MEKONG-GANGA DIALOGUE - Observer Research Foundation

the victims are not so much as "helpless" as in many ways actually "responsible" for
their plight.
Politically, both sets of narratives are articulated by different actors or at different times
to press forth differing truth claims. The first appears in self- congratulatory speeches as
Governments commend themselves for the successful management of a crisis; or as
local elites see opportunities to press forth with their favourite village schemes.
The second makes itself felt in the deliberations at Copenhagen and Durban, the
opposition's attacks on the government's "long term" plans to tackle drought; the
Reports of Finance Commissions or the Recommendations of Special Task Forces; and
finally, in demands for choosing between alternate schemes at the local level.
Eventually, however, let us not forget that the causes as well as effects of vulnerability are
never spatial, born out of the accident of geography or demographics. They are intensely
economic, social and political being inalienably tied to the politics of access and control. It
is this gap which needs to be bridged – the distance between Big Science and Traditional
Knowledge, between technology and local know how, the difference between national
priorities and community aspirations.
The Mekong Ganga initiative hopes then to begin exploring these many strands to
discover collaborative approaches that can help communities in the region to develop
their own capabilities, and capacities. Share the stories and experiences of success and
failures, to learn even more from each others’ failures, so that ideas and ideation
happen across narrow state and national boundaries just as the rivers flow – in order to
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