Oliver Hensengerth

Bio: Oliver Hensengerth is an academic researcher from Northumbria University. The author has contributed to research in topics: China & Environmental impact assessment. The author has an hindex of 13, co-authored 30 publications receiving 521 citations.

Chinese hydropower companies and environmental norms in countries of the global South: the involvement of Sinohydro in Ghana’s Bui Dam

Abstract: The paper examines the role of environmental norms in Chinese overseas investment in hydropower dams, exemplified by Sinohydro’s involvement in the Bui Dam in Ghana While the investment of Western companies in hydropower dams in the global South is decreasing owing to changing notions of sustainability in the West, the investment of Chinese companies in hydro dams in Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America is accelerating at great speed The emergence of Chinese companies in international markets in the context of China’s Going Abroad strategy has sparked a debate on whether China can be considered a norm-changer in international development The paper considers this question in the context of the status of environmental norms in Sinohydro’s investment in Ghana’s Bui Dam The paper argues that the role of international norms in Chinese investment is dependent on two factors: the contractual arrangements under which Chinese companies operate abroad and the political institutions of host countries

Where is the power? Transnational networks, authority and the dispute over the Xayaburi Dam on the Lower Mekong Mainstream

Abstract: Accounts of hydro-hegemony and counter hydro-hegemony provide state-based conceptions of power in international river basins. However, authority should be seen as transnationalized as small states develop coping strategies to augment their authority over decision-making processes. The article engages Rosenau’s spheres of authority concept to argue that hydro-hegemony is exercised by actors embedded in spheres of authority that reshape actor configurations as they emerge. These spheres consist of complex networks challenging customary notions of the local-global dichotomy and hydro-hegemony. Hydro-hegemony is therefore not fixed. The article examines these processes by analysing the dispute over the Xayaburi Dam in the Mekong Basin.

Sub-regional cooperation in Southeast Asia: the Mekong Basin

Abstract: The paper analyses the security dimension of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) by taking into account traditional as well as non-traditional security issues The Greater Mekong Subregion, which was established in 1992 at the initiative of the ADB, emerged after the Cold War in the wake of the so-called new regionalism as one of the growth triangles within ASEAN Participating countries/regions are China's Yunnan province, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos The article places the discussion of the Greater Mekong Subregion within the debate on post-Cold War sub-regionalism and sets out to discuss the development of regionalism in the Mekong Basin The article shows how economic cooperation is followed in the pursuit of security and stability in a formerly conflict-ridden area and assesses the relevance of the GMS towards the issue of conflict reduction in the Mekong Basin

Interaction of Chinese institutions with host governments in dam construction: The Bui Dam in Ghana

Abstract: The study analyses the role of Chinese companies and financing institutions and Ghanaian governmental agencies in planning and constructing the Bui Dam. The analysis focuses on the division of responsibilities between Sinohydro and China Exim Bank on the one side and the Ghanaian government on the other side. The findings show that environmental and resettlement planning for Bui was commissioned and financed by the Government of Ghana without Sinohydro’s involvement. The obligation of the firm is to abide by the environmental regulations that are monitored by the regulatory authorities. The role of Sinohydro consists in building the dam, maintaining the construction site, contracting workers, and providing for workers’ health and safety. The firm has no role in resettlement, which is carried out by the Bui Power Authority. While there is clear evidence that the Bui Power Authority does not follow the recommendations of the Resettlement Planning Framework, Sinohydro appears to abide largely by the conditions set out in the Environmental Impact Assessment study whose implementation is monitored by the Ghanaian Environmental Protection Agency and the Ghanaian Water Resources Commission.

Governing the Water-Energy-Food Nexus Related to Hydropower on Shared Rivers—The Role of Regional Organizations

Abstract: An evolving literature on the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus argues that there is a need to better understand the conditions under which nexus coordination may occur. A case in point are hydropower investments on shared rivers which might impact the provision of energy, water and food security across borders. In international basins, governing the WEF nexus impacts of hydropower relies on voluntary negotiations between the respective countries involved. It has been argued that such negotiations may be facilitated by regional organizations, such as international river basin organizations (IRBOs), but this claim has hardly been investigated systematically. Drawing on regime theory in international relations and the literature on benefit sharing, this paper asks what role regional organizations may play in governing hydropower-related WEF nexus impacts. It compares three cases of hydropower planning on shared rivers. The Rusumo Falls and the Ruzizi III hydropower projects (HPPs) are joint investments in Africa's Great Lakes region facilitated by an IRBO and a regional energy organization, respectively. On the Mekong, Laos is constructing the Xayaburi dam despite reservations by the Mekong River Commission and downstream riparians. The paper finds IRBOs and regional energy organizations may play a role in facilitating cross-border nexus governance by supporting benefit-sharing arrangements and by fostering the application of environmental and social safeguards and international law principles. However, it also shows that the influence of regional organizations varies, and how successfully they support nexus governance also depends on whether the HPP is planned unilaterally or jointly; the availability and consensus on data on nexus impacts; and the presence or absence of donors and private sector capital and investors.

Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed

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세계화(globalization)와 안보 연구

Abstract: 세계화가 과연 하나의 독립변수로 사용하기에 충분할 정도로 그 의미가 명확하게 규명된 과학적 개념인가의 여부는 학계의 지속적인 의문으로 남아 있다. 특히 최근에는 현저하게 드러나고 있는 각종 반세계화 현상을 바탕으로 세계화에 대한 반론이 거세지고 있으며 일부 세계화론 주창자들조차 ‘현실’로서 세계화 현상에 대한 회의적 시각을 표출하고 있어 그 의문은 더욱 커지고 있다. 이에 따라 세계화를 설명 변수로 삼는 모든 연구 영역에서 세계화의 의미와 세계화와 관련된 연구 성과를 반추해 볼 필요성도 커지고 있다. 본 연구의 목적은 세계화의 의미 분석을 바탕으로 세계화를 안보환경 변화의 독립변수로 삼는 연구의 동향을 분석하고 연구의 방향을 제시하는데 있다. 세계화는 그 설명적 가치와 규범적 판단을 둘러싸고 논란이 계속되고 있는 개념이다. 세계화는 세계화론자를 중심으로 발전되어 온 개념이지만 이들 사이에서도 개념에 대한 합의는 존재하지 않는다. 세계화는 가장 단순하게는 하나의 현상 혹은 사건으로 간주되기도 하지만, 세계화의 본질을 규명하려는 입장에서는 세계화의 원인과 영향에 대한 인과관계는 물론 사회관계 본질이나 권력관계 변화를 적시하는 개념으로 취급하여 왔다. 그러나 세계화를 개념화하려는 노력은 수많은 하부 현상을 단일 요소로 설명해야 하며, 역으로 개념 속에 혼재되어 있는 세계화의 원인, 결과, 설명 및 규범적 판단 요소를 단순화해야 한다는 과제를 안고 있다. 특히 원인과 결과가 혼재되어 있는 세계화 개념은 현상 분석을 위한 설명체제 구성에 가장 큰 장애요인이 되고 있다. 세계화와 안보와의 관계를 다루는 연구는 대체로 세계화에 관한 중도론적 입장에서 안보에 관한 낙관론을 피하고 새로운 위협을 제시하는데 초점을 맞추는데, 이러한 경향은 안보연구에서 세계화를 가장 단순한 수준에서 정의하는 데에서 비롯된다. 그러나 지나치게 단순한 세계화 개념을 적용하는 안보연구는 질적으로 새로운 현상인 세계화를 여전히 국가중심적 시각에서 다루고 모든 안보위협을 테러리즘의 문제로 축소하려는 환원주의의 문제를 야기한다. 이러한 문제를 극복하기 위해서는 세계화 개념의 불완전성을 염두에 둔 세계화 개념에 대한 접근과 일관된 세계화 개념 적용이 요구된다. 또한 세계화 현상으로부터 직접적인 안보 사안을 도출하는 노력에서 한 차원 더 나아가 안보연구의 새로운 방향을 제시해 줄 수 있는 안보환경 변화의 전체적 특성을 분석하는 포괄적 연구가 요구된다.

Trading-off Fish Biodiversity, Food Security and Hydropower in the Mekong River Basin

Abstract: The Mekong River Basin, site of the biggest inland fishery in the world, is undergoing massive hydropower development. Planned dams will block critical fish migration routes between the river's downstream floodplains and upstream tributaries. Here we estimate fish biomass and biodiversity losses in numerous damming scenarios using a simple ecological model of fish migration. Our framework allows detailing trade-offs between dam locations, power production, and impacts on fish resources. We find that the completion of 78 dams on tributaries, which have not previously been subject to strategic analysis, would have catastrophic impacts on fish productivity and biodiversity. Our results argue for reassessment of several dams planned, and call for a new regional agreement on tributary development of the Mekong River Basin.

Dams and Development

Abstract: Dam oustees in Satara district of Maharashtra recently scored a signal victory, when their 'sit-in struggle' resulted in the acceptance of their demands by the state government, including those on water allowance and equitable distribution of water. The agitators in Satara have thus managed to continue their tradition of struggle in the quest for development.