The societies of mainland Southeast Asia—Vietnam, Laos,Cambodia, Thailand, and Yunnan province of China share a unique upland ecoregion that is under intense pressure from demographic changes, lowland-driven development priorities,and regional infrastructure schemes. Policies to preserve the rich biodiversity of the uplands, protect remaining forests, and reforest denuded hills have largely failed, depriving the entire region of water and carbon regulation and other services provided by intact ecosystems. Together, these factors havefurther impoverished upland populations.In part, conservation efforts have been insufficient to counter-act the pressures of economic development. But environmental protection policies and rural development policies have also failed to engage the trust and compliance of local people, who have often perceived these top-down directives as against their interests. Recent trends in the political economy of the region include moves toward more decentralized forms of decision-making and management over natural resources. Could these policy shifts promise environmental governance that is more responsive to the needs and concerns of local people?