Damning report on damming of Salween out

Environment

Damning report on damming of Salween out

With 12 sites under feasibility studies downstream and a cascade of 13 dams under construction plans announced upstream, the river Salween that originates in China and flows through Burma and Thailand is facing potential tragic consequences, says a report that is being launched today, as Thailand gears up for a nine-day congress of World Conservation Union to begin on 19 November.

The inauguration of The Salween Under Threat: Damming the longest free river in Southeast Asia jointly published by Salween Watch, Southeast Asia Rivers Network (SEARIN) and Center for Social Development Studies, was held at Bangkok's prestigious Chulalongkorn University with an opening speech by Dr Amra Phongsapich, head of the Faculty of Political Science.

The report, first published in Thai under the title "Tragedy of the Two Lands" last year, charges "the promoters of the dams are geared to start construction at any moment without either consulting the local peoples or considering the social and environmental impacts the dams will have" and calls for efforts "to find low-impact models of development that can ensure a rising standard of living for the communities it supports."

Both social and environment activists in Burma and Thailand have spoken out against dam projects on the Salween. Due to widening opposition, Beijing has reportedly instructed to put the plans on hold. "Information on the ground, however, suggests that the future of the dams is uncertain," says the report.

The activists hope the 84-page booklet will serve as a much-needed shot in the arm for the anti-dam movement.

Meanwhile, S.H.A.N. has already received reports that the dam project on the Shan State's part of the Salween is on the way to becoming a reality as the year's dry season begins. (Dam on the Salween definitely on, 11 August 2004)

For additional information, please call Wandee Suntiwutthimetee, 01-530 5728.