The role of civil society in the Lower Mekong Region in environmental decision-making: Water management and forestry issues

The Lower Mekong Region has faced unprecedented environmental challenges in the last five years: severe drought and deforestation have had widespread implications for the livelihood of the local communities. Scholars have noted an increasing level of regional civil society engagement with governments regarding environmental issues. However, this trend may be misleading, because it varies depending on the matter in question. Using the citizen participation ladder model and related theoretical discourse, this article compares the scope of public participation in regional decision-making in water management and forestry. By analyzing policy documents and semi-structured interviews, it concludes that unlike public involvement in water management, which is limited to the lower rungs of the participation ladder, there is more meaningful public engagement in policy-making on forestry-related issues. This type of analysis enables the identification and potentially redressal of lacunae in public participation in the Lower Mekong Region.