1. Introduction

Hydropower development is the primary issue affecting river health and aquatic ecosystems in the Lancang River Basin and potentially more broadly within the Lancang-Mekong River (Grumbine et al. 2012; Fan et al. 2015). Nevertheless, hydropower developers lack adequate knowledge on the impacts of hydropower projects on river health in general and on how best to mitigate and compensate for adverse effects. Although numerous studies both in China and abroad have assessed the impacts of hydropower projects on the river ecosystem in the Lancang River Basin, few studies have applied a river health perspective that integrates ecological and human values. It is also apparent that institutions and communities in countries downstream of China, along the Lancang-Mekong River, do not have adequate knowledge to understand transboundary environmental effects of hydropower projects, the opportunities to influence hydropower development on the Lancang River, or the way in which water regulation is managed. Another substantial knowledge gap is the impacts of hydropower development on women, which may be greater than those on men; these impacts have not been considered in China. Protection of environmental resources and social values during hydropower development in the Lancang River Basin is most effectively achieved with a cooperative approach in which skills, experiences, and lessons learned are shared at local and international scales.