powerful domestic and international lobbies with an interest in “heavy engineering” projects that will do little to meet the nation’s rapidly growing electricity needs but will likely incur detrimental ecological and sociological impacts. The paper ends by positing that rather than forging ahead with the construction of additional small hydropower facilities, a more ecologically and socially equitable policy could instead critically examine the sustainability of existing capabilities, resolve the factors limiting the development of other renewable sources of energy, and face the fundamental challenge of curbing energy use.