This book is the first detailed study of an international river basin from a socio-legal perspective. The Mekong River Basin, which sustains approximately 70 million people across Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, provides a prime example of the socio-legal complexities of governing a transboundary river basin.

1. Introduction 2. River Basins as Socio-legal Arenas 3. Making the Mekong River Basin: Donors, Developers and Experts 4. Governing a River Basin: The Work of the Mekong River Commission 5. Assessing a River Basin: The Politics of the Technical 6. Disclosing a River Basin: Transparency and its Discontents 7. Contesting a River Basin: Civil Society's Legal Strategies 8. Conclusion Appendix 1: Selected National Legislation and Regulations Appendix 2: Selected International Treaties

Ben Boer is Distinguished Professor of Law in the Research Institute of Environmental Law at Wuhan University, People's Republic of China, and Emeritus Professor at the University of Sydney, Australia.

Philip Hirsch is Professor of Human Geography at the School of Geosciences, University of Sydney, Australia.

Fleur Johns is Professor of Law at the University of New South Wales, Australia.

Ben Saul is Professor of International Law and Australian Research Council Future Fellow at the University of Sydney, Australia.

Natalia Scurrah is a Researcher in Human and Environmental Geography at the School of Geosciences, University of Sydney, Australia.