414 



quences of creating a great lake behind the Pa Mong dam, the threat 

 of costly interruption of work on a very large project, political and 

 international considerations of equity, and alternative uses of water. 

 The report identified three essential preconditions for main stem 

 projects : 



(1) That substantial results — physical, managerial, and social — have been 

 reached in the tributary projects ; 



(2) That markets are clearly opening up in a sustained way for absorbing the 

 increased output that would come from the development of mainstem projects ; 

 and 



(3) That associated power production is carefully channeled so as to minimize 

 the chance of its accentuating social and economic inequities both between rural 

 and urban areas and within urban areas. 72 



Undoubtedly, the engineering achievement represented by the Pa 

 Mong dam would have many beneficial effects — for the morale of the 

 Coordination Committee and all associated sponsors, for the Riparian 

 States — especially Laos and Thailand, for the United Nations, and for 

 the United States. Even though exploitation of the benefits in irriga- 

 tion and power might have to be spread over many future years, the 

 dam would be a magnificent billion-dollar symbol of global interest in 

 the Mekong Region. On the other hand, as the RFF report concludes : 



. . . International organizations no less than donor countries must beware lest 

 their desire to see economic development proceed along certain lines lead them 

 into assuming a primary responsibility which really is not theirs. At times it may 

 even be better to see development falter than to see primary responsibility pass 

 out of the hands of the riparian countries. By the same token any line of action 

 that spells increased understanding and participation of people in the region, of 

 local groups and organizations, and of governmental units should receive high 

 priority in assistance. For only to the degree that the people in the Basin make 

 the plans for development theirs will they succeed in bringing development 

 worthy of the name. 



Status of the Mekong Project, Beginning of 1972 



As the Mekong Project has unfolded, the scope and complexity of 

 its totality becomes progressively more difficult to characterize. The 

 spread of the Vietnamese War has impacted at many points. National 

 planning — particularly with respect to the part of the Delta lying in 

 South Vietnam — has interacted with river basin planning. Circum- 

 stances in Cambodia (Khmer Republic) have been altered by the 

 change in that country's government. Uncertainties surrounding U.S. 

 foreign aid policy are an important complication. The apparent suc- 

 cess of initial moves toward detente between the People's Republic of 

 China and the United States invite speculation as to whether Main- 

 land China may in time agree to a comprehensive scheme to combine 

 planning and development of the Upper Mekong Basin with the 

 Lower. Question is also raised as to the possible interest of the Soviet 

 Union in contributing its support to the Project; the USSR has not 

 yet contributed to the activity but does not appear to disfavor it. 



According to the draft report of the Coordination Committee for 

 1971, allocation of expenditures for the Mekong Project has con- 



™Ibid., pp. 106-107. 



