The
unanticipated impacts of the proposed dams on protein
supply,
and water and land resources raise the question of whether
there
are better ways of optimising energy and food supplies while
sustaining
food security and the environment. In light of the
externalities
identified here, alternative energy supply options
should
be assessed for the lower Mekong region (TNFC and PI,
2009;
ICEM, 2010a). Locating new dams at less environmentally
and
socially damaging locations off the main stem of the Mekong
using
processes such as those assessed by King et al. (2007), should
also
be considered.