Document outlines a key event in a sequence of workshops and seminars in Langkawi, Malaysia, of senior officials, from many departments concerned with irrigated agriculture and its consequences. A common theme at the meetings was the question of institutions. Leaders of the irrigated agriculture sector throughout the region expressed concerns about the appropriateness or relevance of existing institutions, and about their capacity to evolve and change in order to confront the numerous categories of new problems which were generated (in many cases) by the economic successes of the region, and the resulting stresses on human resources, investment decisions, rights to and conservation of natural resources, and many other areas.