Determining the viability of the dual strategy of irrigation and hydropower expansion requires careful analysis to understand whether the water needed for energy generation objectives could be balanced with the water that would be required for additional irrigation development. The issue is that the dam projects in the Nam Ngum are often independently planned and managed, with only minimal consideration of their cumulative and basin-wide economic and hydrological impacts. The lack of coordination is evident in recent controversies and observed flood damages from poorly managed water releases during high flow events. This is in part due to an insufficient valuation of the country's vast water resources. Revenues from electricity generation at individual dams sometimes overshadow potential trade-offs with other important economic sectors like agriculture and aquaculture, or with the nonmarket value generated by subsistence fisheries and other hydrological services.