A better approach — one that recognizes both the legitimate energy needs of the lower Mekong countries and the environmental and social costs of Big Hydro — would be to create an investment fund to finance the large-scale development of alternative forms of energy.
This sustainable-energy fund could be partly modeled after the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Like the Global Fund, it would pool resources among governments, foundations and the private sector. But unlike the Global Fund, which gives grants to various types of actors, this fund would finance only public-private joint ventures. The government partners would grant the necessary concessions and regulatory authorizations; the private partners would handle the implementation of the energy projects, including the construction of infrastructure.