Social impacts such as livelihood and food insecurity largely effect riparian communities because of hydropower projects and these effects are multiplied by environmental issues of decreased water quality, decreased fish quantity and unstable water flow. Loss of livelihood has become more significant as more dams are constructed along the Mekong River and this has become more evident by the change in the river's biodiversity. For example, fisherman in a town in northeastern Thailand (Isan) estimate that their 2015 fish yield was only 30% of a normal year. The villagers of this same town also experience vulnerability in their cultural patterns as irregular flooding causes holidays and celebrations based on a water calendar to no longer coincide.Johnson, Andrew Alan (2019-11-13). "The river grew tired of us: Spectral flows along the Mekong River". HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory. 9 (2): 390–404. Villages near dams experience other social issues alongside livelihood and food insecurity. A study of the Xe Pian Xe Namnoy Dam found that local communities face forced relocation, economic loss, livelihood insecurities, PTSD, food insecurity, and UXOs. Due to PTSD and psychological impacts incurred, many villagers also hesitate to return to their former villages and the stress about the present has resulted in increased anxiety over the future.Baird, Ian G. (2021-09-19). "Catastrophic and slow violence: thinking about the impacts of the Xe Pian Xe Namnoy dam in southern Laos". The Journal of Peasant Studies. 48 (6): 1167–1186. As for food insecurity, the changing of the river flow due to hydropower projects has severely influenced agriculture and aquaculture as necessary nutrients for rice cultivation and fishery production are limited. Issues of food and livelihood security are also faced by those relocated. In Laos, the Nam Theun 2 Dam project moved 6300 people from 14 villages on the Nakai Plateau as part of the Resettlement Programme and another 155,000 people along the Xe Bangfai River were identified as affected but were given less financial support. The Nam Theun 2 Hydropower Company (NTPC) and the GoL implemented the resettlement programme but the Livelihood Resettlement Program’s 5 pillars designed for livelihood (forestry, fisheries, agriculture, livestock and off-farm activities), showed consistent failure in providing benefits and instead led to increased poverty levels. The Livelihood Resettlement Program is also at odds with the community's cultural practices which has caused additional vulnerability. The social impacts of hydropower projects permeate many different sectors of society and particularly those of riparian communities as they are not properly taken into account.
